Friendship Wagon Train heading out on yearly ride for Special Olympics

The Friendship Wagon Train heads out for the 36^th year on Saturday, June 22, according to Wagon Master John Davis. The train is raising funds for the Minnesota Special Olympics.

This year’s event will have 18-20 wagon teams taking part with horseback riders coming from as far as Alabama and Louisiana, Davis said.

The exact route of the wagon train through southeastern Minnesota changes each year. This year the train will assemble at Gamehaven Scout Reservation in Rochester on June 21. The route will go through Dodge County with the group camping overnight on Saturday, June 22, at the Donley farm, located about one-and-a-half miles northeast of the South Zumbro Lutheran Church, south of Byron. They expect to arrive around 3 p.m. and group members will eat supper at South Zumbro, sponsored by Thrivent Financial.

The group will break camp between 8 and 9 a.m. on Sunday morning, June 23, and will stop at the Field Crest Care Center in Hayfield at noon for lunch put on by the American Legion Auxiliary in Hayfield.

From Hayfield they head to Blooming Prairie to camp overnight and on Monday will travel to Litomysl for lunch and then on to Hope.

Tuesday, June 25, will be a layover day in Hope where there will be an informal auction, Davis said, where donated items will be sold, and all proceeds donated to Special Olympics. They head out again on Wednesday, June 26, and continue through Waldorf and Mapleton to Good Thunder where the final ceremony will be on Saturday, June 29.

At the final ceremony, officials from Special Olympics will greet the group and donations collected will be presented to them. In the past, the Wagon Train has raised between $20,000 and $25,000 each year for Special Olympics.

The wagon train normally travels around 20 miles each day, although they have gone as far as 27 miles to their next campsite, Davis said. They take a break every two to two-and-a-half hours on the route to give the horses and the group a break. This year, Davis said, the route is fairly flat but other years it has included hills which are harder on the horses.

Davis said he will be driving a team of seven-year-old Belgian horses and his wife, Monica, will also be driving a team. He added it is a family activity for them as their son and two grandchildren will also be part of the group.

The wagon train travels on black top and gravel roads and avoids traveling on busy highways, Davis said. He added they also get good cooperation from the Olmsted and Dodge County Sheriff’s Departments and from the local police departments in the towns they travel through.

At each stop, the public is invited to stop, see the variety of wagons, horses, and mules and visit with the wagon train drivers and riders. Souvenirs are also available at the Wagon’s Train’s Peddler Wagon.

For more information contact Davis at 507-365-8064.