Saddled with ambition: Guide lays out the essentials of equestrian exploration

Review of The Horse Travel Handbook

(Horsetalk) The Horse Travel Handbook, by CuChullaine O’Reilly, The Long Riders Guild Press, 286 pages, available from Booktopia in Australia, Amazon UK and Amazon US.

It is hard to imagine a better individual to write a comprehensive guide to travelling the world by horseback than CuChullaine O’Reilly.

O’Reilly founded the Long Riders’ Guild, which today boasts members from 42 countries. Membership is contingent upon riders making an equestrian journey of at least 1000 miles.

He no doubt learnt much about the many challenges of life in the saddle when, in 1983, he embarked on an 1100-mile ride through Pakistan. He departed from the bustling hub of Peshawar, on a loop that would take him through one of the last great frontiers.

O’Reilly is able to write from experience, but it is the knowledge gleaned in the years since that helps set The Horse Travel Handbook apart.

O’Reilly has since had a hand in many epic journeys by horseback, providing advice and support to people all around the globe who set their sights on what is known among these equestrian explorers as a Long Ride. Read full Horsetalk review of The Horse Travel Handbook