Stories from the Road

Tips on Travel

The Perils of Tech

The value of halting the normal routines of life and learning to reflect inwardly may seem out of step with a world where everything seems gauged towards immediacy. Others have noted this difficulty. After returning from his ride across a desolate part of Tibet, Leonard Clark wrote, “We moderns have lost the art of just living.” He issued that warning in 1950. Since then the world has grown more hectic, crowded, strident and intrusive. Technology is an ever-present feature in our everyday lives, with the culture of computers being self-proliferating, self-interested and self-consuming. These developments have had a furtive influence on equestrian travel as well. Whereas early Long Rider websites supplied information about the route and the mission, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter are encouraging people to become obsessed with themselves and seek constant feedback on their activities. Canadian Long Rider Chris MacLuckie has written a special article about the need to keep tech at a distance for the safety of the horse and the happiness of the Long rider.

That rare thing, the Road Horse
The term “Road Horse” was once commonly used to describe an equine capable of successfully completing extended journeys under a variety of conditions, across any type of country, in any type of weather. In 1847, author and equine travel expert, Rollo Springfield defined such an animal.

“The Road Horse is a strong, vigorous, active kind, capable of enduring great hardship; its stature rather low, seldom exceeding fifteen hands; the body round and compact; its limbs strong, sadly this breed has of late been neglected by those preferring fashion instead of utility.”

Comprehensive Hoof Boot Report

To Shoe or not to Shoe - an Everlasting Dilemma
The tradition of guarding horses’ hooves did not simultaneously originate alongside riding. In fact hoof protectors didn’t become essential until paved trails and hard roads began causing frequent damage to the animals’ feet. Thus it was the advent of artificial terrain, such as cobblestones and gravel, which helped stimulate early man’s research into equine foot security and even these initial attempts at horseshoeing were not practised for many centuries until after the horse himself was in general use.

Long Rider Safety in the 21^st Century

In 2013 the worst accident in the history of modern equestrian travel took the life of a female Long Rider, left her companion seriously wounded and gravely injured their horses. English Long Rider Christine Henchie, 29, was killed instantly by an out-of-control bus in Tanzania. Her fiancé, South African Long Rider Billy Brenchley, 43, escaped death by inches but suffered a broken leg.

That is why Meredith Cherry devoted so much time and effort to locate and obtain a set of equipment which would dramatically improve the margin of safety for her and her horse, Apollo.

Meredith is the first woman to attempt to ride to the 48 states in the continental USA. She spent two years carefully preparing her route and studying equestrian travel history. The result of Meredith’s research is a set of equipment that makes the Long Rider and Road Horse highly visible to drivers. Meredith’s article provides photographs which show the equipment that is keeping her and Apollo safe during their 10,000 mile journey.

Across Europe on Horseback - Border Nightmares and Fairytale Hospitality

Beginning in 1993 Italian Long Riders Antonietta Spizzo and Dario Masarotti made multiple journeys across Europe and Russia. They provide an accurate description of the horrors of crossing borders on horseback, balanced by the joys of travelling through Europe and enjoying the local hospitality.

Crossing International Borders
After being inspired by the legendary Swiss Long Rider, Aimé Tschiffely, Filipe Leite set off in 2012 on an historic journey from Toronto, Canada to his home in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Even though Filipe knew he would face many challenges, he had not realized that one of the terrible obstacles which had hampered “Tschiffely’s Ride” was waiting to threaten his own progress. In his alarming article, “Nightmare at the Border,” Filipe explains how crossing international boundaries was the most difficult hazard encountered during his epic ride.

Nightmare on the Bridge
Australian Long Rider Tim Cope set off in 2004, determined to make a 6,000 mile solo journey from Mongolia to Hungary. He endured many hardships but crossing a bridge in Kazakhstan brought Tim and his horses face to face with death and disaster.

Tunnels and Bridges
In the summer of 2017 David, Stacia, and Teresa Nahachewsky began a journey from Alberta to British Columbia, Canada. After riding 1,600 kilometres (1000 miles), the Long Rider family had encountered bad bugs, endured harsh weather and avoided dangerous traffic. But waiting up ahead were a series of Bridges and Tunnels that tested the bravery of horses and humans.

Traffic – The Long Rider’s Nightmare
Roger Dunnam set off in 1988 to ride from Wisconsin to Kentucky. What should have been a quiet journey became a narrow escape from death, when Roger and his horse were intentionally hit in a deliberate act of road rage.

The Horse is Sick
As a child Evelyne Coquet’s dreams had been filled with images of her medieval equestrian hero, French nobleman Duke Godfrey de Bouillon, who had ridden from Paris to Jerusalem during the First Crusade. By the age of twenty-three Evelyne was an accomplished horsewoman ready to follow her wandering star. Thus she set out in 1974 to make preparations for the journey of a lifetime. Believing that a trouble shared is a trouble halved, she enlisted her nineteen-year-old sister, Corinne, to accompany her. It was no gentle pony trek the Coquet sisters were undertaking. Starting from the cathedral of Notre Dame, their route was to cross nine countries, some fiercely at war, take them across more than 6,000 kilometres of dangerous roads, lead them through gruelling deserts and over storm-covered mountains during winter conditions. Yet Evelyne soon discovered that the dream of equestrian adventure is a great deal different from the rough realities of the road.

Davenport’s Dog
It is a common idea. Why not take a dog along when you set off on an equestrian journey? Homer Davenport loved dogs. So when he made a journey into the Ottoman Empire in 1906, in search of the best pure-bred Arabian horses, Davenport decided that his expedition needed a canine companion. As this special Story from the Road explains, life doesn’t always go the way we planned, as Davenport and other dog-owning Long Riders have learned.

Wolves and Long Riders
In 1910 an account was published which described how an equestrian traveller was attacked by wolves, while riding through the Carpathian Mountains.

Condors over Cuzco
Ana Beker encountered a tremendous number of hazards during her 17,000 mile ride from Argentina to Canada in 1952. In one infamous incident which occurred in the Andes Mountains, Beker’s horses were attacked by condors.

Reality versus Romance