Tschiffely’s Ride: Ten Thousand Miles in the Saddle from Southern Cross to Pole Star
4.5/5
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About this ebook
In the early 1920s, a peaceful Swiss schoolteacher accomplished one of the most extraordinary equestrian journeys in history: Aimé Tschiffely and his two trusty steeds, Mancha and Gato, traveled the incredible distance of ten thousand miles between Buenos Aires and New York.
Tschiffely’s Ride recounts the dramatic story of that daring journey. Along the trackless Pampas of Argentina, over Peru’s towering Andes Mountains, through the malaria infested jungles of Central America, across the deserts of Mexico, and on to a rapturous welcome in faraway New York, Tschiffely carries the reader along on an unforgettable quest.
Although many taunted him as a fool for daring to make a ride that had never been attempted, the author was greeted as a hero by the president of the United States and given a ticker tape parade by the mayor of New York City. Nearly a century later, the modest Tschiffely is revered as the most influential Long Rider in history.
Tschiffely’s journey has inspired five generations to swing into the saddle and seek their own equestrian adventure; his beloved book remains the most famous and enduring equestrian travel tale ever written.
“It is a fascinating personal narrative....Tschiffely has told a romantic and adventurous tale.”—Kirkus Reviews
“A ride that beats all the great rides of fact and fiction clean out of the field.”—The Times
Aimé Tschiffely
Aimé Felix Tschiffely (May 7, 1895 - January 5, 1954) was a Swiss-born teacher, writer, and travel enthusiast. He wrote a number of books, most famously Tschiffely’s Ride (1933) in which he recounts his solo journey on horseback from Argentina to New York City, an epic adventure that still marks one of the greatest horse rides of all time. He was a household name in the United States during the 1930s, meeting with President Calvin Coolidge and appearing in National Geographic Magazine and earning a living from his popular book sales. Born into an old Swiss family in Bern, where he was educated and became a teacher, he left Switzerland to teach in England in his early 20s. Following a brief stint as a professional footballer and boxer, he moved to Buenos Aires and turned to teaching again, at St. George’s College, Quilmes, and later as the temporary headmaster of the Buenos Aires English High School. His schedule allowed time for adventures riding horses and exploring the surrounding pampas. In 1925, at the age of thirty, he decided to undertake a journey by horseback from Buenos Aires to Washington DC. He wrote about his ride in a bestselling book (Tschiffely’s Ride) in which he recounts his epic three-year journey from 1925 to 1928 on two native Criollo horses named Mancha (meaning Spotty) and Gato (meaning Cat), direct descendants of horses brought to Argentina by the conquistador Pedro de Mendoza in 1535—the first horses brought to the new world. Tschiffely became a famous successful author and moved with his wife Violet to London where he continued to write more books, one of which was a biography of his friend Robert Bontine Cunninghame Graham who had died in 1936. In 1937 he returned to South America and made another journey, by car, to the southern tip of the continent, recording his experiences among the natives and the changes brought on by modernity in This Way Southward (1940). He died in 1954 at the age of 58.
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Reviews for Tschiffely’s Ride
15 ratings2 reviews
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5An Argentinian (of Swiss origin) by the name of Tschiffely travels by horseback across South and Central and North America 3 years from Buenos Aires to Washington DC. He was very famous in his time, meeting with President Coolidge, articles and speeches in National Geographic, newspapers, etc.. every country along his path gave him golden receptions. I'm sure most peoples grandparents remember him (although he is probably mostly forgotten today!). Parts of this book were printed in National Geographic Magazine (in the 1930s).Written in a straight forward but very readable and enjoyable style, it is one adventure after the next, each page is literally a new encounter. It can be an exhausting read at times. One admires Tschiffely's physical strength and morally strong character (not withstanding the opium den experiment). As well as his affection, bond and care for his horses and all living creatures (this is also a horse lovers tale).Latin America in the 1930s was a time when cars, electricity, TV's and radio, phones, etc.. existed only in isolated pockets, when Spanish conquistador history still lay heavy over the land. Brilliant first person encounters and observations of the individuals and cultures that history books would not as well convey, and that are now lost to modernity. It is also interesting how nearly impossible it was to travel north/south in Latin America even just 70 years ago due to geography (by comparison travel by horse east-west across America would be a less interesting story being done so often).Overall a very good book. At times things seems to repeat (another town, another fiesta) and the authors ability to keep things new escapes him toward the end (perhaps due to his malaria) so it starts to feel like a journal, but that is a minor quibble for a classic travel adventure book.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5In 1925 A. F. Tschiffely, a young Swiss instructor of English, set out to do what no one had ever done - and the majority of sane people thought to be impossible: ride from Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina to New York City. He would take only what supplies could be carried by his two horses, Mancha and Gato, and his dog. (The dog's company lasted only hours into the first day.)In all, Tschiffely rode over 10,000 miles in 2 1/2 years, all of it on either Mancha or Gato, two teenage Argentine Criollo horses he'd acquired from a supporter only a few weeks before the start of his ride. What's truly amazing about Tschiffely's account is as much what isn't written as what is. In spite of the hardships and dangerous situations in which he found himself, he writes mainly of the people and places he encounters, glossing over many incidents which must have threatened to derail his trip entirely, if they didn't result in his death or crippling injury. An amazing story, even if you're neither a horse person nor a fan of travel literature.