North Texas cowboy reaches 'ground zero'

Nichols, along with horse J.J.'s Cowboy and dog Posse, were photographed in Texas last winter - during the early stage of their 1,800-mile journey. -Staff photo

July 11, 2002 -- North Texas cowboy Les Nichols has reached his goal of reaching "ground zero" in New York City after leaving San Antonio last fall following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Nichols, of Celeste, made the 1,800-mile journey aboard his 11-year-old Thoroughbred J.J.'s Cowboy and with his four-legged canine friend Posse.

Nichols was featured in Country World in the May Special Equine Edition, and initially in the winter of 2001 when he rode through Titus County.

Along the journey, Nichols raised funds, through donations and selling raffle tickets for his custom-made saddle. The funds will be given to the New York Firefighters 9-11 Disaster Relief Fun and the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association's Widows' and Children's Fund.

On July 4, he and his traveling partners crossed New York Harbor on the Staten Island Ferry and rode a half-mile through the city streets from the tip of Manhattan to what used to be the plaza in front of the World Trade Center.

"I've thought about this since the day I started riding," Nichols to a reporter with the Daily Racing Form. Wearing a white straw cowboy hat, leather chaps over jeans, and a white T-shirt with "NYPD" on one sleeve, "FDNY" on the other sleeve and a drawing of a scene at Ground Zero on the back, Nichols added, "There are no words to describe the kind of destruction that went on here ... Two-thousand souls gone, people hurt. How do you pull it together and go on with life?"

Nichols, 41, said he was inspired to make the ride by "the big cowboy upstairs."

Besides J.J.'s Cowboy, Nichols also rode a Thoroughbred named Sandtrack. They covered 15 to 20 miles a day, except on Sunday, when they rested, and during inclement weather. For most of the trip he was accompanied only by his dog, Posse, a gray and white collie-shepherd mix. Every five weeks or so, Texas farrier Matt Riley, from Leonard, would meet Nichols and reshoe the horses.

Nichols' route took him through Texas, Arkansas, Kentucky, Tennessee, West Virginia (where he had to turn around because of the mountainous terrain), Ohio, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. Nichols said he passed through more than 150 towns, staying in parks, barns, or wherever he was invited by the people he met.

"The daily grind" was the hardest part of the ride, the Texas cowboy said, and at one point J.J.'s Cowboy flipped off a railroad embankment and injured a hock, putting the horse off the trail for six weeks.

On July 3, Nichols appeared on ABC's "Good Morning America" and on July 6 he and J.J.'s Cowboy led the post parade for the fourth race at Belmont Park, named the "Les Nichols and J.J.'s Cowboy Walk for America."

Nichols plans to train J.J.'s Cowboy, a winner of seven races and $64,000, at Monmouth Park, race him one more time, and retire him. Needless to say, J.J.'s Cowboy is fit. "He needs a few breezes," Nichols said. "But his muscle tone is fine."

The journeyman said he isn't sure when he's coming back to Texas, or how, but one thing for sure: It won't be on the back of a horse.