Marshal Ralph Hooker

How do you describe a man whom many called “a living legend”?  
Marshal Ralph Hooker, was such a person. He led a life of adventure from an early age, growing up in Missouri and Oklahoma. It was in this later frontier territory that Hooker first got a taste of the recently passed nineteenth century Wild West. It was in old Oklahoma that he was befriended by former outlaws, wild Indians, and wilder cowboys. Their tales of robbing banks, riding across the plains, and evading posses helped convince the young man to go on the road to adventure himself.
What followed can only be described as a life that was one long romantic journey, as Hooker walked and rode through the seldom traveled back roads of a vast, and still unsettled, nation. Carrying a long rifle which once belonged to Daniel Boone, the young explorer walked the length of the Wilderness Road, twice! He ventured alone along the fabled Sante Fe Trail. Then he left behind his walking shoes, and took to the saddle, keeping the old Chisholm Trail alive, and riding more than 2,000 miles along the Ozark Frontier Trail.

J. Smeaton Chase

ISBN 1590480287

J. Smeaton Chase

ISBN 1590481453

Imagine all the soft places of the world, the green valleys, the soft beaches, the tranquil islands, the cool mountains.

Now imagine you are on horseback in one of the harshest deserts in the world – riding alone for two years !

That is what famed British naturalist J. Smeaton Chase did.

He mounted up and rode into the Mojave Desert to undertake the longest equestrian study of its kind in modern history.

Chase was no newcomer to equestrian travel.

In 1910 he rode from the Mexican border to Oregon, then penned a delightful book called ‘California Coast Trails,’ which recorded his impressions of the pristine beauty observed during that ocean-front ride.

Then in 1916 the amateur naturalist headed his horse inland in search of the secrets of a sun-drenched landscape few had explored.

The resulting book, “California Desert Trails,” is one man’s love affair with the Mojave Desert.

For Chase possessed the rare talent of seeing beauty where others perceived only serpents and sand. He found wisdom in unconventional places, with crazy hermits, wise Indians, and fellow wanderers adrift in the desert. Traveling slowly as he did on horseback, Chase was also able to observe the animals and plants that inhabited this dangerous, but delightful, world.

The result is a book unlike any other in the history of equestrian travel.

Amply illustrated with stunning black and white photographs which Chase took during his long ride, this poetic travel tale concludes with a special appendix, wherein Chase gives “Hints on Desert Traveling” to a new generation of Long Riders and desert travelers.
Learn more at Barnes & Noble

An epic equestrian journey along the Infamous Outlaw Trail to meet Butch Cassidy

Roger Pocock

ISBN 1590480260

To read Pocock's fascinating book, Horses, please click here.

Clyde Kluckhohn

ISBN 1590480937

He had a chance, a rare chance, to leave behind the smoky, crowded streets of New England and journey out to the still unspoiled American West. He had a chance, a rare chance, to forget that he was born to ride a desk, not a New Mexican bronco. He had a chance, a rare chance, to turn his back on convention and schedules, wrist-watches and bills, misspent romance and a thousand other heart-aches.  He opted instead to climb up on the back of a untried horse and ride off in search of equestrian adventure. 
He had that chance, and he took it!
His name sounds ungainly today. “Clyde Kluckhohn”. Yet he was no cartoon character. This was a young man in search of adventure and a dream, to ride through the stony wastes of Arizona, Utah and New Mexico in search of a geographic legend, “The Rainbow Bridge.” Native American myth stated that somewhere in the rocky wastelands of Navajo-land stood a gigantic, unbelievable arch of pure red stone. No white man had ever seen it. No white man had ever ridden near it. Young Clyde Kluckhohn, the Yankee horseman, determined to do just that!
Thus “To the Foot of the Rainbow” is not just a exciting true tale of equestrian adventure. It is a moving account of a young man’s search for physical perfection in a desert world still untouched by the recently-born twentieth century. Amply illustrated with period photos, it remains a classic tale of a daring man, his trusty horse, and their brave struggle to discover a legend.  

Frank Heath

ISBN 1590480724

Everyone harbors a dream. Perhaps it is to leave the bills behind, see what is over the next hill, or even seek for adventure. Frank Heath, the author of “Forty Million Hoof Beats” did all that and more.
A former cavalryman during the First World War, Heath not only knew about horses, but more importantly he understood the rigors involved in undertaking a great equestrian journey. That is why he took a deep breath before announcing to the world that he was going to ride to all 48 states within the continental United States.
Most people would spend vast amounts of time and money to acquire a horse for such a stupendous undertaking. Heath did neither. He traded a horse he had on hand for a ten-year-old mare named Gypsy Queen. According to the horse trader, the mare Heath acquired was a Kentucky Morgan. Yet fancy pedigree aside, the little bay mare could cover ground like a fast moving windstorm.
Mounted on Gypsy Queen, Heath set out in 1925 to see his vast country. The journey lasted more than two years, during which time the two travelers shared a long series of hardships, becoming inseparable companions in the process. In 1927, more than 11,000 miles later, Frank and his Gypsy Queen mare finally rode into Washington DC. The unlikely horse and her cavalryman rider had touched every state in the Union. One man’s dream had been achieved.
Long considered a classic equestrian travel tale, “Forty Million Hoof Beats” influenced three generations of Americans to follow Gypsy Queen and Frank Heath onto the high road of adventure. This marks the first time in more than 50 years that this once famous book will once again be available to the public.

Isabella Bird

ISBN 1590480333

Messanie Wilkins

ISBN 1590480430