PRESCOTT Ark. - Even with the passing of the Fourth of July, Rio Vista, Texas, resident Tony Jones saw no reason to discontinue the patriotic atmosphere.
Having left his town, situated about 40 miles south of Forth Worth, on June 21st, Jones took out riding his horse in a northeastern direction, which took him through Texarkana last week and up to Prescott, Arkansas, this past holiday weekend. But he didn't stop there.
Jones intends to ultimately ride his horse to Washington, D.C., in tribute to all the nation's military veterans.
"I just decided that this is one of the very best ways I can let people across the country know how great our veterans are," Jones said in a telephone interview Sunday morning as he was heading out from Prescott to D.C.
For Jones, himself a National Guard veteran, this journey makes the second time in his life he's ventured out on a horse riding odyssey to bring awareness to the country's servicemen and women. He first took the same transportation mode to the nation's capital from Fort Peire, South Dakota, on a ride that started June 5, 2016, and lasted for four months and three weeks before reaching Washington.
"I like to ride horses because I like the outdoors and I mostly like talking to people about our veterans as I move from one place to another," he said. "One morning, back in 2016, I just woke up and decided I wanted to ride across the country and put in a good word for our veterans. I average traveling about 13 to 16 miles a day but for these trips I don't set a time goal for myself. I'll just get to my destination when it happens."