E'leese Madgett Manrique stood with the flag she has carried while riding through Minnesota on her horse Chips "N" Salsa. She is riding through the state to raise awareness and funds for a dude ranch for veterans.

It has been a while since horses played a major role in the U.S. Armed Forces.

Never-the-less 12-year-old E'leese Madgett Manrique of Plymouth is using a horse to call attention to the needs of veterans.

E'leese, and her full-blooded Arabian horse Chips 'N' Salsa (Chips), are more than halfway through an 86-day, 860-mile ride around Minnesota. The purpose of the ride is to call attention to, and raise funds for, "The Ranch."

On her website, onegirloneride.com, she notes that, "The Ranch will be a place where any soldier in need of a place to heal can go for free."

The idea for the trip came during a mother-daughter vacation through Colorado,

"We saw all these big mailboxes with big flags," said Karry Madgett, her mother. "She got the idea and it is her own."

Karry Madgett heads up a support team that travels with E'leese and Chips. They bring along a trailer with gear for the horse and rider. The trailer is also used to transport the horse when there is a need.

"We usually ride from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. each day, and do about 10 miles every day," said Karry.

The sight of a 12-year-old riding a horse on a road, carrying an American flag, is one that usually draws attention to E'leese and Chips. On July 25, when they stopped in Melrose, Karry reported that one woman had run across a field to see them, visit and thank them for their effort. Others have heard of them and sent in donations.

The ride started June 7 in Buffalo. Since then it has taken them to Big Lake, Milaca, Mora, Duluth, Bemidji, Brainerd, Long Prairie, Sauk Centre, St. Martin, Albany, Avon, St. Joseph, Cold Spring. The ride continues south through Litchfield, Glencoe, Mankato, turn east to Faribault, and eventually north again to end in St. Paul.

The trip will end Aug. 31 at the State Capitol. According to Karry, Gov. Tim Pawlenty and Rep. Michelle Bachmann will be there to greet them. Bachmann has already helped by donating the flag she carries and making mention of the ride in Congress. She has also received correspondence from Laura Bush.

Had E'leese had her way, there might have been more of a national attention to the ride.

"She first wanted to ride around the country and I said no," said Karry. "Then she wanted to ride through Minnesota, North and South Dakota, and I said 'no.' She then said ride around Minnesota."

She trained, and worked on getting herself ready for the ride for the better part of a year. She also worked with someone to get the right horse for the trip. Chips, as a turned out, was a perfect choice. The distractions (such a people coming up to them, police sirens, noise from the fields) don't seem to bother Chips, he is a very calm horse. Once, one little kid accidentally walked under him and he never moved.

For the most part the trip has been very positive. Some have donated to the cause, others provided help, meals or a place to stay. Police have been very supportive.

In Melrose, and in other areas, the police provided an escort for them through the community. Some people have helped just by letting them rest for a bit on their lawns or yards.

After riding from Sauk Centre to Melrose on July 25, they used a trailer to get to St. Martin, where they had made arrangements to sleep. The next day they came back to Melrose and picked up the ride.

"Melrose rocks," E'leese noted on her website blog. "My mom called the Melrose police and officer Judy Weber answered. Judy told the officers that we were coming down the road and they came to greet us and bring us in. A big thank you to Police Officer Chris Swanson and Chief John Jensen. They told me that they were proud of me."

E'leese was also impressed with the countryside. "OK imagine this..... you drive through the country and see wheat fields, corn fields and all kinds of fields as far as you can see," she wrote. "Everything is green and beautiful. Minnesota is great."

"The people of Minnesota have been really good." Karry said.

It was also on July 25 they had one of their few disappointments on the trip.

While in Sauk Centre, they were informed that they were not allowed to ride the horse on the Lake Wobegon Trail. That caused a bit of delay, as they had planned to used the Wobegon Trail for part of the ride. They eventually found an alternate route to use.

It was, according to Karry and to the information E'leese put on her blog, the only time they had been refused the right to take the horse on such a trail.

On the other hand, the trip has allowed E'leese and Chip to participate in a mounted shooting contest (where they earned a top five finish), be saluted in various communities and interviewed a number of times. Veterans have thanked them, family members of people in the service have thanked them and many have encouraged them. There is one part of the ride that will remain with them for some time.

"At Cass Lake, during a pow-wow, E'leese and Chip were given an eagle feather, a pipe was smoked and they were blessed to help them on their journey. It was a very solemn ceremony," said Karry.

The 800 plus miles gave them a chance to see much of east-central Minnesota and put them in contact with a variety of people and communities. It is also obvious that both the mother and daughter are of proud of what E'leese is doing.

"I feel good about this," said Karry. "This is a good thing a 12-year-old is doing."

Those wishing to donate can send the donations to:

OneGirloneRide

P.O. Box 46513

Plymouth, Mn 55446

or

oneGirloneRide

c/o Wells Fargo

615 Highway 55 East

Buffalo, Mn 55313..