The Long Horse Ride

After many frustrations and setbacks, I eventually started out on the first leg of the Long Horse Ride in October 2008, riding from Laolongtou where the Great Wall of China reaches the sea to Badaling Great Wall in Beijing district. I was accompanied by my cousin Rowena Haigh, guide Mr Ren, and back-up crew He Guo Sheng. We were later joined by Mr Peng, who had recently ridden/driven round China for 8 months with his 4 Mongolian horses.

Since then I have managed to negotiate a partnership with the Chinese Equestrian Association (as the Sino-British International Friendship Ride), and the core riders for the second stage are myself, Mr Peng, and Li Jing, a Chinese with Russian citizenship who has just ridden from west of Moscow to Beijing. We have been provided with some excellent native Chinese Shandan horses by the Shandan military stud of Gansu, and set off again on April 19th 2009.. Unfortunately after only 9 days on the road, I managed to fall off and break my collarbone and 6 ribs and puncture a lung, so things are frustratingly on hold for a couple of months while I recuperate!
To follow my current (lack of!) progress, see my blog at www.thelonghorseride.blogspot.com . I also have a website at www.thelonghorseride.com

Apart from carrying a message of goodwill, I am raising money for disadvantaged children worldwide via Schoolchildren For Children www.schoolchildrenforchildren, a charity which is well worth supporting as all money donated is actually guaranteed to reach the projects it benefits - no money is siphoned off for administration etc since that is covered by separate sponsorship. The ride has already raised about £3000. Schoolchildren for Children is partnered through China with the major Chinese charity the China Children and Teenagers Fund, and through them in 2008 Schoolchildren for Children donated money on behalf of the ride to the Dandelion school for migrant children in Beijing. CCTF will identify other schools along the route of the ride to benefit from donations - we will be passing through some very impoverished areas.

If you wish to donate to the ride and most worthy cause, I have a Justgiving facility on my website - all donations most gratefully received!

Later on we hope to make places available for people to join us for short periods - keep an eye on the website if you are interested.