Ernie Runge lives in the same town as me and when this story ran in a local paper I decided that I would share it. With gas prices so high, he has decided horseback riding may be a good way to get his errands done and who can blame him.
These days everyone is looking for a way to cut down on their fuel costs and one Douglassville man is relying on authentic horsepower to do the trick.
“I’ve done this a number of times probably for the last year and especially now that the gas prices are up,” Ernie Runge said of riding horseback to do his errands.
Runge, atop his horse Red Corner Rose, took a ride to National Penn Bank in Douglassville Friday with friends Bryan McIntyre and Lindsay Radies, both of Birdsboro.
“My buddies and I usually go horseback riding on a Friday,” Runge said, so he’s paired his rides with getting errands done.
After going to the bank Friday “we stopped at the Douglassville Hotel and had a beer,” Runge said.
A native of the local area, Runge, who owns Holiday Stables, said he’s been riding horses since he was about 12 years old. These days the 63-year-old said he rides about four or five times a week.
He enjoys riding trails throughout the local area, including the Thun Trail, but riding his horses to the grocery store, to the local bar or the bank often gets more looks and comments from people.
“We’ll get comments of ‘How many miles do you get per gallon of oats,'” Runge said.
The bank tellers at the drive thru all come up to the window to get a glimpse of him on his horse, and when he decides to use a vehicle to go to the bank they ask when he’s bringing the horse back.
Runge said he’s never gotten any negative comments or been given a hard time for riding his horses to places like the bank or the supermarket.
“I’ve never had any grief but I certainly know better than to ride down (Route) 422,” he said. “We’re cautious. We want to make sure we’re alive to do it the next day.”
Runge said he rides any chance he can get, but cutting back on fuel cost is certainly an incentive to do it for more practical things.
“I would probably do it anyway to be honest with you,” he said of riding his horse to complete chores, “but it is because of this gas crunch that we find we’re doing it more often.”
Runge explained that not all horses are suited for riding on the road or near lots of people or traffic. But his horse Red Corner Rose does.
Anyone else who thinks they’d like to ride horseback around town needs to “definitely make sure they have the quiet, gentle, thoughtful horse that’s going to accept the traffic” and other distractions, Runge said.
If the price of gasoline were to miraculously drop tomorrow, Runge said he’d still likely keep riding his horses as often as he does now.
“We enjoy doing it,” he said of horseback riding, speaking for himself and his friends. “It’s a passion. It’s my life.”
