COVER STORY
15
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Look no Further
Florida Cowboys: Keepers of the Last Frontier
Photographs by Carlton Ward Jr.
“Without its lush ranchlands, there would be precious little left to see of old
Florida, and nowhere for some of our most endangered wildlife to survive.
Carlton Ward’s colorful tribute to this dwindling frontier is also a call to
save what remains of it. The alternative is unthinkable.”—Carl Hiaasen
284 color photos | Hardcover $45.00
University Press of Florida | 800.226.3822 | www.upf.com
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HEAR IT ON THE RADIO
Janie Gould’s award-winning show, Floridays, airs Fridays at 7:20
a.m. and 5:45 p.m. on WQCS/88.9 FM. To hear her piece about the
Florida Cracker Trail ride, go to wqcs.org and click on Audio Archive.
After riding 120 miles on the Cracker Trail, riders take one last ceremonial ride along the Atlantic
Ocean in Fort Pierce.
a beautiful cypress swamp that has an
elevated roadway going through it. You
spend time seeing the beauty of Florida.”
Most of the trail riders are Florida natives,
but the event attracts people from
all over.
“I’ve seen Australian saddles, Western
saddles, English saddles,” Greg Fredrick
said. “I’ve seen people come here from
Nevada, from Washington, Indiana,
Ohio, and I remember last year we had
some people from North Dakota come
down to be part of the ride.”
About 125 riders are expected this
year, and as always, some won’t make it
all the way across the state.
“Sometimes your horse gets lame, in
which case we have to trail the horse,
and sometimes people get tired. Sometimes
I’ve ridden half days and trailed
my horse the other half day.”
Plenty of fun awaits those who make
it to Fort Pierce. Besides a parade and
two community festivals, riders can take
their horses to Frederick Douglass Beach
on Hutchinson Island and ride in the
surf, just like a scene from a commercial
for Jamaica.
“That’s a special treat for people,”
Fredrick said. “It’s quite a sight to see.”
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