STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- An 80-year-old man in a cowboy hat was issued two criminal court summonses Monday after riding across the Outerbridge Crossing on horseback.

Tod L. Mishler of Ulster Park, N.Y., was hit with summonses for trespass and impeding traffic, according to a spokesman for the Port Authority Police Department.

Mishler caused a stir at approximately 11:15 a.m., when he brought traffic to a crawl while crossing the Staten Island-bound side of the span riding one horse, while pulling the reins of a second behind him.

A Port Authority Police car was dispatched to safely escort him over the bridge, but the slow pace of the horses brought traffic heading to the borough to a crawl.

There were also delays in the opposite direction, as shocked motorists slowed down to take a look at the spectacle.

Once on Staten Island, he was taken to a Port Authority Police facility where he was issued the summonses.

He left a few hours later with his horses, a Port Authority spokesman said, and was last seen talking to reporters on the shoulder of the West Shore Expressway.

Photo and video sent to the Advance and posted to social media show Mishler wearing a cowboy hat, a red kerchief, white long-sleeve shirt and brown vest and riding on a saddle.

He has long white hair and a beard with a dark mustache.



The saddle of the second horse had items attached to it.

Readers who contacted the Advance reported seeing him in parts of New Jersey on Sunday. One said she saw him riding in South Amboy.

Mishler, who goes by the nickname "Doc," is riding cross country, reportedly in an effort to raise money for childhood hunger.

This was hardly the first time he's drawn attention.

In March of last year, he was spotted riding his horses on the shoulder of a busy freeway in downtown Atlanta.

In September, the raised curiosity in Annapolis, Md., according to the Capital Gazette.

Last month he was spotted in Ocracoke, N.C.

A Facebook page has been set up where people can report sightings of the cowboy.