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Current Expeditions
"Take charge of your life and do dangerous things." George Lucas, film maker.
Lithuanian Long Rider Vaidotas Digaitis is on a journey around the Baltic Sea to the Arctic Circle and back. No one has attempted this difficult journey since a British and Danish Long Rider rode south from the Arctic Circle in 1954.
Katrina Littlechild is riding from John O'Groats to Lands End in the United Kingdom.
Long Rider Bernice Ende has already ridden 17,000 miles in the United States since 2005. She is now on her sixth journey, and is in Canada.
Sea G Rhydr is travelling from California to Maine in celebration of Messanie Wilkins and her trail-blazing spirit.
After being inspired by the legendary Swiss Long Rider, Aimé Tschiffely, Filipe Masetti Leite has set off on an historic journey from Toronto, Canada to his home in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Catherine Thompson has set off on her Long Ride across western Canada. She left from south central Saskatchewan and will complete her ride at Banff National Park. “I am a singer, musician and composer and I will be travelling with a few instruments. I hope to set up small intimate concerts as I go. House concerts and the like and perhaps set up talks as well if the opportunity arises. My work is focused on the disconnection between the modern industrial world and the wild natural world and my music reflects this deeply.”
After having ridden across Tunisia, Libya, Egypt and the Sudan, Billy Brenchley and Christine Henchie reached Uganda, where Billy became very ill and had to go to hospital in Johannesburg. For more information, please click here for Christy's first report, and here for her most recent message. Billy has now recovered, so the intrepid pair are back in Uganda ready to resume their journey.
Long Rider Jakki Cunningham wrote to The Guild to say, "The SLL (Sète Lorient London) White Horses charity is making another long ride from the South of France to England. This time, our escort vehicles will be western wagons, one of which will be drawn by 2 Franc Comtois and the other drawn by 2 Camargues. Another 5 Camargues will be used as riding horses by the young disadvantaged people we take with us. At the end of the project, we donate the horses to Riding for the Disabled Association and similar centres in France."
The iBex, an amazing pony-drawn chariot invented by Simon Mulholland, will be joining the SSL expedition in 2012. It was designed to take wheelchairs but can be driven by anyone. The iBex will allow a disabled veteran to drive this unique one man, pony drawn vehicle from the Camargue to London. For full details see here - or go to Simon's website.
After completing his ride from Spain to England, Irish Long Rider Steven O’Connor has set off to make the first modern ride to all four corners of Eire.
Orion Kraus is currently in Honduras, having set off on a ride from Vera Cruz to Panama.
Peter Ritz has begun his 6,000 kilometre ride from the bottom of Spain to the east of Germany. The accomplished Long Rider has already completed several other trips across Europe, most notably a journey from Görlitz to Rome. His longest ride to date is the ride to all the 4 outermost edges of Germany (3100 km).
Indefatigable Swiss Long Rider Jessica Bigler wrote to tell the LRG her latest news. "In 2010 I rode through Italy, where I met Antonietta and Dario. Then through Slovenia and Hungary. A huge epidemic of equine anaemia started in Romania, so I decided to turn back, not wishing to take risks for my own horses. I tried to enter Serbia but it cost too much money, too many blood tests for horses and dogs and only 1 month to go through so I decided to stay in Hungary for the winter.
I have built a horse-drawn caravan with my Hungarian boyfriend. In March 2012, we will start on foot with 3 horses. Gitan who will only follow, Amiral my pony will be packed and a new horse, Quipsa, a French trotter, will be packed too. We are going to walk from Switzerland through Italy, Slovenia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Greece. Then back to Hungary, where we will continue with the horse-drawn caravan and our two small horses. Then to Poland, the Baltic and then... we will see. I finally found someone like me, and we are planning to live the next few years on the road with our 3 horses and 2 dogs." Congratulations, Jessica - and please let us know how you get on.
Dominque van Eick, who previously rode from Germany to her home in Holland, is currently riding from Poland to the Netherlands.
Stella Banduhn and her husband are riding 1,700 kilometers from their home in Germany to Exmoor, England. Their route will take them through Belgium and France.
Noah Anderson and Sharalyn Hay have started their ride in Idaho and Montana.
Günter Wamser - who started his Long Ride in Patagonia - is now in the USA.
Ken Lee has started a Long Ride in his native Australia.
French Long Rider Stephane Pennac and Chilean Long Rider Marcela Munoz are riding across Patagonia, Chile and Argentina.
South African Long Rider Lloyd Gillespie has ridden nearly 6,000 kilometres in his epic journey around South Africa. He wrote to say, “We have ridden and camped through over 100mm's of rain the past 10 days. We and our equipment has been soaked and it has made camping challenging.”
Clay Clark is riding from Fayetteville, Arkansas to Petaluma, California.
To read about delightful long-term wagon journeys, please click here.
To read about Long Riders making non-equestrian journeys, please click here.