Horse & Rider Living is a global community for all equine enthusiasts, whether they own a horse or not.
A diverse publication, HRL features art, travel, adventure, history and culture. We are dedicated to equine welfare as well as protecting our environment.
There are horse lovers and riders all over the world who have never ventured inside a show ring but live an equestrian lifestyle…
Welcome to Horse & Rider Living.
Barb Godwin
Barb currently resides in Central Florida with her three horses; when she’s not writing or riding for HRL, she loves to read and travel.
352.396.6421 | horseandriderliving@gmail.com
CuChullaine O’Reilly FRGS
CuChullaine O’Reilly is the Founder of the Long Riders’ Guild and the Editor of Equestrian Investigations for HRL magazine. An award winning journalist, O’Reilly has spent more than forty-years investigating equestrian exploration and history. He is the author of The Encyclopaedia of Equestrian Exploration and The Horse Travel Handbook.
longriders@thelongridersguild.com
Bonnie Folkins
A Long Rider Living Treasure, in 2007 Bonnie was the first equestrian explorer to venture into the remote Altai Mountains of western Mongolia in search of an ancient tribe of mounted nomads. Folkins discovered the Kazakhs, descendants of nomads who had fled the cultural genocide unleashed in the 1930s by Soviet dictator, Josef Stalin. Not only were the Kazakhs still mounted, they had also retained their ancient tribal custom of hunting wolves in winter with the help of specially trained golden eagles. The renowned photographer created astonishing images which formed a pioneering ethnic collection known as Riding with the Eagles. Subsequently Bonnie made nine equestrian journeys in Mongolia, Kazakhstan and Armenia.
Samantha Szesciorka
Samantha Szesciorka is passionate about preserving history, outdoor adventure, engaging the public, and community building. She has more than a decade of experience working in marketing and PR, most notably in the world of cultural affairs and outdoor recreation, as well as freelance projects in graphic design and writing. Samantha is also a Long Rider, and her discovery of a simple, inexpensive way to protect riders from aggressive horses (both wild and domestic) was added to the Horse Travel Handbook and the Encyclopaedia of Equestrian Exploration.
Louis Hall
Scottish Long Rider Louis Hall is a writer, actor, and founder of The Big Hoof charity, an organisation that promotes adventure and well being through equestrian travel by raising money for local and international charities.
Louis discovered the healing powers of the horse when he was 18 years old while in search of the Tsataan tribe in northern Mongolia. Since then his life has been patterned around the relationship between man and horse, bringing that raw understanding into a modern context. In 2020 he rode the length of the UK. In 2021 he rode 2800 kilometres across Europe, a journey which is being made into a film. Louis is now preparing to ride “ocean to ocean” across the USA.
Sabine Keller
German Long Rider Sabine Keller became a Member of the Long Riders’ Guild in 2013 when she completed her first journey across Europe. Sabine has ridden Isis (right) more than 19,000 kilometers. Marenga has accompanied them as the pack horse for more than 16,000 kilometres.
“I think it's a pity that the so-called sports riders live in a world which is about fame and money and comes at the expense of the horses. But the beautiful world I discovered with the help of my horses remains hidden from them. I do not do these journeys to impress anyone. My wish is to encourage other people to leave their comfort zone, to be brave and to jump over their shadow. It doesn't have to be a big trip and it doesn't take much to start small, except courage. And you will be richly rewarded!!!”
Lucy Leaf
Lucy Leaf is an American Long Rider who made an 8,000 mile journey through the United States. She rode from Bethel, Maine to Jordan, Montana, then continued with further journeys to Washington, down to California, across to Texas and on to West Virginia.
Greta Matos
Greta and Alejandro Matos became members of the Long Riders’ Guild, the international association of equestrian explorers, when they rode across Chile. When they set off across Northern Patagonia in 2022, their daughter Sofía Alegría joined them. Upon the completion of the journey Sofía became the youngest person ever to be made a Member of the Long Riders’ Guild.
Greta is also connected with several other environmental projects in Chile, including acting on the Board of Directors for Fundacíon Llancalil, whose mission is to create restoration sanctuaries where ecosystems are able to regenerate and thrive, and where the human spirit and imagination is ignited and inspired with possibility.
In Patagonia, the Long Rider herd and family live within a “carbon sink”, on ranch land that is dedicated to restoring the health of the soil and drawing carbon out of the atmosphere through regenerative land management practices. This land is tended to in relation with another project that is building community through earth-based relationship with land and one another, in order to contribute to the resilience and regeneration of our health and the health of the planet.
Dr. Paula Sells
Paula Sells learnt to ride at the age of seven on Welsh Mountain ponies by rounding up sheep in North Wales. Pony Club, hunting and eventing at national level followed. She was a volunteer for Riding for the Disabled and raising funds for them included riding and camping across the Hebridean island of Mull with her elder son.
In 1998, after a research career in the immunology of Tropical Medicine, Paula joined the British Horse Loggers using heavy horses to extract logs and sustainably manage woodland. She visited Slovakia on a Leonardo da Vinci forestry scholarship and has worked with agricultural students in Wales. The arrival of three rescued thoroughbreds led to a breeding programme and Paula organised a syndicate to support the training of the young stock in Newmarket.
Success on the track also brought insight into the rehabilitation of racehorses. Her younger son is an equine vet in the racing industry.
Future plans to work with the horse welfare organisations include training cobs for draught work in forestry as part of the ‘Give a Cob a Job’ campaign.
The gift of a huge leather head collar, once worn by a Shire horse who shunted carriages on the Great Western Railway, sparked an interest in the craft and history of harness and saddlery which has developed into the material for her book, The Tack Room: The Story of Saddlery and Harness in 27 Equine Disciplines.
Wanted: Riders Who Are Writers!
If you have a story idea or would like to write for HRL, email us at horseandriderliving@gmail.com – we’d love to hear from you!