5000-kilometer ride

In the saddle through the Wild West of the USA

Günter Wamser and Sonja Endlweber talk about their adventure in the USA

(Bild: www.abenteuerreiter.de)

Sonja Endlweber and her partner Günter Wamser rode 5000 kilometers through the Wild West of the USA. The two adventure riders even experienced a fierce forest fire in California, which they documented on video.

"We shouldn't have come out of there a day later," say Sonja Endlweber and Günter Wamser. The shock is still in the bones of the Lower Austrian and her partner. On their ride through the Wild West of the USA, a fierce forest fire in California jeopardized the 5000-kilometre project of the two adventure riders. Fortunately, the two riders, their four mustangs and dog Charlie were evacuated in time.

They eventually continued their journey 200 kilometers further north. In Texas, the pair cross breathtaking mountains on the Pacific Crest Trail and the Arizona Trail. Over hill and dale, through endless forests, the adventurers also travel through barren deserts on their journey. It was an up and down experience for the two of them. Even though their bones sometimes ached and the days were often strenuous and tiring, they were always motivated. They were never bored. "Traveling with horses is slow, time-consuming and old-fashioned. But for us, there's nothing better," Sonja Endlweber emphasizes.

Adventure trip on four hooves
The former management consultant from Langenzersdorf in the district of Korneuburg has ridden from Mexico to Alaska with her partner: "The slowness in particular is fantastic. Sometimes we only ride a few kilometers a day and still see more than some people do on a two-week round trip by bus," she explains. "While you usually look fixedly at the path in front of you when hiking, you can leave the task of choosing your steps to the horses and let your gaze wander."

Traveling with horses is slow, time-consuming and old-fashioned. But for us, there is nothing better.

Sonja Endlweber

For Günter Wamser, too, the western ride was an enriching experience: "Being out and about for weeks, sleeping in a tent, cooking around a campfire and being able to forget the problems of our modern world for a while - we owe that and much more to our horses."

On March 8 and 10 in Langenzersdorf, Endlweber and Wamser will tell us all about their experiences.

All dates can be found at www.abenteuerreiter.de