Explore every episode of the podcast Ride of Passage

An update on Matt, the horses, and the folks you met throughout the podcast.

In every adventure story, the hero must answer the call to complete the journey and return home.

Nearing the final stretch of the trail, Matt stays with an Amish family in Ohio. While there, he faces a day of such great consequence he wonders if his entire journey has failed.

Matt Parker prepared for his third and final riding season across the American Discovery Trail by strengthening his body and training with a new horse.

The second year of Matt's ride across America is marked by pain - emotional and physical. He considers quitting the journey altogether.

Matt returns for a second riding season on the American Discovery Trail. He knew it would be another challenging year, but he couldn't anticipate that the ride would begin with a major setback.

Matt and Smokey come to the end of the first riding season, with some tough decisions to make before tackling the rest of the trail. And they find new, crucial partners in their journey in central Utah.

For every peak there is a valley. Matt and Smokey lose the trail, and are held against their will at an outpost.

The land is everything in adventure stories. And everything in the American story. Matt learns in Central Nevada that how people feel about their land impacts how they feel about other people... especially strangers.

The desert of Nevada reveals to Matt what's essential for survival — for him and for his horse, Smokey. The blazing sun and isolation peel away at Matt and threaten his morale for the long journey ahead.

Matt makes his way into the Sierra Nevada mountain range, and encounters the first true test of his ability to withstand the wilderness alone. He learns about equipment he doesn't need - a tent - and which he does need - a staple gun.

In order to ride horseback across the country, Matt would need a horse and a trail. The problem is there were no modern trails that were tested all the way across on horseback. And there were few modern examples of what kind of horse would be good for a 5,000-mile ride.

Twenty years ago, Matt Parker was in that weird phase of life right out of college; rudderless and adrift, unsure of what adulthood would hold. And then an idea hit him like lightning — he'd ride across the country on horseback. Never mind that he'd never really spent time with horses. But he was ready for the challenge of a lifetime.

In 2003, Matt Parker set out on a journey that would take years to complete. He became the first to ride horseback across the country on the American Discovery Trail.