Lands End to John o'Groats on a horse

[manicmare]

Hi I am wondering if anyone has done a horse ride from Lands End to John o'Groats and if it is possible. Me and a friend are considering if it is possible doing this as a large fundraiser for different charities and doing it on horseback. We would have more than one horse each that would get taken on a horsebox so we could swap horses and we could stay in B&Bs or in the lorry with the permission of perhaps local farmers on the way. I was wondering if anyone has any opinions on the subject or any views and whether anybody knows of people doing it/have done it and whether it is possible.
Many thanks

 

[Eaglestone]

I haven't got any experience of anyone doing this, but I must say this sounds like great fun and what an achievement ...

I would love to do something like that and I am envious of you

Good Luck and let us know how you get on

 

[somethingorother]

HI sorry another useless reply, dont know anyone who's done it but i've always wanted to do that i'm sure if you planned well enough it would be possible. Good luck if you go ahead, keep us updated! xx

 

[Selkie]

http://www.jogtolandsend.org/

Judy Sharrock completed her ride from John O'Groats to Lands End and her story is at the above web page

 

[Shilasdair]

Try looking at the Long Riders Guild for equipment info etc - and there's lots of tales of horseback expeditions.
Sounds like a lot of fun.
S

 

[Mithras]

One of the Pullein Thompson sisters wrote an account of doing it years ago, might be worth reading. One incident was jumping over a barbed wire as going back would have meant a huge detour late at night. She describes how she put her jacket over the wire to make it a safer jump.

 

[Sugarplum Furry]

I did a major ride for charity with a friend about 5 years ago. It was from Bath to Eastbourne. First of all we planned the route on maps, and then we spent a few days driving around looking at the accessability of the bridleways, and noting the places where we would have to cross major roads.

In the areas that we thought we would be after about a day's 25 mile ride, we simply knocked on doors of livery yards and farms, explained what we were planning to do...for charity..and asked if there might be any chance of a paddock for the night for the horses and somewhere for us to sleep. Hay barn or somewhere that we could put up a small tent would do. The response was fantastic, people were genuinely interested in what we were doing, nobody refused us, if they didn't have anywhere suitable then they would have a neighbour who did. At a couple of places we paid them a token amount, but on the whole it was free, and we stayed in some gorgeous places.

One of my favourite memories is of riding the whole of Salisbury Plain north to south on a boiling hot day in the shimmering heat. The army were doing firing exercises not far away, with tanks rumbling in the distance, and my usually spooky horse was as steady as a rock and behaved as though he did that sort of thing every day.

The Long Riders Guild were really helpful and supportive, lovely people, so as Shilasdair says they will be your best point of contact for advice.

Good luck !!

 

[manicmare]

I have looked at the lady who did its website and am definitely going to start planning it, but try and get some more publicity for it and perhaps if I set up a website with the set route horse and hound riders from all over the country could accompany us on certain legs local to them. Just an idea, shoot it down if you think it is a bad one but I think with some recent attempts to "sex up" riding perhaps instead of doing that promoting it as a sport that is being used in a generous and charitable way may get the younger generation more interested than trying to turn it into something resembling a Jilly Cooper novel