A message from the Long Riders Guild
Dear Jenni,
CuChullaine O'Reilly of The Long Riders' Guild here. Thank you for taking my unexpected telephone call yesterday. It was great fun discussing your plans to promote equestrian travel in the UK and it is in regards to this mutual equestrian passion that I am writing you today.
First, if you feel it appropriate please post this email on your website for the benefit of your readers.
As I explained on the phone, The Long Riders' Guild is the first international association of equestrian explorers and long distance travellers. We have Members in 34 countries, all of whom have ridden at least one thousand miles on an equestrian journey.
Some of our Members include - Catherine Waridel, of Switzerland, who rode 8,000 miles alone from the Crimea to Mongolia - Gene Glasscock, of the USA, who rode 12,000 miles from the Arctic Circle to the Equator - and Vladimir Fissenko, of Russia, who rode 19,000 miles from the tip of Patagonia to the top of Alaska.
However, The Guild is proudly represented in the UK too.
Our Members there include - Scotish Long Riders George Patterson, who rode across the Himalayas in the winter of 1949 and Gordon Naysmith, who rode 14,000 miles from South Africa to Austria - Welsh Long Riders Jeremy James, who rode from Turkey to Wales, and Christina Dodwell, who made the first horse trip across Papua New Guinea - and English Long Riders Robin Hanbury-Tenison, who rode from Spain to Cornwall and Stephen McCutcheon, who is currently riding 10,000 kilometers from Delhi, India to Beijing, China.
The mounted achievements of all these equestrian travellers can be viewed at The Long Riders' Guild website. At one thousand pages, and still growing, The Guild's website contains the largest collection of equestrian travel wisdom ever seen. The website contains equipment reviews, information about Current Expeditions, Stories from the Road, etc. It is a commercial free treasure trove of Long Rider history and knowledge and may be viewed via this link - www.thelongridersguild.com
Moreover, The Guild maintains its own publishing company. Known as Horse Travel Books, this unique effort showcases the Long Riders Literary Collection. The collection includes more than one hundred of the most important equestrian travel books ever written, the first set of which was presented to the library of the Royal Geographical Society last March. The books are available in five languages and may be viewed via this link - www.horsetravelbooks.com
As I explained in our phone call, The Long Riders' Guild was organized to assist people to undertake a life changing equestrian journey. Consequently, we were very pleased to learn about the efforts being made by the Equine Ramblers to help spread this important equestrian message in the UK. As always, The Guild is ready to offer our assistance to any would-be Long Rider, be it to ride for example from Land's End John's O'Groat, or perhaps something more adventurous, such as young Tim Cope, who is currently riding 8,000 miles alone from Mongolia to Hungary in the hoofprints of Genghis Khan.
Regardless of where you want to ride, The Guild is ready to help you. Any of your readers who needs technical assistance can contact The Guild for free advice.
Which brings up your idea, Jenni, of trying to create a network of sympathetic B&Bs, horse riders, kindly neighbors, path protectors, etc., on to your unique website.
This is a real act of community kindness, one which the greater British equestrian world should be more aware of. With your permission, I would like to draw attention to your efforts by contacting one of The Guild's equestrian editor friends in London. Perhaps this magazine could be enticed into writing a story about your efforts?
Finally, I was a little surprised to learn that you had not heard of the books written by Richard Barnes and some of the other British Long Rider authors. Therefore, in the spirit of equestrian friendship, we are writing to make you and your readers a special offer.
The Long Riders' Guild would like to offer ten free equestrian travel books to you and your readers. If you and four readers would like contact us, we will allow you to each pick out an equestrian travel classic about riding in the UK, as well as any title about riding in a foreign clime, which each of you like. In this way each reader will receive two free books, and the works of England's greatest equestrian writers will be spread via the good offices of your readers.
If you go to the Horse Travel Books website, you will see that the titles are listed in geographical order. So do please browse through these fine books and make your decisions. As we say here at The Long Riders' Guild. "Read the book, get in the saddle and explore the world."
In closing, we look forward to hearing from you again, Jenni, and hope that together the Equine Ramblers and the Long Riders can convince people to ride out of the ring and head towards the horizon.
Best wishes Saddle Pals, CuChullaine
Please contact us should you have any questions.
Jenni