16,000 Miles on a Horse: Interview With Long Rider Filipe Masetti Leite

“I’d never ridden more than 3 kilometers.” That’s what author, filmmaker, and Long Rider Filipe Masetti told me after riding 16,000 miles across North and South America. That quote will give you hope you can do whatever you’re dreaming of doing.

Attending the World Premiere of “The Long Rider”

A while back, my wife Julia and I visited Long Rider Filipe Masetti and his wife Clara at the Beaufort International Film Festival. They were there for the world premiere of Filipe’s documentary “The Long Rider”. The film is about Filipe’s 16,000-mile saddle journey across North and South America.

On July 8, 2012, Filipe set out from Calgary, Canada with three horses. Two years later, he arrived in Barretos, Brazil, to a hero’s welcome. He eventually rode to Patagonia, then rode from Alaska to Calgary, becoming one of the few people who has ridden across both North and South America.

During his voyage, Filipe ran into raging rivers, jungles and drug lords. He also encountered kind people who took care of him and his horses. Passing on generosity is important to Filipe. During his voyage, he raised funds for the Barretos Children’s Cancer Hospital.

Filipe filmed his journey. That footage would become “The Long Rider” documentary.

Julia and I watched the premiere screening of “The Long Rider”. Filipe did an incredible job filming the voyage, from what it’s like to party with a drug lord to having your horse get hit by a car. Producer Sean Cisterna did an artful job weaving that footage into a movie that captured the spirit of long distance riding better than any movie I’ve seen. Julia cried, and I was close. It takes a lot to choke me up.

After we watched the movie, Julia and I thought, “Damn. We need to interview Filipe!”

Catching up With Filipe

A few days after “The Long Rider” premiere, ” Filipe, Julia, and I caught up on the phone. As a fellow Long Rider, the three things I was interested in hearing about were:

• how Filipe prepared for his trip
• what he did for food, water and shelter
• how he dealt with the long-term fatigue of a long ride

Julia wanted to know if Filipe’s fear diminished with the idea that something bigger than him was protecting him and the horses.

Originally, I was going to write up Filipe’s answers to my questions. When I listened to our interview, I thought it was too good to cherry-pick a few technical bits and ditch the rest. Quotes like “There is no relaxing: you sleep with your underwear and boots on.” shouldn’t die on a hard drive.

So here it is, the chat Julia and I had with Long Rider and all-around great guy Filipe Masetti. Think of it as your twenty-minute chat with Filipe. The bottle of wine Filipe refers to at the start of the interview is a bottle of wine Julia brought to the premiere. The CuChullaine and Basha Filipe refers to are CuChullaine and Basha O’Reilly of the Long Riders’ guild. Bernice is Long Rider Bernice Ende. Enjoy!

If you want to jump straight to the topics Filipe discussed, they come up at the following times:

• preparations (3 min)
• mental fatigue (9 min)
• food, water, shelter (16 min)
• something bigger (20 min 30 sec)

“The Long Rider” Documentary

Filipe’s documentary “The Long Rider” is currently in film festivals. It is scheduled for theater release.

Filipe’s Books

Filipe has written a trilogy about his voyage. His books are available on Amazon.

• Book 1: Long Ridge Home: Guts, Guns and Grizzlies (available on Amazon)
• Book 2: Long Ride to the End of the World: A Lonely Long Rider’s 7,500 km Journey to the Land of Fire (available on Amazon)
• Book 3: Upcoming

Julia and I own Filipe’s books. They are outstanding. Follow Filipe on Instagram:@filipemasseti

Sean Cisterna

Director and producer Sean Cisterna, who turned Filipe’s film footage into “The Long Rider”, is with Mythic Productions. Follow Filipe on Instagram: @seancisterna

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