For the last twenty years, I have spent my free time among horses. Barbes, Camarguais, and of course, Criollos are my particular favorites.

Mountain trailriding is my preferred activity. Alone with my two horses, a saddle horse and a pack horse, I have crossed landscapes as difficult as the Alps during several weeks, during my vacations. The Vercors, the Chartreuse, the Ecrins Massif, the Dévoluy are my adventure grounds. Fascinated by studies on animal behavior in their natural environment and equine psychology, I have recently started employing the methods of Pat Parelli.

Basha O'Reilly has joined the small justacriollo.com team, and from now on will write the English version of the site.

Basha is a perfect example of the international character of the site. A Long Rider, with dual Swiss and English nationality, she is currently living in Kentucky in the United States. Basha is married to our American friend CuChullaine O'Reilly who is a horseback traveler, journalist and author. Together, they formed The Long Riders Guild, which is now in the process of gathering together all the equestrian travelers on the planet. Basha is the webmaster of The Long Riders' Guild website.

Photo: Basha and Pompeii in Russia

To find out more, visit:
thelongridersguild.com in English or, worldtrailrides.com in French.

Horses have always been my passion. Even as a child, they were the center of all my thoughts, which my parents could never explain. My family was never involved with horses.

In 1990, upon my father's return from Argentina, we looked at the pictures he had taken of horses in the Pampa, and he told me all he had learned about the Gauchos.

In 1993, I began my university studies and felt the need to explore this Spanish-speaking country. In my third year of studies in Rennes, Juan José Saer's classes on Martin Fierro put my foot in the stirrup. In 1997 I took part in a university exchange program and spent a year studying at the University del Salvador in Buenos Aires. During that year, I visited the Pampa and several estancias, notably that of Mr. F.J. Ballester, of which I have many fond memories.

These studies lead to very specialized works, including the achievement of a master's thesis in Spanish on the theme of horses in Argentine literature from Facundo to Don Segundo Sombra. Later, in 1998,a second thesis was completed comparing the Argentine gaucho to the North American cowboy.

Finally, I am now working on my doctoral thesis, a study of horses and Indians in the history of Argentina, directed by Mr. Jean-Pierre Sanchez at the University of Rennes II; it is scheduled to be finished in 2001.