Tracey Elliot-Reep has fulfilled a childhood dream.
In a real-life game of cowboys and Indians, she has ridden
on horseback from Mexico to Canada and her new book Riding
By Faith tells the story.
Tracey - who grew up on her parents' Dartmoor farm and
still lives in Widecombe-in-the-Moor - felt a dream had
been put in her heart by God.
The result was her 3,000-mile journey, documented in her
book about her ride from Mexico to Canada across the US.
Her mother was involved in breeding Dartmoor ponies, and
Tracey started riding them at a young age, imagining she
was in her very own Western!
As a professional photographer, and a teacher of horse-riding
she gained the experience necessary for the journey of
a lifetime.
"God puts dreams in your heart even before you're
born," said Tracey, "and I always dreamt of riding
across the Wild West of America."
Tracey had already completed plenty of adventures, including
a 2,000 mile ride in New Zealand.
Her six-month quest in 2007 was the most ambitious yet.
Some may have thought her unprepared, but the only preparation
Tracey says she needed was her faith.
"I just had this feeling that I was going to ride
in North America", she said.
So what made her do it?
"I read a story about when the US government was
introducing vehicles to take the place of horses," Tracey
explained.
"They were just going to destroy the horses, but
the officers kidnapped the horses and took them to the
Rocky Mountains where they could survive.
"When the soldiers asked the officers where they
were going, they said "to Canada".
"I said 'oh God, we're riding to Canada!'"
The journey started in a real cowboy state, Texas, where
the Rio Grande divides the USA from Mexico.
From there, Tracey rode north through New Mexico and Colorado
to the spectacular Monument Valley in Utah.
Then she returned to Colorado in search of grass for the
horses, before continuing through Wyoming and Montana to
the Canadian border.
Throughout the journey, she relied on the hospitality
of people she met. They gave her grain and helped her find
water and shoe the horses.
To begin with though, Tracey didn't even have a horse
or a saddle.
"I met a Texan in Dartmoor prison who was working
on a Christian programme, and his uncle bred horses in
East Texas," Tracey recalled.
This Texan introduced Tracey to Smokey and Pistol, who
would carry her across the States.
Her initial hesitation over whether to take Smokey and
Pistol was halted by a minister who prayed for her in New
Zealand.
"I see a red horse in front of you like a war horse,
and a white horse beside you, strengthening and comforting
you", the minister said.
"The two horses' characters were like that, and the
colours were like that", said Tracey.
"I knew this must be a confirmation from God that
I was taking Smokey and Pistol."
She found a saddle via another Texan lady whom she met
in a village in Somerset, and turned out to sell saddles
at Fort Collins in Texas.
Whatever risks may have befallen her - drug smugglers,
inhospitable climates, wild animals frightening the horses
- Tracey says she knew the Lord was looking after her.
"Despite the obstacles, if you've got faith, you
can get through it," she said.
"When I went to Alpine in Western Texas and dropped
into a church, I was thinking 'have I taken on too much?'",
she confessed.
"The minister there said 'I see angels coming and
going over your head. You're going to an area of danger
but the angels are going to stay with you.'"
There are more photographs from Tracey's journey on her
own
website.