Our Mission

The Ponies North Mission is to bring national attention to the dire crisis of veteran suicide and the precarious situation of thousands of wild mustangs on federal lands. This venture is not just about awareness but action. It aims to bring healing to both veterans and mustangs while creating a positive, mutually beneficial relationship through innovative equine assisted therapy programs.

Our Purpose

Ponies North fulfills a modern-day goal to be first riders to cross the country south to north on horseback after already having crossed the country east to west. Simultaneously, we focus on the plight of the removal of over 70,000 mustangs that live on federal lands while highlighting unique equine assisted therapy programs that match wild mustangs with veterans.

In 1986, Jeff Pappas, his best friend Chet, and their trusty helper Preacher Dave set a world record by riding on horseback East to West across the entire United States. They were chased by bears, bison, dogs, and scoundrels.

38 years later, with Chet, Dave, and their original four legged friends now all riding wild in heaven, Jeff is assembling a new team to help him fulfill his promise to Chet:

Ride across the country again. This time, South to North. This will not be a ride for the faint of heart, spirit, or physical condition. Our team will travel approximately 20 miles a day, facing rugged terrain, desert heat, thunderstorms & flash floods, sleeping under the stars, and seldom use of modern facilities. The riders will face these hardships and struggles of humanity together.

Our Journey

Our Team

  • Jeff Pappas

    CEO/President Ponies North Inc.

    Jeff Pappas is a successful entrepreneur who’s held executive positions with multiple growth brands over the past 30 years; Ponies West was his first book. Murphy Hooker is an award-winning screenwriter and ghostwriter of more than a dozen published books, including two books for New York Times bestselling authors.

    In 2013 Jeff received an award along with close friend and associate, NFL Hall of Famer Franco Harris for their work with veterans and Soldiers Angels (www.soldiersangels.org). Jeff and Franco were honored together at the Soldiers Angels annual gala.

    In late 2020, Jeff's book, Ponies West, www.ponieswest.com a story about his 1986 cross-country horseback trip with his best friend Chet, was published by Sunbury Publishing. Jeff has received two book awards for his work.

    Jeff is also a member of the elite The Long Riders Guild, a world-wide group renowned for long distance riding.

  • Marc Marrone

    Tapping into nearly 20 years of experience earned at world-class restaurants across the country, Chef Marc Marrone brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to Nice Hospitality.

    Marc Marrone started his impressive career with training at the French Culinary Institute and spent his early years learning and drawing career inspiration from industry leading chefs like Daniel Boulud, Dan Barber and Jacque Pepin before joining TAO Group for what became a near 13-year career, starting as the chef at TAO Restaurant in New York City.

    Young, eager and inspired, Marrone left TAO Group in 2018 and set out to build a restaurant empire of his own. In 2019, he successfully launched two of his own original concepts, Graffiti Bao and Gemma Gemma Pizza, in Las Vegas. He merged companies with his now business partner, Reed Slobusky, in 2020. Together they own and operate SkinnyFats, Graffiti Bao in Las Vegas along with HallPass food hall and Snowmobile Pizza in Salt Lake City. Plans are underway to expand these concepts nationally, along with their other restaurant brands, SkinnyFATS and Italian Graffiti,under the newly formed Nice Hospitality.

  • Michael Pappas

    Michael is United States Army vet who served 4 years in the 3rd Infanry Division out of Fort Stewart, Georgia. He was deployed to Iraq from January 2007 to April of 2008 where he was tasked with over 150 combat missions.

    He worked in the food and beverage industry for over 10 years including owning a doughnut shop in Las Vegas, called The Original Doughnut Bar. He has also worked with many different veterans organizations including Soldiers Angels and Veteran Outdoors. He currently owns his own marketing and branding company where he specializes in website design and social media outreach.

Our Sponsors