Indonesian Digital News Archive

Way back in March of this year I wrote about an expedition that was still in the planning stages but preparing to get underway. It was named Journey America and it featured cowboy Filipe Masetti Leite traveling on horseback from Toronto, Canada back home to Sao Paulo, Brazil – a journey of 16,000km (9942 miles) that is expected to take up to two years to complete. After months of planning, Filipe hit the trail in July and has been wandering southward ever since and documenting his progress at OutWild TV.

Over the past two months Leite has been enjoying his travels through the American west, first crossing the border into Montana and continuing South into Wyoming and now Colorado. His journey even took him through the heart of Yellowstone National Park, which had to have been a spectacular place to ride. He's averaging about 30 miles per day and has just crossed over the 1000 mile mark. In order to keep himself and his two horses fresh, he takes two days off from riding each week, which will be important for maintaing the health of his mounts over the long haul.

Filipe has reportedly been overwhelmed the support he has received on his journey. Complete strangers have given him food and supplies and offered up a place for him and his horses to spend the night. That kindness has helped make his journey an enjoyable one thus far and hopefully it will continue in that way all the way back to Brazil.



In addition to following daily updates and twice weekly dispatches on OutWild TV, Filipe is also providing information via his Twitter feed and Instagram. Considering he still has a long way to go, it should be quite an adventure to follow in the months ahead. The video below is an example of life on the road for the intrepid cowboy.

Update: Shortly after I posted this story I received a note from the Long Riders Guild informing me that before setting off on his epic journey, Filipe received advice and training from ten different members of the guild, across five different countries, that will prove invaluable on his expedition. The guild also lent him a pack saddle that he is testing on the ride as well. Apparently the pack is part of a special ten-year field test and Filipe is the most recent rider to use it on this kind of sojourn.

The Long Riders also wanted me to point out that Filipe's ride esd inspired by Aime Tschiffely, who is considered to be the greatest long rider of the 20th century. In 1925 the Swiss rider set out on a three year trek that covered 10,000 miles between Buenos Aires and New York City. Along the way he crossed over mountains, jungles and deserts to complete one of the toughest and most grueling equine adventures in history. It is quite a story which can be read in his famous book Tschiffely's Ride.

Dispatch #12 - Drive-thru Cowboy from Outwild TV on Vimeo.

Last Friday the 2012 edition of the Mongol Derby got underway on the wide open expanse of the steppes of Mongolia. Billed as the "World's Longest Horse Race," the Derby pits 34 riders from 14 countries against one another on a 1000km (621 mile) ride through one of the most remote places on the planet.

I wrote about this amazing event back in June, remarking at the time about my uneasy relationship with the equine species. Seems I'm not that only one as two of the riders were eliminated in the first day of the race when they were thrown from their steeds. Brit Paul de Rivaz broke a collerbone when his horse stumbled on a marmot hole, while Norwegian rider Linda Sandvik was tossed off her mount, puncturing a lung and breaking her pelvis in the process. These incidents only underscore the dangers of this type of event, which is organized by the crack team from The Adventurists, which means that medical support and plenty of assistance was on hand to help the injured.

The rest of the riders are faring much better on their adventures, which allows them to navigate as they see fit across the Mongolian plains. The riders do need to locate a series of horse stations along the way, where they are required to change horses, but how they locate those various checkpoints is completely up to them. At the moment, the six leading riders are through station 14 having covered nearly 560km (348 miles) in four days. Amongst those leaders are professional riders Richard Killoran and Dony Fahy as well as returning racers Barry Armitage and Joe Dawson.

While the Mongol Derby is indeed a horse race, organizers of the event have taken great care to ensure that the animals are well cared for. A staff of veterinarians, both local and international, are on hand to thoroughly check the animals before, during and after the race. The riders are required to not only change horses regularly but also take good care of their mounts at all times. Delivering them back to a station in anything but good health results in severe penalties for the person responsible for the horse.

Obviously the race is going at a quick pace with the front runners more than half-way home in just a few days time. You can follow the event live on the official website, where you'll find rider updates, race reports, video, photos and more.

What an amazing adventure. Good luck to the all the riders. Enjoy the Derby to the fullest.

I have an uneasy relationship with horses. I think they're beautiful, intelligent and powerful animals, but somehow whenever I end up riding one, I get stuck with the biggest, orneriest, most ill-tempered creature possible. So that said, the following adventure opportunity probably isn't for me. But I'm sure there will be plenty of others that will see this as a fantastic experience.

The Adventurists, who are well known for putting on crazy motorized adventures in extreme places, are prepping for a decidedly different kind of adventure. In August of this year, they'll send a group of riders across the Mongolian Steppe on horseback, covering more than 1000km (621 miles) in what they call the "the longest, toughest horse race in the world."

Dubbed the Mongol Derby, the event features no set route. The adventurous men and women who join the Derby will instead be on their own navigating to the 25 different Horse Stations that are located across the vast and open wilderness. If the riders so choose, it'll be just them, their ponies, and the Mongolian Steppe to explore.

The safety and care of the horses is of the utmost concern for the organizers of the event, which is why the riders are tasked with getting their horses to the stations in a healthy state. They are also required to switch horses at each station as well, and a high trained and experienced team of vets will be on hand to ensure the animals are well treated and an medical issues are taken care of.

The 2012 edition of the Derby is already sold out, but its never too late to start planning for next year. You'll be able to follow progress in this year's race on the Mongol Derby website and for glimpse of what the event is all about, be sure to check out the video below.