Beginning in 2012 the Guild began actively monitoring how changing climatic conditions were having an adverse affect on equestrian travel. Eyewitness accounts gathered by Long Riders confirming hostile weather and environmental hazards appeared in The Encyclopaedia of Equestrian Exploration. Adverse weather events and horse-killing droughts have subsequently resulted in the creation of a new section on the Guild’s Academic Foundation website. The new Environmental Research project has been launched with the publication of an important Ecological Evaluation of Wild Horse Herds written by Craig Downer. Having inspected more than thirty wild horse and burro herds, his illustrated report reveals how the equine habitats are at risk. (Photo of Cerbat mustang mare and foal copyright Craig Downer,)
 

The Temenos Academy, whose mission is to acknowledge that spirituality is a prime need for humanity, invited Jeremy to present a lecture which explained how the horse became defined as a divinely inspired instructor of mankind. The image depicts the constellations Pegasus and Equuleus. READ MORE...

Czech Long Rider Dalibor Balut carried the Guild flag across Eastern Europe on his fourth journey. A new documentary film shows the beautiful country he rode through.

In 2019 American Long Rider Ashley Parson and French Long Rider Quentin Boehm set off to pioneer the “Trans-Albanian Trail.” Riding 800 kilometres from south to north allowed them to obtain excellent information about this ancient, interesting and hospitable nation. Their special report appears in the Guild’s “How to Ride” collection.

In 2005 American Long Rider Bernie Harberts set off on his first equestrian journey. During that “ocean to ocean” trip Bernie encountered an emergency when his mule, Woody, lost a shoe. The resourceful Long Rider resolved the situation by creating an emergency hoof boot (left) made from “duct tape wrapped around inner tubes.” In the subsequent years Bernie has made many other rides, travelled thousands of miles and has used a variety of hoof boots. The result is The Hoof Boot Report a fully illustrated and totally comprehensive analysis of how three of the most popular hoof boots performed while travelling through bad weather, thick mud and challenging terrain. Bernie explained, “There have been tremendous advances in hoof boot design in the past decade. There are now so many decent contenders that we thought it would help to create a document that Long Riders curious about hoof boot travel will find useful.”

After an unprecedented ten-year field test, Long Riders have successfully used the Canadian adjustable pack saddle on every continent except Antarctica. Kelly de Strake, owner of Custom Pack Rigging, has generously donated three of these important pack saddles. The first pack has travelled 14,000 miles from Canada to Patagonia with Filipe Leite. The second pack saddle is stationed in Argentina, where it has been used by many Long Riders including Stevie Anna Plummer. The third pack saddle was used by Kohei Yamakawa, who carried the LRG flag across Japan. This pack saddle has now been transferred to Great Britain, where it is stationed in Cornwall with Cathleen Leonard and her horse Taliesin,

Douglas Preston has been named President of the oldest, largest, and most prestigious organization of authors in the English-speaking world.  The best-selling equestrian travel author has not only provided inspiration to a new generation of Long Rider authors, Doug has rigorously defended authors against corporate exploitation by organizing Authors United. In his book, Cities of Gold, Doug describes the gruelling thousand-mild ride he made across the mountains and deserts of Arizona and New Mexico in 1989. A new autographed edition of Doug’s book Talking to the Ground describes how he journeyed on horseback through the Navajo Nation in the company of his wife and daughter.

At the dawning of the 21st century equestrian travel literature was on the brink of extinction. Long Rider authors such as Robin Hanbury-Tenison and Jeremy James had written excellent books in the late 20th century but those fine works had gone out of print. The Long Riders’ Guild Press was created to preserve equestrian travel classics. In addition, the Guild has always encouraged Long Riders to become authors. Subsequently Long Rider authors such as Richard Barnes, Tim Cope, Bernice Ende, Andi Mills, Louis Meunier, Mefo Phillips and Ian Robinson all produced equestrian travel books. Joining the list of Long Rider Authors is Cathleen Leonard. In the late summer of 2017 Cathleen set off on an epic adventure to realise a childhood dream. Her book, Before Winter Comes, recounts how in the company of her horse, Taliesin, Cathleen travelled more than a thousand miles from the north of Scotland to her home in Cornwall. This is the story of one woman's journey of self-discovery, courage, determination, and encounters with the better side of human nature.
 

One of the most remarkable equestrian explorers of the 19^th century was English Long Rider Kate Marsden. With the aid of Queen Victoria and Countess Tolstoy, Marsden made a hazardous ride from St. Petersburg to Siberia, where she sought to bring medical assistance to a remote colony of Russian lepers. Upon her return to London, Marsden became one of the first women granted the honour of being made a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society. Marsden’s book, which is published by the Long Riders’ Guild Press, remains a classic. The intrepid nurse turned equestrian explorer is still revered in Yakutia and the Republic of Sakha, where a new documentary film company, Arctic Film, is preparing to tell Marsden’s exciting story.

The Guild’s unique collection of equestrian travel images now spans more than 100 years of Long Rider history – from the equine’s point of view. This photo shows Bernie Harbert’s mule Cracker pondering the day ahead as they travel across Indiana.

There is a common myth that the Polish cavalry made a desperate attack against German tanks. Such an event never took place. But in January 1941, Baron Alfredo Guillet, known as the Italian “Lawrence of Arabia,” led a cavalry charge against British tanks in North Africa. Details of this extraordinary, but largely forgotten, episode were recorded by noted equestrian historian Tootoo Imam. READ MORE…

Africa’s Cavalry Kingdoms
The time is right to tell the horse world about the forgotten knights of West Africa. The possible social magnitude of Professor Robin Law’s startling revelations about this vast and academically unexplored horse culture is akin to discovering a previously unsuspected equestrian planet. READ MORE…..
 

Known as ‘Daisy’s ExPlodition’ the remarkable traveller raised £27,500 for the Brain Tumour Charity and won Horse & Hound magazine’s Inspiration of the Year Award (PDF) in 2018.

The extended heat wave has been so extreme that roads are melting and animals are dropping dead. Forty wild horses were found dead at a dry waterhole near the remote community of Santa Teresa in central Australia. The Ltyentye Arpurte ranger team discovered the dead horses, which had previously been seen wandering in search of water. The lack of water has forced local authorities to carry out an emergency animal cull, shooting 2,500 camels and an estimated 100 Brumby wild horses, who were dying of thirst.