The Equestrian Wisdom and History Literary Collection

The Long Riders Guild Academic Foundation
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The Equestrian Wisdom and History Literary Collection

It has been argued that when you deprive people of words you restrict their thoughts, deny their inspiration and diminish their possibilities of life. Sadly the equestrian words and ideas which could inspire and change lives in the 21^st century seem to have fallen out of fashion. This alarming development has been encouraged by the disappearance of essential equestrian titles from the past, and a lack of academic investigation in the present. The result has been the dawning of an age of collective equine academic amnesia, one wherein great authors are forgotten and new authors are neglected.

In contrast to the academic works and equine discoveries brought about in the late 19^th century by the mutual efforts of noted equine scientist Cossar Ewart and world-travelled equestrian author, Horace Hayes, too many of today’s equine works are indicative of the equestrian narcissism of the West, with its preoccupation with outmoded and harmful equestrian methods based on western Europe’s misunderstanding of the horse and an outdated allegiance to the charade of mounted nobility.

There is an equal danger from the rise of modern self-styled experts who are interested in labels, not ideas, and who promote the increasing bourgeoisification of the horse.

Together they have combined to create equine works of mind-numbing opaqueness, in a language of turgidity, designed to promote the outdated myths and plodding prejudices inherited from European, Roman and Greek pedestrian origins.

This has brought about the nadir of intellectual equestrian investigation, one where many of today’s equine authors have abandoned the practice of sceptical inquiry in favour of a misguided preference to an idealized past.

The Long Riders’ Guild’s new Equestrian Wisdom and History series is designed to re-publish the most important equestrian books previously written, as well as publishing indispensable new works by the world’s leading equine academics, equine investigative journalists and riders. There are approximately one hundred titles scheduled for production and the books will be available in a host of languages.

For more information regarding forthcoming titles, or to suggest a title for this literary collection, please contact The Long Riders’ Guild Press.

Here are the titles currently available in this exciting new collection.

Mounted Archery in the Americas Edited by David Gray and Lukas Novotny	This fascinating and amply illustrated book charts the history of mounted archery from its ancient roots on the steppes of Eurasia thousands of years ago to its current resurgence in popularity in the Americas. It also provides the reader with up-to-the-minute practical information gleaned from a unique team of the world’s leading experts. Mounted archery is shooting the bow and arrow from horseback at the canter and after a century and a half of neglect on the Great Plains of North America, interest in this thrilling activity is rapidly spreading from the Arctic Circle to the Tropic of Capricorn. This is the story of the reappearance of this exciting discipline in the Americas. Horseback archery has its origins in two of the great grasslands of the world—the United States Great Plains, and the vast steppes of Eurasia. As far back as 3,000 years ago Asian mounted warriors thundered down on their enemies in lightning surprise attacks, loosing showers of arrows which stunned and hopelessly dissembled their pedestrian opposition. The horseback archery culture of the American Indians reached a similar level of development and sophistication, but emerged much later and was a shorter phenomenon. Horses spread north from the Spanish colony of Mexico through the Plains beginning in the mid 1600’s, but this dynamic equestrian culture virtually vanished with the demise of the buffalo in the mid 1800’s. Yet this mounted tradition was revived when, in 1998, Kassai Lajos, the legendary Hungarian founder of the modern standardized discipline of mounted archery, came to the United States for now-legendary demonstration. The world’s leading mounted archer returned for three subsequent training camps which inspired many others to take up the sport. Since then, mounted archery has spread with great enthusiasm across the United States, Canada and South America. This challenging and engaging discipline is promoted by the Mounted Archery Association of the Americas, and the royalties from this ground-breaking study of this ancient equestrian art are being donated to this Association. For more information, please visit Barnes & Noble or Amazon.co.uk.
The Centaur Legacy Bjarke Rink	This immensely entertaining and historically important book provides an in-depth study into how man’s partnership with his equine companion changed the course of history and accelerated human development. It took a cultural nomad and intellectual maverick such as Bjarke Rink, who was born in Denmark and now live in Brazil, to think outside the box of traditional equestrian theology. The dedicated horseman spent years studying the symbiotic blending of human intellect and equine speed, documenting how these two unique life-forms connect to each other to create a superior being — the legendary centaur! “My challenge was to find the human role in the neurophysiology of equitation and to crack the Centaur enigma,” Rink said. The author’s pioneering research blends the ancient art of horsemanship with cutting-edge 21st century scientific thought, taking the reader on a galloping tale stretching from the ancient Central Asian birthplace of horsemanship to the laboratories which are helping to fuel the great equestrian renaissance which is occurring around the world today. The Centaur Legacy is a wonderful read — pithy, witty, never condescending as so many academic tracts are. It will be an inspirational guide to a new generation of horse-lovers and free thinkers all over the world. For more information, go to Barnes & Noble or Amazon.co.uk
Horses The celebrated study of mankind's closest ally, by the distinguished Frontier philosopher. Roger Pocock	Roger Pocock’s life reads like a fairytale full of adventure. A childhood cut short to go to sea, then service with the Canadian North West Mounted Police in 1885, followed by stints as a war correspondent, Yukon gold miner, South African army scout, and “missionary to hostile tribes.” In between he formed the Legion of Frontiersmen, organized the original World Flight by airplane and was the first person in history to ride the length of the infamous Outlaw Trail. When he was wasn’t seeking excitement, Pocock could be found writing. Though most of the prolific author’s work predictably revolved around the exciting episodes of his own life, or the other men of action he knew, Pocock’s most famous foray into academic study was his rightfully famous book, “Horses.” In today’s equine-friendly world it is difficult to imagine how revolutionary Pocock’s observations about horses were at the time. A lifelong student of equine behaviour, Pocock set out to document the wisdom of his age into a book unique for its time. His concerns for attempting to preserve equestrian knowledge were based on cruel reality. More than 300,000 horses had been destroyed during the recent Boer War. To make matters worse, “Horses” was penned by Pocock while he was serving with the British army, stationed behind the trenches during the First World War. With bombs bursting overhead, Pocock poured onto these pages the things his equine friends had taught him. “If one thinks of a horse as a little child, one cannot go far wrong.” “When my horse forgets his manners, I examine my conduct to find where I am to blame.” “The human mind may be likened unto a stable with horses all in a row. That strong team Tradition and Custom are overworked. Bias and Prejudice have plenty to do. Passion and Vice get an occasional airing, and Vanity has daily exercise. But Reason is kept in his stall. He is not popular with the other horses. Let us try him.” Though Pocock enjoyed a reputation for dangerous living, his observations on horses were praised by the leading thinkers of his day. Professor Cossar Ewart, whose study on the origin of horses drew positive praise from Charles Darwin, wrote the Preface to Pocock’s book. Here then is a true “lost masterpiece” of equestrian study, penned by one of the most unique men ever to mount a horse or lift a pen. For more information, please visit Barnes & Noble or Amazon.co.uk.
Horses of the Conquest R. B. Cunninghame Graham	In this modern-day era, with its inherent safeties and pasturised heroes, how difficult it is to relate to the bold men and their brave horses who came to the New World. Much has been written about those Europeans known as the Conquistadors. Beginning with Columbus in the late 15^th century, Iberian horses accompanied their riders across turbulent seas, over miles of mountain trails, through steaming jungles, and into cities of golden splendour. These saddle-borne conquerors were quick to admit that, after God, they owed their good fortune to their horses. Many books have recorded or reviled the Conquistadors. No book ever equalled this equine account of the horses that helped them make history. The author, Don Roberto Cunninghame Graham, was uniquely qualified to pen such an important equestrian tale. Born in 1852 to a aristocratic Scottish family, Cunninghame Graham spent his youth working as a gaucho in Argentina, before becoming an outspoken Member of Parliament in London. A lifelong horseman, Don Roberto was also one of the first European writers to defend the rights of native peoples. Fluent in Spanish, Cunninghame Graham did extensive research into Spain’s archives, thereby discovering manuscripts which had lain unread for centuries. The result was a book written, Don Roberto says, out of gratitude to the horses who shaped history. Amply illustrated with drawings of period horses, their riders and various pieces of equestrian equipment, “Horses of the Conquest” remains one of the most important equestrian books ever published. Click here to go to Barnes & Noble or Amazon.co.uk
They Rode into Europe Miklós Jankovich (Translated by Anthony Dent)	While the average history book is full of dates and events, or battles and inventions, such books are generally penned by pedestrians who lack the equestrian insight necessary to accurately comprehend, study and comment on the impact Central Asian mounted culture had on the development of European society. Yet this remarkable book combines the academic excellence of two of the 20^th century’s leading equestrian experts. The result is the astonishing They Rode Into Europe. It was written by the famed Hungarian horseman and author, Miklos Jankovich. The author, who had access to records in the Magyar language beyond the reach of most Western European researchers, used a vast array of little-known historical information to create a coherent, comprehensive and authoritative picture of the relationship between mounted cultures from the earliest times to the late twentieth century. The translator, Anthony Dent, was rightly considered to be one of England’s finest equestrian scholars. This very well-known writer on horses supplemented the amply illustrated text with his own interpolations (marked as such) in those passages which have a special bearing on Britain and North America. Together, Jankovich and Dent created an equestrian study of unparalleled importance. The history of the world was shaped to a large extent by men on horseback who, because of the animals under them, were able to travel great distances, thus bringing about that exchange of ideas and inventions which is a fundamental requisite of human progress. Thanks to the work of these two equestrian academic pioneers, the result of their research in the fields of history, ethnology, archaeology and the study of the horse, is once again available in a readable work which explains how horses played a central role in man’s cultural, social, and economic development. For more information, please go to Amazon.co.uk or Barnes & Noble.
The South Pole Ponies Theodore Mason	The men of the expedition called them "devils" - those headstrong, mischievous, untrained ponies brought from the top of the world. The little horses made the lives of their handlers miserable during the initial stages of two attempts on the South Pole, yet endeared themselves so much that the men shared their own precious rations with them. Each handler could hardly bear it when his pony's turn came to be sacrificed for the good of all. The names of the men of these expeditions are well-known - Scott, Shackleton, Mawson, Cherry-Garrard, Ponting, Wilson, Bowers, Oates - but few know the names of the ponies, or even that there ever were Manchurian and Siberian ponies in Antarctica. Through meticulous research, the author brings Nobby, Snatcher, Snippets, Bones, Socks, Chinaman, poor Jimmy Pigg and the other ponies alive again while telling of the two trouble-plagued expeditions to the South Pole. This edition is being produced in an effort to raise awareness of the need to preserve the four huts in Antarctica used by the British explorers, along with all of the remarkable memorabilia and ice-bound supplies preserved within their frozen walls. Having endured nearly a century of harsh weather and official government neglect, the scientific headquarters still symbolise the nobler aspects of human nature which took these talented and brave men to Antarctica. The tiny buildings are now listed as some of the most endangered sites in the world. For more information, please go to Amazon.co.uk or Barnes & Noble

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