Last year, Pierre Cloutier, a truck driver in Montreal, decided he was spending too much time behind the wheel, and decided to fulfill a lifelong dream of travelling across Canada with horses. Just as pioneers once headed west in search of a better way of life, he packed all of his worldly possessions, including his dog Eska, into two covered wagons, hitched up his team of Belgians Bobby and Kelli, and started on his epic journey. His destination: the Okanagan Valley of British Columbia. 

Cloutier made the covered wagons himself, and they are fully equipped with solar power and a generator to supply the satellite radio, the signal, and four-way lights. Cloutier is a farrier and cares for the horse’s feet himself; he also has a good friend who is a vet upon whom he can call for advice. In anticipation of needing more power to travel through the mountains, the original pair of Belgians were joined by Jenny and Betty around the beginning of June.

Photo (above): Feeding at Boundary BC

Photo (above): Along the road in BC

Photo (above): in front of the Canadian Legion

After leaving St. Barnaby, Quebec last November 6th, this son of a Quebec dairy farmer persevered through the harsh Canadian winter and left a trail of hoof prints across Ontario and the prairies, crossing into BC around June 12th. Although his wagons are set up to sleep in, in his eight months on the road he has only spent a few nights in them, as along the way many people generously welcomed him into their homes and offered food and shelter to the horses.

Photo (above): Pierre Cloutier at Westbridge, BC

When he finds the new home he’s looking for, Cloutier plans to settle down and start a country band. He says he’ll keep the horses and Eska with him. 

May this modern day pioneer find his home at the trail’s end.

Watch Cloutier hitching Bobby and Kelli in preparation for leaving on their trip of a lifetime:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ecRrAoa1b9s

For more information and to find out where Cloutier is on his trip, visit his Facebook page “Pierre Cloutier, Traversée du Canada cheval.”