A Healing Journey
By LISA TACKETT
Times-Journal Writer
Linda Losey began her cross country horse trek on April 7 of this year, plans to be
in her home state of Maryland by October 27, and home for Thanksgiving, after
completing her journey in memory of her 10-year-old son, Sammy.
Losey left San Diego, California on a quest that was planned by her son, before
his untimely death one year ago, from a farming accident. Before leaving on the
trip, Losey admits it was hard for her to even talk about the loss of her son, but now
she says proudly, “Sammy was a published poet, sportsman of the year, my horse
partner, and he wrote an essay about the trip in school. He accomplished a lot for
his young years.”
Losey serves on the Board of Director's for a horse rescue service in Maryland,
and son Sammy was the first to talk to his mom about the cross country trip as a
way to promote abused and rescued horses. Sammy was determined to move
forward on the trip, and managed to map out the states of Maryland, West Virginia,
and Ohio before his passing.
It was a trip they were both supposed to take, and even though Sammy cannot be
seen, Losey feels that her son's presence is with her wherever she goes, and has
had reinforcement of that feeling throughout her travels.
In Trinidad, Colorado, a 13-year-old child, Losey had never met before, told her
mother as the horses passed, “Look mommy, that lady has a little boy with her and
there are angels also.” The child's mother spoke to Losey after the incident about
her daughter's statement, but would not be the only person to tell Losey of her
son's presence.
Losey travels with Rocky, a 5-year-old Tennessee Walking Horse, and Val, who is
6-years-old and is one of the horses that came into the rescue center after being
mistreated. So far they have traveled 3,000 miles, with 20 miles per day being the
standard travel time to keep all parties safe and healthy.
Losey said, “It averages out to about three miles per hour, or in Rocky terms, 1,783
steps per mile,” to which she quickly explains, “I got bored a few states back and
counted steps.”
Although Losey travels alone with her two horses, she has an entire network of
support helping her out on the trip. Back home friend Linda Veblen is mapping the
horse friendly route, friend Kim Gordon researches for the host families that allow
Losey a place to stay, and friend Michelle Ripple takes care of the vet aspect of the
trip, by setting up feed shipments and other necessary vet related issues.
Losey's mother was hesitant at first about the trip, but has since changed her mind.
Also offering support is her family, daughter Cara, 20; son Eric,17; and son Peter,
14. Ex-husband Rob has also shown a lot of support for this trip.
“I began this trip as a way to heal from Sammy's death,” said Losey. “The trip has
definitely accelerated the healing, and I have met so many wonderful people
along the way.”
Losey said the worst part of the trip was the very beginning where she had to do
some wilderness camping, and she had to face all types of extreme weather, from
earthquakes, hailstorms, thunder and lightning, the heat wave, a tornado, and
finally Katrina's winds and rain.
In spite of the bad things that happened, Losey said, “In the west, the healing was
really accelerated because I felt so small, insignificant, and vulnerable in the wide
open spaces.”
“There were times I said, what am I doing, but each step taken, was getting me
closer to home,” Losey said.
Considering where she came from, the worst part of the trip is behind her, so the
rest of the trip should be a piece of cake.
ftackett@timesjournal.com