Woman traveling 48 states on horseback against domestic violence stops in Hickory
Adrianne Uphold
Meredith Cherry saddles up her horse, Apollo, while preparing to get back on the road in Hickory on Wednesday.
Adrianne Uphold
A saddlebag is embroidered with the ride蘑菇视频 name: 鈥淭he Centauride: Riding for Domestic Violence.鈥� Meredith Cherry carries about 60 pounds of gear on Apollo, including food, a tent and extra clothes.
Adrianne Uphold
Apollo, an 11-year-old Peruvian mustang cross, wears a hand-stitched ear cover to keep flies away while on the road.
Adrianne Uphold
Meredith Cherry and Apollo have traveled 7,000 of the planned 10,000 miles of their journey, aimed at bringing attention to domestic violence.
Adrianne Uphold
Meredith Cherry and Apollo will visit 28 more states after leaving Pennsylvania.
Meredith Cherry, accompanied by her horse, Apollo, is on an incredible journey for domestic violence awareness.
Over the past three years, Cherry and Apollo have been on 鈥淭he Centauride: Riding for Domestic Violence,鈥� which is a planned four-year-long, 10,000-mile journey across the United States.
Her mission? Riding to domestic violence centers, women蘑菇视频 shelters, schools and community centers to share her physical, mental and financial abuse story to other domestic violence survivors.
鈥淎lmost everyone knows someone or has been affected by domestic violence,鈥� Cherry said. 鈥淎nd if you think you don鈥檛 know someone, it蘑菇视频 because they haven鈥檛 spoken out about it yet.鈥�
The California native, 36, started in Penn Valley, Calif., on Jan. 1, 2017. Two and a half years later, on Wednesday, the duo made it to Hickory.
鈥淚 thought, maybe if I went around and talked to people about my story, maybe I could help highlight resources available. I can let people know that it蘑菇视频 still a huge problem in our society because I didn鈥檛 know other people were going through this too, and maybe if I knew that sooner, I would have felt less alone.鈥�
Yet, her journey didn鈥檛 start in 2017 when she decided to jump on Apollo for the longest ride the 11-year-old horse could have imagined. Cherry蘑菇视频 journey started in 2001 when she met her ex-husband.
On Cherry蘑菇视频 blog, centauride.org, she records her journey through each state and the trauma she says she has endured.
She goes into detail about a 12-year-long ordeal with her abusive ex-husband (who she refers to as 鈥淓vil Ex鈥� or EE), why she stayed and how she was able to break away. For years, Cherry said she tried to escape, but each time EE either found her, called the police and convinced them that she was mentally ill while she was running away, or beat her for trying to escape.
鈥淭he abuse had become so much worse so quickly that at first I was confused and frightened more than anything,鈥� Cherry said. 鈥淲hat had happened to my life? What was wrong with my husband for treating me this way. What could I do?鈥�
Cherry continued to try to escape, bolting through the doors any chance she was alone.
鈥淭he official statistics say that it takes an average of three attempts before a victim leaves her abuser,鈥� Cherry wrote in her blog. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 know how they get these statistics, but I鈥檓 pretty sure if they factored my data in, I鈥檇 personally bring up the national average.鈥�
Cherry was stuck in a dangerous domestic violence cycle. The couple had only one vehicle, and it was 20 miles to the nearest town. In her blog, she admits to considering suicide as 鈥渢he only method of escaping.鈥�
Eventually, one day Cherry grabbed the only keys to their truck and ran through the door while her husband was behind the house. She leaped into the truck, slammed on the gas pedal and drove as fast as she could.
{div}She was able to make it to the next county, call her parents and fly to them across the country. 鈥溾�滻 was free.鈥�
Cherry has 20 years of experience with riding horses, which helped her with the four-year quest. Apollo, who is a Peruvian mustang cross, is the first horse that she bought, with some of the money she received for selling her engagement ring in 2014. She has a bachelor蘑菇视频 degree in equine science from Colorado State University.
She trained and planned for two years before hitting the road. She mapped out her route, worked on her fitness and planned the trip. Apollo carries 60 pounds of gear, including a small tent, sleeping bag, brushes, supplements and some clothes.
Cherry and Apollo have 28 more states to go after she gets across Pennsylvania. In 2020, she plans to finish the trip in Tennessee, and will have traveled over 10,000 miles since the beginning of 2017.
鈥淚鈥檓 not sure what I鈥檒l do when I finish. At first I鈥檒l head back to the West Coast,鈥� Cherry said. 鈥淏ut that蘑菇视频 still a year away. Right now I gotta think about where I鈥檓 staying next and how to feed Apollo.鈥�
Through the kindness of strangers, Cherry said she蘑菇视频 able to stay with families along the route.
鈥淭he reason why I鈥檓 able to do this is because of the connections I make on Facebook, my blog, or through people who I鈥檝e stayed with before helping me find new homes to stay the night,鈥� Cherry said. 鈥淚 have places to stay for the rest of July, but after that I have to start planning new places.鈥�
Keep up with Cherry and Apollo on Cherry蘑菇视频 blog, centauride.org.