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Basha
O’Reilly is a true European, as she was born in Switzerland, brought
up in England, and educated in Belgium.
A
horsewoman from the age of three, she tried all branches of equestrian
discipline, from Pony Club through foxhunting, dressage, and three-day
eventing to endurance riding.
In
1994 she was cameraman and Russian interpreter for an scientific
expedition to the High Altai mountains of Mongolia, led by the famous
British explorer Colonel John Blashford-Snell.
In
1995 Basha bought three Cossack horses from the Volgograd region of Russia
and rode them back to England, becoming in the process the only person in
the whole of the twentieth century to ride out of Russia.
She was made a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society soon after
her return.
In
1999 Basha joined an expedition riding up the infamous Outlaw Trail from
the Mexican border to Wyoming: the
only woman to travel so far up the Trail.
Basha
is one of the Founders of The Long Riders’ Guild, the world’s first
international association of equestrian explorers, and is the author of "Count Pompeii - Stallion
of the Steppes,” the first in the "Little Long Rider" series for children.
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Basha and her Cossack stallion, Count Pompeii,
seen here on the Steppes of Russia at the start of their journey to
England

CuChullaine is pictured in front of the Pyramids at Giza

The Wedding Kiss
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CuChullaine
O’Reilly a.k.a. Asadullah Khan
has been
described as “an exile and traveler who is no longer entirely
American.” After extensive travels in Afghanistan, CuChullaine converted
to Islam and journeyed to the Muslim holy city of Mecca. He taught
journalism for Boston University to Afghan guerrilla fighters resisting
Soviet invaders and was marked for assassination by KHAD, Afghan communist
secret police, for his work with the mujahadeen resistance groups.
CuChullaine has spent more than twenty years
studying equestrian travel techniques on four continents. He made lengthy
trips by horseback across Afghanistan and Pakistan before leading the
Karakorum Equestrian Expedition through five mountain ranges, including
the Himalayas, and traversing the Diamer Desert, thereby setting the
record for the longest recorded horseback ride in Pakistan’s history.
CuChullaine was thereafter made a Fellow of the Royal Geographical
Society.
He is one of the Founding Members of The Long
Riders’ Guild, the world’s first international association of
equestrian explorers. CuChullaine
is the author of “Khyber Knights”, the thrilling tale of his
adventures in Pakistan, and editor of “The Long Riders,” the world's first
equestrian travel anthology, "The Horse Travel Journal" and "The Horse
Travel Handbook," to be published in 2005. |