Every summer starting in 2012 I have been fortunate to be part of a team that leads horseback riding tours in Mongolia for National Geographic Expeditions. Our tours are 2 weeks long and have a maximum group of 16 people. The age range of our guests have been from 10 to 87 years old and the riding experience has ranged from never having been on a horse before to a professional Grand Prix jumper. Working with the local nomads I manage the entire horseback riding program for these tours. I give instruction on how to ride, care for horse tack, educate our guests of Mongolian nomadic culture and manage accounts. Because our camp is remote and has limited resources I happily help with whatever is needed such as building fires, helping the kitchen staff, setting up camp, etc.
I have also spent to seasons (11 months in total) working for an estancia in southern Chile. I, along with a gaucho, managed a herd of about 25 horses. We cared for the horses, did the tacking and untacking for rides and took our clients on daily rides. Most of our clients were guests of neighboring hotels while others were participating in an estancia to estancia horseback riding tour.
In South Africa I spent a couple of months guiding horseback rides as well. The rides I guided varied from a 3 hour beach ride along the ocean coast to multi-day trek in various terrains. Additional responsibilities with this company included a little bit of cooking and entertaining, some breaking and training horses and herd management.
I am very comfortable teaching people the basics of how to ride, entertaining and providing an exciting and safe experience while horseback riding. Being outdoors in any weather, working with my hands, riding horses and sharing it all with guests is something I truly love to do.
