Man Riding Horseback Across 30 States Makes Stop In Oklahoma

A man is on a mission to ride horseback across the United States to bring awareness to the mustang crisis in America.

Jake Harvath stopped in Skiatook as he continued his journey.

Jake Harvath is on a 7,000-mile journey spanning 30 states with his three horses. 

One of his goals is to help get wild horses adopted from the Bureau of Land Management.

His journey started in Utah back in September.

His initial one-night stop in Green Country has turned into two because of the weather.

Normally, Jake and his horses could brave the weather, but they stayed an extra day because the roads were too slick.

"It’s the old cowboy way of layering. You know, you put your big coat on and deal with it. There's an element to just be tough and go do it," said Harvath.

There's an old saying that a cowboy is a man with guts and a horse. You could say that's Jake Harvath.

This cowboy and his three horses are on quite the journey.

He's riding with Bella, a 16-year-old mare, Eddie, a 12-year-old gelding, and Denver, a 6 year-old gelding.

Jake is doing this to prove a point.

"My goal is to spread awareness about wild horses and their dilemmas here in the United States today and make more people want to adopt them from the Bureau of Land Management by showing how useful they are on a trip like this," Harvath said.

According to BLM, there are more than 82,000 wild horses on its public lands, which is a problem.

"That leaves a lot of horses without a purpose, without the ability to live in the wild, living in pens their entire lives,” Harvath said. “They can become incredible working horses in so many different disciplines and horsemanships."

This journey is also to preserve the cowboy way of life.

"It's working hard, it's remembering where you come from, it's respecting your animals," said Harvath.

He's documenting the trip on social media, too, hoping to get more attention to the year of the mustang.

Jake's next stop will be in Oologah. If you see him Jake says to slow down and say hi.

If you want to follow his journey, you can check out his YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok, and can donate to his cause here.