Rocky’s History
Hi!! My name is Rocky Woolman (actually it is William W. Woolman II). I guess I’ve been associated with horses most of my life. It started when I was about 3 years old, when my mother put me on a small Shetland pony while visiting Estes Park, Colorado. 
Then, when I was about 12, my dad bought a horse named Tony and I then began to learn to ride and care for horses. (insert picture) I finally got involved with them after my marriage to Suzanne Mathis in the early 1990’s. We both wanted a horse to ride and while I was stationed (with the Army) in Phoenix, Arizona, we purchased a BLM mustang (mare) and after taking a good 6 months to break and ride, we found out the mare was in foal and we were presented with a nice young colt.(insert picture) We then need another horse (since there were 2 of us) and I, again, purchased another BLM mustang and named him “Reno”. (insert picture) That’s where my trail riding really started and I’ve been doing it ever since.
I’m a retired Army Colonel 
and have purchased a nice piece of land and home in southeast Oklahoma. With time on my hands, I now plan on doing a lot of trail riding. The only drawback would be my health, the horses health, and the weather. This first ride of The Continental Divide Trail, started it’s general discussion while on a trail ride with the South Texas Trail Riders, from Corpus Cristi, Texas to San Antonio, Texas (an annual ride to open the Livestock show in San Antonio). A cowboy from Iowa (Bill Paytner) and I were discussing it and taunted each other on doing the ride. I guess I began to take the issue more seriously. Then, the summer of 2006, while serving on a short tour in Iraq 
, I decided to start to actually try to plan such a ride. I was to retire from the Army Civil Service (second retirement) the summer of 2008 and decided that was when the ride was to begin. My planning also started.
I had 2 horses, at that time (Reno and Zena), and was trying to determine if I needed 2 or 3 for the ride. My main horse was Reno, my mustang that I purchased from BLM back in 1993. When I got him (Reno) he was 5 years old and now he was approaching 19 years of age. He had traveled thousands of miles of trails but I didn’t know how he might hold up on this particular adventure. Then in September, 2007, while riding with a church group in the mountains of Colorado, Reno suddenly stopped and collapsed. He died instantly of a heart attack. It was quite a loss, since he was my most dependable mount. Even young children learned to ride Reno and his manner was calm and collected. He knew when a young child was on his back and he would take care to adjust to their inept ability to ride and guide a horse. He was “gaited” and could cover trails in an easy and comfortable manner. Anyway, it was still a great loss. I now had one horse (Zena) and I know I needed at least one more. I again turned to the BLM.
I worked with Lona Kossnar at the BLM in the Canon City office for the next 7 months to try to find a suitable horse for my journey. I watched what came out of their “saddle” program, but none seemed to quite fit. Finally, in April 2008, I found one that might work. His name was “Charger”. (insert picture) The name didn’t fit, but he was a grey gelding of 5 years out of Salt Wells Creek Management Area of Wyoming. Even though he was only 15.2 hands, he had a good conformation, legs, and “eye”. I decided to take a chance and told Lona I’d take him. In the meantime, my son-in-law (Mark Reust)` was shoeing horses for a “dude” ranch north of Trainidad, Colorado and informed me of a horse they were going to get ride of just because he had a slight “pidgeon toe” and didn’t want to take responsibility for any liability that might happen if he might stumble while having a rider on his back. I contacted the ranch and made an appointment to come see the horse. After the visit, I told them I’d take the horse. He was a 5 year old quarter horse bay gelding our of the famous Doc O’Lena line of quarter horses. He still looked like a well built horse and might be suited for the job. His name became “Pepe”. I now have 3 horses.
In 2006, during my annual San Antonio Livestock Ride, a friend of mine (Paul Hauert) indicated that he would like to come on my rides and act as ground crew. To solidify his intent, he purchased a 40 ft, 3-horse slant, horse trailer with full living quarters to support him and the ride. He is now in charge of ground support for the ride. In the meantime, while in Iraq, I was communicating (kind of a pen pal) with a woman from New York. Her name was Kathy Merrell. I informed her of my intent to ride the Continental Divide Trail in the summer of 2008 and she indicated her interest in the ride. After reading many of her lengthy but highly interesting emails, I just hinted that she ought to be a “writer”. She said she writes poetry and maybe some short stories and I then suggested she come on my ride and do at least a documentary on the ride, since if I do complete it, I will become the first to do it so in one complete sitting (on horseback). Other equestrians have ridden the complete divide, but have done it in sections and years at a time. She then agreed and will also be a part of the “ground crew”. Finally, I got a call from an individual from Minnesota. He said his name was Larry Hanson and he had read my web site and was contacting me wanting to know if he could join me on the ride. At first, it was to be him and a friend of his and they were only going to do the ride in 3 years. After I told him of my intent to ride in in one sitting, he requested that he be able to join me. Naturally, I said “yes”. I believe in the 2-man rule as a safety factor and till then, many had wanted to ride with me but no one was commiting. I welcomed the company. It had now become a team of 4 individuals and 6 horses. Larry and I would ride and lead a horse while the ground crew would maintain the other 2. Let the ride begin!!
Anyone can follow the ride on my “blog” site of www.woolman.us
Rocky
