Becky; 24; born and bred in London.
From the age of 10, I knew I wanted to travel by horse. An article I read about a man who was halfway through a ride around the world further fuelled my dream, and I knew at that moment that that was what I wanted to do.
My first taste of adventure came when I was 17, after begging my father for years to allow me to travel. My persuasive powers paid off; I swapped school books for suncream and travelled solo throughout Europe.
On my return, I went to college to study agriculture, which gave me the opportunity to have my first horse. Seastorm and I didn’t bother with horse boxes. When it came to the holidays, we would ride home. The sense of freedom was exhilarating. It also served as an introduction to the problems faced by long riders - finding suitable places to ride; the wear on horse shoes; finding places to stay for the night. That was my first introduction to long distance riding, and gave me a thorough grounding in travelling by horse.
A couple of years later, whilst riding on the border with China and Tibet, I met a girl who was on her way to Kashgar (a major trading port on the Silk Road). I’d never heard of it before, and as she described it to me, I began to imagine myself riding along the Silk Road, following the routes of traders that would have travelled to the markets of Kashgar centuries ago.
It wasn’t until I returned to England that my dreams started coming together. One of my ambitions had been to have a horse in London and ride from home to ’somewhere’. As the original plan of the Silk Road was thousands of miles anyway, extending it by a few more didn’t seem like a problem. On further research, I discovered the most Eastern point of the Silk Road was actually at Nara, in Japan. The trip was extended once again; and then again, to Tokyo, to join up two major cities, one in the West and one in the East.
Asides from the ride itself, I wanted to do something worthwhile whilst travelling. I have always enjoyed working with children, having volunteered with a bereavement charity for children who have lost a loved one. By combining my passion for children’s welfare with my enthusiasm for horse riding and travel, I feel that I am fulfilling not just one goal, but several.
The skills I have acquired in preparation for this trip will help me on this journey; I have the basics in several languages, been on survival courses and have had to put the skills I’ve learned in to practice; completed first aid training, been on a navigaton course and taught conversational English (and have since gained a TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) qualification). I am really looking forward to visiting the SOS Children’s Villages en route during the ride, which I hope will enrich the lives of the children I meet as much as it will mine.
I still have the article of the man who rode round the world; in fact, I have since spoken to him for advice. I hope that by the end of this adventure, I can be an inspiration to others who want to journey by horse.
