Florida Cracker Trail ride honors state's early ranchers

The Florida Cracker Trail played a big role in Florida’s history. And to commemorate the trail and keep the history of the trail alive, every year The Florida Cracker Trail Association steps back in time and re-enacts the events that occurred along that trail. Members of the association, 146 horses and riders in all, left Bradenton Saturday morning to travel across the state on horseback. They go along State Road 64, then cut over to State Road 66 -- the original trail the cowboys took long ago on their cattle drives across the state. Sometimes they ride across ranches, sometimes along the road. They detour off State Road 66 in Sebring to go by the Cracker Trail Elementary School and wave to the kids. They ride 5 to 8 hours a day, then camp out at night. "We do camp fire entertainment, we have people who are musically gifted," says association president Charles Mercer. The riders will cover 110 miles and arrive in Ft. Pierce on the east coast Saturday morning. They'll be welcomed with a parade in their honor, followed by horseback riding and camping on the beach. A history lesson everyone on the ride, and all those who watch them go by, will long remember...more