Serko

Two wonderful books for the delectation of French-speakers! 

The paperback version is the original fictionalised story of the real, incredible 1889 journey of Cossack officer Dmitri Peshkov from the Siberian far east to Saint Petersburg, almost 6,000 miles across the harsh Siberian landscape – undertaken on one horse in winter!  It is followed by two other stories, Riboy and Ganesh.

Pour empêcher un massacre de chevaux, quelque part au fin fond de la Sibérie, un cosaque decide de faire appel au tsar lui-même.  En novembre 1889, il quitte son village, traverse tout l’empire russe, et parvient à Saint-Pétersbourg en mars 1890:  près de 9.000 km. En moins de 200 jours, sans changer de monture!  Le veritable héros de ce prodigieux exploit, c’est un cheval.  Il s’appelle Serko.

Suivi de deux autres ciné-romans, Riboy et Ganesh.

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The hardback version is a visual delight.  It relates the story of Peshkov’s amazing achievement in detail, and is beautifully illustrated with contemporary pictures and stunning images by Friend of The Long Riders’ Guild, Matthieu Paley, of the film itself.  Well worth buying even if you do not read French! 

Ce livre, tiré du film Serko, raconte l’histoire extraordinare de Dimitri Pechkov, jeune cosaque de 17 ans parti des rives du fleuve Amour,  en novembre 1889, pour defender auprès du tsar la cause des Evenks, people de la Sibérie extreme-orientale, et de leurs valeureux petits chevaux, que les Russes transformeraient volontiers en animaux de boucherie.  Pour parler au tsar, Dimitri part donc, sur son cheval gris, Serko, pour une traverse de la Russie d’est en ouest.  Après 9 000 kilomètres de neige, de froid et de solitude, il atteindra Saint-Pétersbough en mai 1890, au terme d’une aventure qui nous plonge dans l’empire russe de la fin du XIX^c siècle.

Rider Ride On

George Hilliard’s book about horse travel and endurance racing in America is fascinating.  Horses and humans have been partners for centuries, during which time they discovered distant lands, fought wars, blazed trails, played games, ran races and undertook some of the world's most amazing journeys together. Though the history of horses and humans is a vast topic, author Hillard has undertaken a unique and specialized study of North American equestrian history. "Rider Ride On" is the first book of its kind in decades to document both North American Long Riders and endurance racers. Using a vast array of primary source material, as well as personal interviews, Hillard presents a unique blend of equestrian history which specializes in documenting the most famous endurance racing events, including the Chadron to Chicago race that launched American endurance racing, as well as many of the most legendary Long Rides of the last two centuries, including Bud and Temple Abernathy's ride from New York to San Francisco in 62 days. Filled with terrific stories and great interviews, "Rider Ride On" is based on years of accurate research and contains never before seen material granted to the author from the archives of The Long Riders' Guild. Because this special book represents years of devoted academic effort, The Long Riders' Guild would like to extend a special "congratulations" to our friend and comrade, George Hillard, for a job well done !

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