What is the Long Riders’ Guild

Twenty years ago, I owned a mule named Woody. Woody was cantankerous. I wanted to ride him across North Carolina – and maybe a whole lot farther. Too bad nobody could tell me how to ride a mule 300 miles. This is the post I wish I’d read all those years ago.

I grew up riding horses. I galloped races horses and rode as a steeplechase jockey. I gave riding lessons and enjoyed trail riding. But that wasn’t the same as riding a mule across my home state of North Carolina. That called for a whole different skill set. Like how to tie a mule out safely overnight. Like how to take care of his feet when I didn’t know how to shoe a horse. Like how to feed him when there were no feed stores around. Nobody could tell me what I needed to know because no one I knew had taken a trip like that.

Then I discovered the Long Riders’ Guild.

The Long Riders’ Guild

The Long Riders’ Guild (which I’ll abbreviate as the LRG) is an organization dedicated to helping riders and their mounts undertake long-distance voyages under saddle. Here, in the words of the LRG, is what the organization does:

The Long Riders’ Guild is the world’s first international association of equestrian explorers, and is an invitation-only organization. It was formed in 1994 to represent men and women of all nations who have ridden more than 1,000 continuous miles on a single equestrian journey.

It marks the first time in modern equestrian history that like-minded men and women are combining efforts to preserve a hitherto unmarked heritage and provide an international forum to discuss our mutual love of horses and travel.

With Members in more than forty countries, every major equestrian explorer alive today belongs to The Guild, including Hadji Shamsuddin of Afghanistan, who rode a thousand miles through that war-zone, Jean-Louis Gouraud of France, who rode 3,000 miles from Paris to Moscow, Claudia Gottet of Switzerland, who rode 8,000 miles from Arabia to the Alps, Adnan Azzam of Syria, who rode 10,000 miles from Madrid to Mecca, and Vladimir Fissenko of Russia, who rode 19,000 miles from the bottom of Patagonia to the top of Alaska.

The LRG describes itself as an “invitation-only organization”. That only means that, in order to be asked to join, a person has to ride 1,000 miles. Anyone, though, can have access to the mountain of information the LRG has made accessible to the public. You can read the rest of that document called “What is the Long Riders’ Guild” right here.

Navigating the Long Riders’ Guild Website

Here is how the LRG describes what it does. It contains all the links you need to point you in whatever direction you’re interested in going. According to the LRG:

The Guild is an academic, not a commercial, endeavour whose mission is to protect, preserve and promote the ancient art of equestrian travel. It has mentored or equipped Long Riders on every continent except Antarctica.
(http://www.thelongridersguild.com/completed.htm )

If you are planning an equestrian expedition and seek the Guild’s assistance, please review the list of relevant questions provided on the Preparation page, then send your answers to the webmaster.
(http://www.thelongridersguild.com/preparation.htm )

If you are searching for advice on how to make an equestrian journey, the Encyclopaedia of Equestrian Exploration contains the practical wisdom gained from more than 400 of the most knowledgeable Long Riders.
(http://www.thelongridersguild.com/Books/eee.htm )

Additional information can be found in the Horse Travel Handbook, a cavalry-style manual that is small enough to fit into a saddlebag and contains the most critically important information that a Long Rider may need to consult while travelling.
(http://www.thelongridersguild.com/Books/Horse%20Travel%20Handbook.htm )

Questions regarding qualifications for admittance to this equestrian honour society can be found on the Guild website.
(http://www.thelongridersguild.com/how-to-join.htm )

If you believe you qualify to become a Member of The Long Riders’ Guild, please provide details of your journey to the webmaster.

If you are a Long Rider on a current expedition facing an emergency in the field, send an email with the word “Urgent” in the subject line.

The Guild strictly protects the privacy of its Members and never discloses personal information to unauthorized parties. Because the Long Riders’ Guild believes in social internet responsibility, it is “Facebook Free” and does not interact with any social media. The LRG does not require you to provide any personal information, does not require registration, is committed to protecting the privacy of its readers and does not use browser cookies.

All matters relating to the Long Riders’ Guild, including equestrian research questions should be addressed to the Guild Webmaster. 

Regards,
Webmaster

Thanks, CuChullaine and Basha

I began this post by saying how I discovered the Long Riders’ Guild when I wanted to ride my mule Woody across North Carolina. I contacted the Guild and the founder, CuChullaine O’Reilly, wrote me back. Over the course of my preparations, and later my journey, he and his wife Basha encouraged and educated me as needed. I ended up way over-shooting my initial goal of riding across the Tarheel State. Thirteen months after I left Oriental, North Carolina, I arrived in San Diego, California.

Thanks, CuChullaine and Basha, for all the help! I am honored to be a member of the Long Riders’ Guild.

Meet Long Rider Filipe Leite

Last weekend, I had the pleasure of meeting fellow long rider Filipe Leite at the Beaufort International Film Festival. Filipe was there for the debut of his movie “The Long Rider”.

“The Long Rider” is about Filipe’s 26,000-kilometer saddle voyage through North and South America. I interviewed Filipe about his journey and look forward to sharing what we spoke about in a future post.

Let me Tell You About my Newest Book

I’d love to give you a heads up when my new book “Trash to Triumph” comes out. It’s about my 7-month saddle journey from North Carolina to Idaho with my mules Brick and Cracker. Just sign up for the Newsletter and I’ll send you an email when the book comes out. You can sign up right here.