The Long Riders' Guild

Stories from the Road

History

 

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Horses in Submarines: A Transportation Nightmare
Seldom, if ever, have historians given any notice to the fact that submarines were used as transportation platforms for the transferring of combat horses during World War I. It was a conflict permeated by the transition of war technologies: from observation balloons to combat airplanes, from a surface navy to an underwater fleet, and from horse mounted cavalry and infantry to an all mechanized force centred about a new tool of war: the main battle tank. Such was the case in the battle for the Dardanelles, most commonly known as the Battle of Gallipoli.
 

The History of Equestrian Travel
Have you never wanted to get in the saddle and head for the horizon?  Don’t you remember the first time you understood the freedom which the horse offered you? You are not alone!
If you are thinking of turning your back on the security of home to make an equestrian journey, you are already part of an ancient phenomenon. As this article about the history of equestrian travel explains, the desire to explore the world on horse back has nothing to do with money, religion, gender, language or nationality.
 
In Search of Equestrian Freedom
 The story behind the founding of The Long Riders' Guild includes this quote. “I am a Long Rider, one of a handful of men and women upholding a 6,000 year old tradition of nomadic equestrian travel. But before you ask what the Long Riders are, let me tell you what they are not. In this age of anonymous air travel Long Riders are not tourists, trail riders or ring riders. They are the equestrian equivalent of saddle borne astronauts, a tiny, hardy band of risk takers and wisdom seekers. They are unlike tourists, who expend their energy coveting vast mileage yet see nothing more meaningful on their journeys than post cards and casual impressions. Long Riders know better than to become obsessed with finding their destination on a map. They inherit from their horse borne ancestors the knowledge that all maps are flat-faced liars save that sacred document called your heart.”
 

Preserving Equestrian Travel

Man’s pedestrian heritage is in no danger of being forgotten. The legendary route known as the “Inca Trail” in South America is one example.  It is a thousand years old and approximately six thousand kilometres (four thousand miles) long.  Because it is one of the oldest pedestrian trails, it is one of UNESCO’s World Heritage sites.

But this trail was created and used by pedestrians, not horsemen.

This article describes the importance of preserving equestrian travel.

 
Long Distance Riders in the 21st Century
 Will equestrian travel continue in an increasingly motorized age? Cristiano Pereira, a reporter for Portugal’s leading newspaper, Jornal de Notícias, interviewed half a dozen equestrian explorers from five countries to find out. This excellent in-depth investigation received an overwhelming positive public response in Portugal and revealed why the lure of Long Riding will endure.

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