By CuChullaine O’Reilly F.R.G.S.
After completing his journey across Europe, Scottish Long Rider Louis Hall is preparing to ride “Ocean to Ocean” across the United States. His route will take him from Florida’s Atlantic to California’s Pacific.
He said, “I aim to travel across America by horse because this animal has no time for creed or colour. The horse does not judge you or receive you from where you come from, which political party you align with, your sexual preference, but it measures you equally by what you give to the world around you. It lives off peaceful hearts and minds and cultivates companionship and, above all, connection. This connection is one that unifies people from all walks of life. The horse brings people closer together by opening us up to ourselves. As I have discovered in my previous rides, the nature of the horse sees through the troubles that humans create, thus uniting us in a pure and untainted way.”
All we Long Riders have asked ourselves, “Why set off on a difficult, and oft times dangerous, equestrian journey?” Likewise, it is a question that intrigues the people who meet us. “Why are you doing this,” they’ve asked us in a multitude of tongues in countries scattered around the globe.
The Welsh have a word for it – “Hiraeth”.
Roughly translated, it means “a yearning for we know not what.”
Ask any Long Riders, past or present, and they will tell you that the world looks different from atop a horse. No distance is too grand. No desert cannot be crossed. No mountain cannot be conquered. No river cannot be swum. No geographic obstacle has ever succeeded in defying the combined bravery of horse and human, because for countless generations this four-legged friend has taken horsemen to places beyond the daily definitions of dogmatic denizens.
Scottish Long Rider Louis Hall exemplifies this ancient desire to mount his horse and set off into the unknown.
Yet every generation of mankind has been supremely confident, arrogant in the reoccurring belief that theirs is the ultimate expression of the human experience. Meanwhile the horsemen and women of history have watched from the sidelines while fires were lit, wheels were invented, pyramids were built, railroad lines were laid, automobiles were driven, and computer screens were peered into. Throughout this vast never-ending stream of human experience and effort one thing has run through our collective unconsciousness, the need for terrestrial freedom.
This is a longing which doesn’t recognize money, or religion, or sex, or nationality. It is something which is lodged deep within the DNA of a few of us. It is what sets us apart. It is what burns us. It is what never gives us peace. It is what makes men and women like Louis Hall into Long Riders.
For what that first Bronze-Age horseman, or woman, discovered still holds true. Pedestrians stay in their villages.
Horse Humans roam the world.
Louis Hall is preparing to follow in the hoof prints of his predecessors by riding “ocean to ocean” across the United States in 2023.
“I understand that the Ocean to Ocean ride is one well travelled but I firmly believe it is not about to where you are riding but about why you are riding - the beginning and the end point are immaterial to the moments in between. It is never about the miles done, but about what you learn and absorb in the miles you make.”
— Louis Hall
Louis is no raw beginner. First he rode the length of Great Britain along that nation’s most famous trail. Then he pioneered a route over the Alps, riding across the heart of Europe from Italy to the Atlantic coast in Spain. Having reached the great water Louis is now planning to resume his adventure by riding from Florida’s Atlantic to California’s Pacific.
“I understand that the Ocean to Ocean ride is one well travelled but I firmly believe it is not about to where you are riding but about why you are riding - the beginning and the end point are immaterial to the moments in between. It is never about the miles done, but about what you learn and absorb in the miles you make.”
What Louis hopes to create is more than a new route that runs along the southern border from East to West.
“I am very interested in creating a deep rooted, real, authentic and truthful ride across America but I am in no rush to make or complete this ride. The health and happiness of the horse always comes first. We will move at the innate speed of the horse; an instinctive and primitive speed that humans have long forgotten and one which, when experienced, brings all things connected to it straight back to earth.”
Thus it is apparent that this is not a journey intended to glorify the ego of one man or to enlarge his bank account. In an email to the Long Riders’ Guild, Louis explained what has motivated him.
“I had to truthfully evaluate why I felt this ride needed to be done.”
Louis explained that he felt many people in western society were experiencing “severe levels of disconnect and discord.”
“I believe this is because we have departed from the dust underneath us.”
“The word ‘Earthlight' conjures up children, hope and the future. I firmly believe that there is a direct connection between sending a message of saving the planet, and bringing people together. Connectivity, community and education is the key.”
A horseback journey, he believes, will provide hope to the children of today and adults in denial of tomorrow.
The Long Riders’ Guild offers an alternative to the competition based, sports oriented, commercialized equestrian world we see today. It represents an open air nation, looking for answers, not trophies. Its members are represented by Louis and those like him who are trying to create something within their lives that will endure.
The Guild has a deeper meaning in that it promotes the brotherhood of man – first between individuals, and secondly, between nations. Long Riders like Louis are Mounted Messengers of Peace, open-minded and tolerant of the rich cultural traditions found among the world’s diverse cultures. They understand the truth to the ancient saying, “The horse is the key to the village.”
Louis confirmed this when he wrote, “I aim to travel across America by horse because this animal has no time for creed or colour. The horse does not judge you or receive you from where you come from, which political party you align with, your sexual preference, but it measures you equally by what you give to the world around you. It lives off peaceful hearts and minds and cultivates companionship and, above all, connection.
The need to mix education with exploration was noted when film maker, turned deep- sea explorer, James Cameron warned, “Exploration is not a luxury. It defines us as a civilization. Where will we be in 20 years if we don’t inspire kids?”
This connection is one that unifies people from all walks of life. The horse brings people closer together by opening us up to ourselves. Through this raw sense of vulnerability, we find a confidence, a positive power and a belonging. As I have discovered in my previous rides, the nature of the horse sees through the troubles that humans create, thus uniting us in a pure and untainted way.”
The educational mission of the Earth Light Ride is designed to inspire personal confidence, encourage exploration and instill equestrian excitement in the nation’s school children. Teachers, and their classes, are invited to use the internet to saddle up and explore the USA with Louis.
Long Riders seek greater personal freedom, not blue ribbons. Equestrian travel is not a rich man’s sport. It is an individual journey into our inner space.
In anticipation of such a trip Louis wrote, “I have never been to America. What better way to discover it than by horse. The horse is the animal that represents the freedom which encompasses all that we have come from and all that we need to return to; our ark and our home.”
In recognition of this journey’s importance, the Guild has asked Louis to carry the flag which became famous in the United States. American Long Rider Bernice Ende became the first person to ride “ocean to ocean” across the United States in both directions on the same journey. She reached the Atlantic Ocean at the Rachel Carson Wildlife Refuge in Maine on October 8, 2015. She reached the Pacific Ocean at Bay View State Park in Washington on June 17, 2016. The 8,000 mile journey, which began in Montana in 2014, took more than two years to complete.
If it is true that the age of national exploration is now past, the Earth Light Ride will demonstrate that we are witnessing the dawning of the age of the citizen-explorer, an enlightened era wherein individuals set out not to exploit the natural resources of their neighbours, nor to plant the flag of their country of origin atop a mighty peak in another land, but rather to explore the frontiers of this planet and our own souls.
This is an opportunity to participate in something extraordinary - exploration, education and excitement.
Contact Louis if you are:
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A student interested in learning about horses, exploration and geography
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A teacher who would like to link your class to the Earth Light Ride –
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A horse owner who would like to host Louis.
