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.

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

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.