This remarkable book recounts the extraordinary journey made by the most influential Long Rider of the 20th century. In 1925 Aim Tschiffely set off to ride from Buenos Aires, Argentina, to New York City. The legendary 10,000 mile journey took him through mountains, jungles and swamps where he encountered rope bridges, vampire bats, sand storms, quicksand and hostile natives. After two harrowing years he was accorded a ticker-tape parade when he rode triumphantly through the streets of New York. This amazing story is narrated by the two equine heroes, Mancha and Gato, who accompanied the author. Though nearly a century has passed since the trio set off on their journey, their story has become a celebrated classic. Amply illustrated with drawings by the author, this is a book for all lovers of horses, for all lovers of travel and for all lovers of adventure.
The Second World War had recently concluded, and life in England was still full of hardship and rationing. Is it any wonder then that when a visiting Spanish professor urged Aimé to explore his sunny country, the ever-wandering Tschiffely jumped at the chance? The only problem was that the English government prohibited any of its citizens to depart overseas with more than 50. Such a paltry amount would barely allow Tschiffely to stay alive and it immediately ruled out the idea of him buying and riding horses in search of Spanish adventure. Yet just when things look as bleak as a foggy London morning, a British motorcycle company offered to donate one of their new machines to the stranded traveller. The resulting trip saw Tschiffely joyfully roaming five thousand miles during a four month exploration through the country he labelled the land of the unexpected. From Finisterre to Gibraltar, the fluent Spanish speaking Aimé chatted to everyone including bootblacks, beggars and Benedictines. In a country which abounds in poetry and history he tracked down Phoenician legends, then danced till dawn with Gypsies. Someone once said, if Spain didn't exist, someone would have to invent it. Likewise we would feel the need to invent Aimé Tschiffely, that literary angel of the Long Rider's world, who wandered across the globe and through our hearts
What does the world's most famous equestrian explorer do when he comes home to England after making a 10,000 mile ride from Argentina to Washington, DC? He writes a best-selling book about his adventures, Tschiffely's Ride, then sets off on a new horse to explore rural 1930s Britain. Through the ancient New Forest, over the lonely mountains of Wales, and across the rugged landscape of Scotland, the renowned author investigated the nooks and crannies of this island kingdom. Mounted on his gentle Cob mare, Violet, Tschiffely details the last roving adventure of its kind. Bridle Paths is a final poetic look at a now-vanished Britain, as it was before the advent of suburbia changed it forever. This superb book is amply illustrated with Tschiffely's own pencil drawings. As a bonus, it includes a special appendix listing the equipment used by the mounted traveler, as well as detailed sketches of the method he used to pack his horse. No equestrian travel collection is complete without this classic tale.
One reviewer described Bohemia Junction as 'Forty years of adventurous living condensed into one book. It is all that and more! Aimé Tschiffely was the most famous equestrian traveler of the twentieth century because of his legendary 10,000 mile ride from Argentina to Washington DC in 1925. Readers won't be surprised then to discover that exotic people, faraway places and equestrian adventure make up the background to the explorer's autobiography. Bohemia Junction is packed with the amazing assortment of humanity that Tschiffely met during his lifetime of travel, including cowboys, prize-fighters, writers, Indians, and the eccentric riff-raff of three continents. From Cape Horn to New York, Tschiffely journeyed wherever his vagabond fancy took him. And each region explored had its quota of bohemians in the old sense of the word - men and women for whom love of adventure was a reality. Bohemia Junction delivers more than just an account of the famous equestrian traveler's life. It gives the reader an exuberant drama, peopled by the reckless rough-necks of a now bygone age. No equestrian travel collection is complete without this timeless classic.