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Equestrian Travel Hall of Shame
"Let no man violate his word, for
if they do, I will bring remorse to the tongues of liars."
Genghis Khan.
Every field of human endeavour has its imposters and outlaws and unfortunately equestrian travel is no exception. But at the dawn of the twenty-first century, and with the availability of the Internet, those who lied about their exploits can hide no longer. We believe that with the advent of the Internet and the birth of The Long Riders' Guild, in the future nobody will be able to pretend to have achieved the "first" or the "longest" or the "fastest" equestrian journey.
The Long Riders' Guild is not about the idle boasting of a lightning-flash crossing of a continent. So, though our members have set an assortment of world records during the course of their equestrian travels, we do not encourage anyone to brag about a needless quest for kilometers as a justification for their existence.
Nor will the Guild tolerate the concept embodied in the Hungarian word lóháldl, which stated that the horse was expendable. Whereas in the past horses were ridden with utter ruthlessness, often to their deliberate death, Long Riders are committed to protecting the welfare of their animals.
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The greatest equestrian travel rogue of all time was Frank Hopkins.
He claimed to have ridden from Germany to Mongolia in "a few days," to have been the world's greatest endurance racer, hero of the Old West, star of Buffalo Bill's Wild West show and friend of such diverse and well-known characters as Sitting Bull, Billy the Kid and Queen Victoria.
Nearly 80 historians disagree with every single one of his preposterous claims. Click here to learn the truth about Frank T. Hopkins. |
Click on photo to enlarge. |
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Valerii Popov has made the most disgraceful ride of modern times. In a 2008 journey from the Ural mountains of his native Russia, towards Paris, Popov inflicted so much damage on his two horses that one veterinarian warned that the rogue was riding the horses to death. It was agony, the vet declared, for the horses to be moved, much less ridden, any further. This is in stark contrast to the legendary Cossack Long Rider, Lieutenant Mikhaïl Vassilievitch Asseyev, who made a ride in 1889 of nearly 2,000 non-stop kilometres from Kiev to Paris. Upon reaching the newly constructed Eiffel Tower, Asseyev’s horses were in such wonderful condition that the French Society for the Protection of Animals awarded this Russian Long Rider a gold medal in appreciation of his brilliant horsemanship. Popov's scandalous trip, however, inspired unprecedented international outrage. When they learned of the calculated cruelty of the man, the original Russian sponsors of the journey revoked all ties to Popov, while the German-Russian Friendship Association, which initially supported the ride, vehemently denounced Popov. Though international equestrian relief agencies had failed to halt Popov, Long Riders, veterinarians and equine rescue officials in Russia, Poland, Germany, France, England and the United States, worked together to halt the cruel journey in Germany. After narrowly avoiding arrest in that country, Popov’s onward journey was agreed to be terminated, after Russian diplomats and German veterinarians decided to release the rider, and return his horses, if he would drive them back to Russia in a trailer. In a stunning act of personal betrayal to his country’s diplomats who trusted him, Popov spirited the horses into France instead. Unlike the glorious Asseyev, who rode into Paris like the hero that he was, Popov secretly off-loaded the suffering animals in a parking lot, then posed with them in front of the Eiffel Tower. Given the calculated cruelty and deliberate deception involved in this ghastly mockery of a journey, The Long Riders’ Guild is declaring Valerii Popov an international equestrian travel outlaw. Though often depicted bedecked with a chest full of medals, no glittering awards can hide the shame attached to this repugnant villain who has disgraced Russia’s otherwise glorious equestrian traditions. |
Popov at the start of his journey. Click on either photo to enlarge.
Popov at the Eiffel Tower in Paris
Richard Fipps misled the public regarding a ride he
supposedly made from Centre, Alabama to Vernal, Utah in 2002. He was later
discovered to have perpetrated a deliberate equestrian travel hoax regarding a
second ride he allegedly made from Mexicali, Mexico to Alberta, Canada in 2005.
A number of reporters verified the fact that though Fipps claimed to be in the
saddle, the phony Christian cowboy was actually caught at his home in Las Vegas,
Nevada. For more information, please click here. |
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Bronco Charlie Miller rode from New York to San
Francisco in 1931 on his horse, Pole Star. However, Miller is not a
Historical Member of The Long Riders' Guild because he boasted of having ridden
two horses to death in the late 1880s during a six-day long horse versus
bicycle race in London. |
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Count Moric Sandor, of Hungary, was known as the
Devil's Horseman. During the early years of the 19th century, Sandor took
every opportunity to abuse the horses under his saddle by racing them against
a steamboat on the river Danube and pitting them against impossible odds over
extreme distances. One Hungarian officer of the time complained that Sandor
had "killed enough horses to mount a regiment." The drawing depicts the
infamous horseman in the midst of "Sandor's Leap."
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Daniel Defoe (1660-1731) |
English pamphleteer, journalist and author of
Robinson Crusoe (published in 1719), Defoe was considered the founder of
the English novel. Before his time, stories were usually written as long
poems or dramas. Defoe produced romantic adventures in what we now recognise
as the novel. The son of a London tradesman, before he became a writer Defoe
plunged into politics at an early age and was involved in an unsuccessful
rebellion against King James II. The author of Robinson Crusoe also
wrote hundreds of political articles, one of which landed him in prison.
In the 1720s Defoe had ceased to be politically
controversial in his writings. He produced several historical works,
including A Tour through the whole Island of Great Britain
(1724-1727, three volumes), without leaving London! Defoe later admitted he
had "fibbed a bit" in regards to his phantom equestrian journey.
He continued his streak of literary hoaxing by
publishing The History of the Great Plague in London. The writer had
indeed lived through the plague, but what he did not reveal to his readers was
that when it occurred in 1665 he was only five years old!
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Click on photo to enlarge.
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Francois Xavier Aubry was the notorious French-Canadian horse-killer whose legacy of equestrian infamy has been largely misinterpreted by the pedestrian media, both past and present, who prefer to depict the small hard-riding man as a saddle-borne hero, instead of the cold-blooded savage which he was. In the late winter of 1848 Aubrey left Santa Fe on horseback for Independence, Missouri. A hard man, Aubrey was not one to concern himself about the welfare of his mounts - along the way he rode to death a good saddle horse and three mules. As soon as Aubrey accomplished his business in Independence, he returned to Santa Fe in late spring. Once his business was completed there, he announced that he was determined to make the return journey to Independence in only eight days. However on this journey he very nearly lost his life to Indians who took his horse and what belongings and food he carried. Aubrey later recalled how he managed to escape and walked forty miles before he was able to obtain another mount. When he finally arrived in Independence, Aubrey had missed his mark by only ten hours. Nevertheless he claimed that allowing for time lost along the way he had actually made the long ride in seven days. Again Aubrey had abused his mounts mercilessly, and the cruel toll this time was six horses dead and half a dozen more left permanently wounded. The news of Aubrey's accomplishments soon spread across the plains and upon returning to his old haunts in Santa Fe, Aubry offered to wager $1,000 that he could make the ride in six days. He boasted, "I'd kill every horse along the trail before I'd lose that thousand dollar bet.” Yet it was the murderous rider who died instead, stabbed to death in a bar brawl in 1854. Sadly Aubry’s deplorable record of equestrian abuse was resurrected in 2007 by the organizers of an endurance race calling itself “The Great Santa Fe Trail Horse Race.” Offering a prize of $100,000, the organizers praised the diminutive horse killer, saying, “Aubry was just one of those driven characters who wanted to do things bigger, better and faster than anyone else.” The Long Riders’ Guild believes that holding Aubry up as a role model is an act of journalistic naivety and equestrian folly.
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In order to accomplish his goal of riding across Mongolia from east to west in no more than 90 days, Neale Irons made a catastrophic journey in the summer of 2010. Irons originally set off with two inexperienced American tourists who had received “five minutes training” in the saddle. On the first day of their journey, Irons became separated from his companions, which resulted in him being lost on the steppes for three days . Soon afterwards, he determined to proceed alone, using two native horses to carry his saddle and gear . Because he hoped to travel 2500 kilometres in record time, the 176 pound rider rode the small Mongolian horses extremely hard. Upon arriving outside the capital of Ulan Bator, an eyewitness stated that the two horses were so thirsty they could not eat. Upon observing the condition of the thirsty animals, this Mongolian immediately drove twenty-five kilometres to get water from a well and bring it back to the distressed animals. In addition to being dehydrated, both horses were extremely thin and one of them was suffering from saddle sores which have been described as unbelievable. A witness described Iron’s saddle blanket as "a putrid piece of carpet." Another eyewitness said the horse’s injuries were, "the size of dinner plates and going to the bone." In addition to these open wounds, the injured horse was also being eaten alive by insects. According to an official statement, "I could see the bones and there were hundreds of worms (insects)." Despite its injuries, local Mongolian horsemen were prepared to purchase the injured animal and nurse it back to health. Fearing that he would lose money, Irons decided instead to sell the injured horse to a local salami factory.
“I sold one horse for meat in Ulan Bator,” Irons wrote to the Guild on
January 8, 2011. Once again Irons set off, however this time his journey was eventually concluded by the country’s inhospitable landscape. “Trek ended 8km from most westerly point on Mongolian border when shrubs became too thick to get through,” Irons wrote to the Guild. Under Great Britain's Riding Establishment Act, it is an offence for any person to use a horse in the course of riding to cause the animal to suffer from a defect of such a nature as to be apparent on inspection. While the Long Riders' Guild does not have the ability to enforce legislation, we will not tolerate the presence of a person who incorporates a horse into a deceptive, unethical or criminal act. Nor will the Guild condone or sponsor any expedition that subjects its mounts to needless suffering. The Guild can however can warn the public of the unacceptable behaviour of people who abuse, injure or kill their horses, because of intentional neglect or cruelty, during an equestrian journey. In such cases the names of the person is placed in the Guild's Hall of Shame. Consequently, the name of Neale Irons has been listed here as well. Additionally, Long Riders reported this case to the Mongolian authorities. Ironically, at the same time Irons was making his ride, three young men were attempting to make a difficult ride along the length of the Rocky Mountains. “We are not doing this for fame or glory, but only to run against the grain of modern society, to reach back and hold on to values and traditions that have bonded all horse-people since the beginning of time. I only hope that we will prove ourselves worthy of the title ‘Long Rider,’" wrote Parker Flannery. These are concepts which eluded Irons. Instead he turned the journey into a publicized stunt wherein ego and public acclaim become more important than the horse-human relationship. One cannot reduce equestrian travel to that of a product. It is never a jar of jam or a dossier of dust-covered facts ready to be presented for scientific inspection. At the heart of the matter is the mutual journey carried out by two sympathetic beings, a Long Rider and a Road Horse. That is why it is never the ultimate mileage that matters. The miles never blind us. What is at stake in every journey is the fact that there can be no honour in making the journey unless it has been achieved with justice. One must end the journey with an upright heart and a happy horse. If we could call an International Tribunal of Equestrian Conscience, Irons would no doubt be charged. As it stands, regardless of the miles he rode, Irons is disqualified from applying for Membership in the Long Riders' Guild as he requested. One of The Guild's primary purposes is to ensure that the travelling horse is never deliberately abused, for as any Long Rider knows, to break the trust of a horse is to invoke a curse. That is why it is said that the souls of horses will rise in judgment against unmerciful riders. Perhaps that is what will happen to the man who inflicted such treatment on his horses?
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Neale Irons in Mongolia.
Irons horse stopped by impassable brush before the border.
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