Man on horseback takes a stand on Afghanistan
No, your eyes did not deceive you â a man on horseback wearing a cowboy hat was protesting the war in Afghanistan near Westview Promenade on Friday afternoon.Howard "Cowboy" Wooldridge, drew a lot of attention from drivers passing through the intersection of Buckeystown Pike and Crestwood Boulevard. If attention is what Wooldridge wanted, he received plenty of it by holding a large white poster that read "Get out of Afghanistan" while saddled on his horse.
"We got about 20 thumbs up to every flick of the bird," he said.
Wooldridge, 60, and his horse Misty stationed themselves for about three hours on a grassy patch near Westview Promenade.
"Today was the perfect day," Wooldridge said of Friday's weather.
This is the third time this year Wooldridge has protested in the same spot; he said he planned to return in December.
"This is just my little personal thing," he said.
He supported uprisings against the Vietnam War and remembers being jailed for protesting. Now, he is asking Frederick residents to take a stand and speak to government officials about ending the war in Afghanistan.
"To me this is Vietnam, Part 2, the war without end," he said.
By day, Wooldridge works as a lobbyist against drug prohibition on Capitol Hill. Before becoming a lobbyist, he said he served as a police detective in Michigan. He is also one of five founders of an organization called Law Enforcement Against Prohibition.
Wooldridge said he deemed himself a cowboy in 2005 after riding Misty from Los Angeles to New York City -- a 3,700 mile journey on horseback.
An unshakable horse
Wooldridge chooses to protest on horseback with Misty for two reasons -- she is an attention-grabber, and Misty gets him off his feet during his multi-hour protest.
"She is pretty much a bomb-proof horse," he said.
Misty, an 18-year-old pinto, lives in an Adamstown stable with 50 other horses when she is not out protesting with Wooldridge.
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"She is pretty much a bomb-proof horse," he said. Misty, an 18-year-old pinto, lives in an Adamstown stable with 50 other horses when she is not out protesting with Wooldridge. Vehicles sometimes slow down in an effort to avoid spooking Misty while
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