Pablo Lapasset
A few days ago I read my seven-year- old son, Ignacio (left), the story of how nine-year-old Lennie Gwyther rode 1,000 kilometres across Australia in 1932. The night before, I myself had read the incredible story of the Cossack Long Rider, Alexandra Kudasheva, who rode alone across Siberia twice. I was shocked by her leadership as an active officer during the First World War. These two stories are just part of the knowledge that the Long Riders’ Guild offers to people like me, who share an interest in horses, history, nature, horseback travelling and all its common areas.
At the same time I have just finished reading “The Victorian Horse World” and almost every night I read Ignacio a chapter of “Gato y Mancha,” I learned about these books thanks to the Long Riders’ Guild, and because they are not available in Argentine bookshops, purchased them via an international bookshop.
Thanks to technology, it is amazing how you can become informed if you search in the correct place. Knowledge acquired on-line, and via traditional printed books, came into my world thanks to the Long Riders’ Guild. It is because of their efforts that we are able to obtain this information here at home in the pampas of Argentina. But someone has to undertake the hard work of compiling all this wisdom and it is the LRG that does this duty.
Another very important task the Guild accomplishes is the collection and distribution of stories about our equestrian past. These tales are saved from vanishing and are transmitted to a younger generation of riders and dreamers. This important work is a link between the past and future and will be appreciated by our sons and grandchildren.
These various types of equestrian knowledge represent an element of recreation and education for my children and me. By becoming informed about current Long Riders and historic rides from the past, we dream about our own expedition in the future. For all I have tried to explain I say “Thank You!” Your hard work is really valuable to us and I hope at least some of your aims are covered in knowing we appreciate all your efforts.