Quebec duo ride through city enroute to Yukon

By Al Beeber on September 21, 2022.

Herald photo by AL BEEBER Dominque Lebel, Patrick Venne, their dog Bucky and horses stop in the shade at Fort Whoop-Up on Tuesday morning on a trek from Quebec that will eventually take them to the Yukon next year. The group has been on the road since late April and intend to spend the winter in Alberta.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDabeeber@lethbridgeherald.comL

Patrick Venne is living a childhood dream by crossing Canada on horseback.

Venne and his girlfriend Dominique Lebel, who live a couple hours north of Montreal, left home on April 29 with the intention of reaching the Yukon.

The two are accompanied by a packhorse and a husky/labrador cross named Bucky on their journey.

Venne and Lebel reached Lethbridge Tuesday and were heading north toward Calgary. Their hope is to find winter work on a ranch before resuming their trek next year.

“No camping through the winter. We’re brave but not that brave,” said Lebel.

Except for northern Ontario through which they trailered their horses due to the dangers of two-lane highways with narrow shoulders, the pair have ridden the entire way.

“That was too dangerous for the horses and for us,” said Venne of that region.

On Tuesday, drivers may have seen them riding the pedestrian bridge on Whoop-Up Drive as they crossed the Oldman River before heading north along University Drive to Highway 3.

Since reaching Manitoba, they’ve followed the Red Coat Trail, a 1,300-kilometre route which follows in the hooves and boots of the Northwest Mounted Police on their 1874 journey to Fort Whoop-Up, and that’s where the Herald came across them after a tip.

“It’s the time because tomorrow you will never know. I’ll live my dream today,” said Venne.

The trip has been at times adventurous but often the riding has been smooth.

“Sometimes we have a little challenge but it’s almost easy. . .the people has been very good with us,” Venne said.

The couple practised all last summer, said Lebel, to prepare for this year’s ride.

“Every pound matters,” she said of the equipment they are carrying.

Every three hours, they stop to let their horses drink, whether it’s from a stream, a river, a dugout or even by hose.

People have been friendly and helpful along their way.

They travel between 20 and 25 kilometres a day depending on the horses and the weather.

“Every day is different,” said Venne.

And they don’t know on a daily basis where they will spend the night.

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