Amazing Equestrian Interview – Megan Lewis

Name
Megan Lewis

Website and places you can find me online
My ride website: www.thelonghorseride.com
Blog: www.thelonghorseride.blogspot.com

Where I am
Wales, UK

Tell us a little about you, what is your background & where do you come from?
I am Welsh, but spent much of my childhood in Malaya, where my father was in the education service, and this accounts for my long held interest in the Far East. When he retired, we returned to the UK, and I went to secondary school in London, though all our holidays were spent in Wales.

I followed up my interest in Asia by specialising in Southeast Asian Studies at university. Afterwards I taught in London for several years, latterly as Head of Geography, before moving permanently to Wales with my husband and young family to run a sheep farm and Welsh pony stud.

How old were you when you fell in love with horses?
I started riding on my uncle’s shepherding pony in Wales when I was about 12 years old, and was hooked from then on!

My father bought me my first pony when I was 14, and I have had a series of horses and ponies since then, mainly Welsh and Arab and their part-breds, most of them home-bred.

I particularly enjoyed exploring the beautiful hills of Wales on horseback, a special delight as an escape from the rat race of London.

Please tell us a little about your exciting ride
The Long Horse Ride is a ride from Beijing to London between the Olympics. It is scheduled to take place in stages, and I started in October 2008 with a trial stage from Laolongtou where the Great Wall of China reaches the sea, to Badaling Great Wall in Beijing district. In 2009 we launched the main ride and plan to reach the other end of the Great Wall by the end of the year, although things are temporarily on hold due to my accident nine days after setting out!

In 2010 we hope to reach Samarkand, before continuing north of the Caspian Sea and through Russia, Ukraine and Europe.

Apart from carrying a message of goodwill, we aim to raise money for disadvantaged children worldwide through our chosen charity Schoolchildren for Children.

From the start of 2009 the ride has been officially partnered by the Chinese Equestrian Association, as a result of which we now have official recognition and certification from the Chinese authorities as the Sino-British International Friendship Ride. We are also backed by Endurance GB, and the British Equestrian Federation are helping with promotion and contacts.

What inspired you to take this adventure?
Ever since childhood when I read such epics as Tschiffely’s Ride, it has always been a dream of mine to take part in a long ride on horseback, but somehow between career and then family the opportunity never arose.

I have also always longed to travel through China and Central Asia, something which was not possible when I was younger. Schoolchildren for Children recently linked up with the China based charity the China Children and Teenagers Fund (CCTF), and together with the Beijing and London Olympics which provided a start and destination point for the ride, this sparked off the idea.

Finally, my 3 children have all left home for university which gave me the opportunity to follow my dream!

The Charity you are riding for is Schoolchildren For Children, what is their mission and why did you choose them?
Schoolchildren for Children was the obvious choice of charity as it was founded and is run by my husband Lestyn Thomas! However this also means that I know it is a cause well worth supporting for a variety of reasons.

Firstly, unlike many charities, ALL funds raised/donated actually go directly to specified projects. NONE is used for administration costs etc, as this is covered by separate sponsorship.

Secondly the charity has built up trustworthy contacts on the ground, and all the projects are carefully vetted. For example, in China CCTF are helping to identify deserving schools projects along the route of the ride, and I personally inspected several schools for migrant children in Beijing before we selected the Dandelion school as the beneficiary school for 2008. All schools supported by the charity have to submit a carefully itemised proposal and budget for approval, and this is followed up.?

Thirdly, the charity really does make a tremendous difference to the lives of the children it benefits. For more details of the charity and its work, see the Schoolchildren For Children website. Its primary fundraising is through participating schools and individual challenges, so if you or your school would like to take part in some way, please contact the charity, which is now also expanding into the USA.

You recently injured yourself pretty severely, everyone will be glad to know you are on the mend. Was there any question about getting back in the proverbial saddle?
It has never crossed my mind not to continue, even if I end up leading the horse the whole way!

When do you expect to be back on the trail?
My snapped collarbone has been operated on and my ribs are healing, but unfortunately doctors advice is that I should allow at least three months to recover, which has been a bit of a blow.

I am hoping I will be back in the saddle by August, though it will largely depend on how quickly things mend – I have to admit that even after 5 weeks I still fell decidedly fragile, which is very frustrating.

However I have another three years in which to complete the journey!

You aren’t riding alone, can you tell us about your trail companions?
On the first leg of the ride in October 2008 I was accompanied by my cousin Rowena Haigh, Chinese guide Mr Ren, and back up crew He Guo Sheng. We were also joined by ex Beijing taxi driver Peng Wenchao, who had already just ridden and driven around China for 8 months with 4 Mongolian horses.

For the second leg the core riders are myself, the ever reliable Mr Peng, and Li Jing, a flamboyant Chinese former librarian with Russian citizenship who has just ridden from west of Moscow to Beijing.

Rowena intends to help organise and re-join for the Central Asian section as she is currently living on the shores of the Caspian Sea in Kazakhstan – she is unable to continue through China due to the demands of a very young family!

We also hope to make places available at a later stage for paying riders who will also be expected to raise money for charity.

Are you only riding one horse, or do you have several taking the journey with you?
I intend to use local breeds of horse where possible. Although it would no doubt be an admirable achievement to ride a Chinese horse all the way, it may be necessary to change horses at borders – we will have to play this by ear!

For the first leg of the journey I bought Chinese bred horses of Russian descent, which were not ideal for various reasons but did the job. For the second leg of the journey through China we have been very fortunate in being provided with four Shandan geldings by the Shandan military horse stud in Gansu. They are small but immensely tough and energetic – ideal for this type of venture. This also means we have a spare horse to use in case of injury/lameness, or if we have an extra rider at any point.

How far do you ride each day and where do you stay?
We ride an average of about 25 miles each day, with a day or two off every week or so, depending on circumstances. We are carrying camping equipment, but up till now have been staying in local accommodation. Rooms for rent in local homes are usually very basic but cheap (10-20 yuan a night) – and for example washing facilities will be a plastic bowl and a thermos of hot water – cold water to be added from outside tap.

Occasionally we stay in a more upmarket hotel or guest house with a hot shower. Accomodation has been much less of a problem this year as the ride now has official certification. In October we were often being exhorted by local police to stay in ‘foreigners hotels’ which could be many miles away!

What breed of horses do you prefer for long distance riding?
For endurance competition I prefer to use Arabians and their part-breds. For a long distance ride such as this, I feel it is best to use local breeds that are suited to local conditions.

They should ideally be tough, sensible, and forward going with a comfortable ground covering walk and trot. Native Chinese breeds such as Shandan and Mongolian are ideal for this purpose. I hope to try other native breeds such as Yili and Kyrghiz as we progress.

What else are you passionate about?
As a Welsh woman, I am passionate about breeding and showing our native Welsh ponies, which I have done for many years under the Cwrtycadno prefix – see my stud website at www.cwrtycadno.com. Ponies bred here have achieved some success in the showring, and include the Supreme Champion at the Royal Welsh Show. They have been exported all over the world to countries such as Canada, France, Belgium and Sweden – but not China as yet!

Thanks

Thanks to Megan for answering the interview and for being such an inspiration. Be sure to subscribe to her ride blog to stay updated about her ride.