A dreamer, a drunk, and a dog.

“Sure… i just met you, let’s ride around the world together!”

Pete and Luisa met by complete chance in a Mongolian Park and decide to ride west together. After 780 days on the road, they arrived in Memmingen Germany, Luisa’s hometown. Pete proposed two minutes after arriving, and they married the following year in the Bavarian Forest where they now reside when not on the road with their horses. Together they have spent over 1,000 days on horseback together across Mongolia, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey, Bulgaria, Serbia, Romania, Hungary, Austria, Germany, France, Switzerland, Italy, Czech Republic, Slovenia, Croatia, and Slovakia.   

Pete & Marengo.

Pete - Adventurer, saddle maker & long rider.
Pete’s a few years older than Luisa, and has spent much of his adult life on mad adventures of one sort of another. Born in Frankston, on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula just south of Melbourne, his travels have taken him to over 100 countries while based out of New Zealand for some 20 years. Pete has been a soldier, a hunting guide, and adventurer when not on some modern day “Indiana Jones” type quest after gold or glory. Unfortunately these unique experiences alienated him from his peers on his return to a so called “normal life” to such a degree he no longer felt a part of society. So, he ran to the one place he felt most at peace; Outer Mongolia. He had planned to reunite with his Mongolian horses purchased on previous visits, and just sort of “ride west” towards his favourite Scottish distillery when a chance meeting with Luisa changed everything. Pete now spends his time discovering Europe on horseback when not building saddles and gear for fellow long riders and adventurers.

Marengo - 9 year old Kabardin x Arabian gelding. 15.2 hh / 155 cm

Marengo was arguably one of the worlds most famous war horses, a 14.2 grey Arabian ridden by none other than Napoleon himself. Pete felt it was a fitting name, and Marengo is quite literally his dream mix of blood lines “Turkish Arabian x Kabardin”. Marengos mother is the son of one of Russias most famous Kabardin horses, a breed you have most likely never heard of. Kabardin or Kabarada, are know as an “extreme breed”, consisting of Turkmen, Karabir, and Arabian bloodlines. These horses thrive at high altitude and are undaunted by cliffs, rivers, and even bears! Half “spicy bouncy horse”, half “extreme mountain horse”, Marengo is Pete’s dream horse and has now covered over 10,000km with Pete and during that time has never once unseated him. To see his utter madness… click the link.

Luisa, Jill, & Banditi.

Luisa - Adventuress, business manager, & long rider.
Luisa grew up in Memmingen, a small town near Munich in Bavaria. The second of 4 children, she was surrounded by love, and to this day, family is still a huge part of Luisa’s life. Although very close, she was somewhat different to her siblings and enjoyed horses as her own personal escape. This love of horses, and a lust for adventure led her to Australia where she picked up her dog Jill while working as a drover. She returned to Germany and completed an apprenticeship as a vegan chef, before once more heading towards Australia, this time following a land route. Luisa spent the summer of 2019 exploring the Mongolian steppe after purchasing a pair of Mongolian horses on a whim, and fell in love with horseback adventure travel. As Luisa tried to head into China, she was refused entry because of Jill; and in August of 2019, while contemplating her future in an Ulaanbaatar park… she met Pete. Now she is not just exploring Europe on horseback 3-6 months a year, but running the essential day to day management of the business.

Banditi - 6 year old gelding OTTB x 1/4 horse x Connemara x “mud blood?” 15.3 hh / 158 cm
Banditi is the total opposite to Marengo. He is a sweet, calm, and kind character that has made him a perfect parter for Luisa. Being the youngest member of team, he often dictates the pace and still has a long way to go. But he is proving to be an exceptional horse for long riding, and has carried Luisa across 10 countries all ready!

Jill - 11 year old Koolie/Kelpie mix from Australia.
Jill, or “Jilli”, is a real character. With absolutely no stock sense, she was in all honesty destined for an untimely end at the hands of a disgruntled farmer. But the second she met Luisa, the little cattle dogs’ life changed forever and the two became one. Jill’s a real adventurer in her own right, and has followed Luisa to an amazing 29 countries so far, making her arguably one of the world’s most travelled dogs! Although she complicates everything they do, Luisa and Pete love her to bits and wouldn’t be without her. But sadly, due to her age, she now spends her summers with Luisas Mum while Pete and Luisa are out long riding. During the rest of the year though, she remains the boss of the gang and the most loyal and loving best friend to Lu and her new “dog dad”.

Having ridden around 50 horses during the journey, there simply isn’t the room to even begin telling their stories on a website that is nothing much more than a teaser of Luisa and Pete’s journey. The following 7 horses were our main ones though, and were sadly sold at border crossings. Usually named after famous Australian war horses, these boys are more than just horses to Luisa and Pete. They were partners, and they were depended on for their very survival on the steppe.

  • Bill the Bastard

    Petes Partner in Kazachstan.

  • Jac

    Lus Partner in Kazachstan.

  • Bluey

    Lus partner in Uzbekistan.

  • Beersheba

    Petes partner in Uzbekistan.

  • Blacky

    Lus partner in Turkey.

  • Sandy

    Petes partner in Turkey.

  • Smokey

    Lus Partner from Bulgaria to Germany.

“Once more into the frey. Into the last good fight I'll ever know.

Live and die on this day. Live and die on this day...”

The Grey

The BPLC “Bunny”.

Drawn for us by the amazing Emma Schmitt; the BPLC Bunny has quite specific meaning.
In the Native American “Cree” folklore, the rabbit is often referred to as a trickster; and although he is a prey animal… he sits and smokes; unafraid, as he knows he is smarter than the Panther. Luisa and Pete ride and live without fear, and it’s this lack of fear that allows them to live their dreams. They both have a matching bunny tattoo, and place bunny stickers on random street signs along their travels.
The idea came from a scene in one of Pete’s favorite movies, “The Edge” and there’s a link to the scene below. The movie is well worth a watch, and so is “The Grey” from which the quote above comes from.