GAMILAH UNBRIDLED
On the morning of April 16, Pat Sullivan ’10 departed Sacramento, California, on his eight-year-old Egyptian Arabian mare, Gamilah, and headed East. Nine states, 2,500 miles and 182 days later, he arrived at his destination—Lexington, Kentucky. A cross-country journey that he named “Gamilah Unbridled”
is a dream Sullivan has worked toward for six years. In 2015, he was introduced to three-year-old Gamilah, or Gami, who belonged to his mother. Gami’s spirited nature and innate distrust toward humans challenged Sullivan to dig deeper in his attempt to forge a connection with her. Ultimately, he earned her trust through Liberty, the act of removing the bridle (and other restraints) to allow the horse freedom to think and choose on its own. It’s through this mutual trust and understanding that
Sullivan was able to make the journey completely bridleless. Along the way, Sullivan stopped at farms, horse rescue organizations, a correctional facility and youth organizations to share his love and knowledge of horses and Liberty with others. At Stormhaven Youth Ranch, Sullivan witnessed a nine-year-old boy with cerebral palsy ride bridleless on a horse. “Riding and being around the horse helped strengthen his mind, body and soul,” said Sullivan, who is naturally drawn to serving others. “I’ve always tried to do my best to serve others. It was
ingrained in me at an early age,” he said, adding that it’s a quality only strengthened during his time at Queens. “I try and live by the Queens motto ‘non ministrari sed ministrare’ every day.” His passion to help others helped Sullivan raise more than $50,000 for the 17 nonprofits visited during the trip. Averaging 15 miles a day, Sullivan had help from his sister, friend and girlfriend, who took turns joining him throughout the trip to drive the horse trailer, find places to stay, and help care for Gami and Hal, the other horse (and Gami’s brother), who Sullivan would rotate riding to allow each horse to rest. Sullivan completed his journey on October 14 and
celebrated with friends and family with a weekend filled with Liberty events with the International Liberty Horse Association Championships at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Kentucky. He plans to move to Texas and will continue serving others by accepting challenging rescue horses from around the country and preparing them for adoption.
—Laura Lum ’13
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