
In June of 1958 Elsie and Helen rode their two horses, Tony and Duce, from the southeastern Minnesota town of Brownsville to Watertown, South Dakota. They were friends. Helen had a pen pal, Helengrace, in Florence SD that she wanted to visit - her mother said that the only way for her to get there was to ride her horse. So she asked Elsie to ride with her.
They were on horseback for eleven days straight, traveling 350 miles. They camped and slept in hay lofts along the way. Occasionally, a farm family would let them sleep in the house. They went to the Crystal Springs Ranch Rodeo in Clear lake, South Dakota and were featured in the rodeo as was Smiley Burnette. Follow their journey here.... and come to the rodeo in June, 2008 to see Elsie again.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smiley_Burnette
www.crystalspringsrodeo.com/
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