The Long Riders' Guild

Violation of Copyright

At 2,000 pages, and still growing, and after having been viewed by more three million visitors, The Long Riders' Guild is humanity's primary source of equestrian travel wisdom and history.  Safeguarded within its electronic walls is a veritable treasure-trove of mankind's equestrian-related activities.  As such, The Guild's resources, stories and images are in need of respect and protection. 

The Long Riders' Guild site (www.thelongridersguild.com) and its associated websites (www.lrgaf.org, www.aimetschiffely.org, www.thomashope.org.uk, www.horsetravelbooks.com, www.classictravelbooks.com  and www.theworldride.org) are commercial-free.  These academic websites encourage visitors to look, learn and share their contents.  Many scientists and students have used material from these sites, and they always have the good manners to put a link back to whichever page they have referenced.  Likewise, journalists frequently write to The Guild to ask for permission to use a quote or an image from one of the LRG sites.  It is always The Guild's policy and pleasure to assist anyone who wishes to further the goals of equestrian education.

For information about the legalities of copyrights and bandwidth thefts, please click here.

It was therefore a most unpleasant surprise to learn that several websites and blogs contained material unmistakably taken from the LRG sites, for which permission had neither been requested or granted - nor had the writers had the courtesy to put links to the LRG sites in question.  For example, one blogger boasted about being a regional editor of the oldest equestrian magazine in America.  She actually had the gall to claim that her blog gave her freedom to express her "literary creativity", yet the best parts of that blog had been systematically looted from The Guild!  Not only did this theft include copyrighted materials, original historical research and rare photographs, but in addition the literary pirate purloined an entire story commissioned by The Guild and written by the best-selling Long Rider author, Jeremy James.

It was because of the brazen nature and magnitude of this theft on an unprecedented scale that The LRG has decided to humiliate publicly such unethical people.  It  is all the more ironic when one considers the fact that The Long Riders' Guild Academic Foundation recently commissioned and published the world's most accurate Equestrian Writers Guide.  Though this valuable educational resource provides authors, journalists and film-makes with a wealth of equestrian wisdom, the LRGAF could not have foreseen the need to publish a section on the principles of Ethical Equestrian Journalism.  We are therefore rectifying this oversight by publishing this page.

As and when these examples come to light, the name of the plagiarist, the purloined material, as well as the original LRG source, will be provided to the public. We would urge the thousands of visitors who routinely follow the activities of the Long Riders, as well as their educational efforts, to express their concerns to the individuals noted on this Plagiarist Page.