106 PAINT HORSE JOURNAL MONTH 2006 - The Long Riders' Guild

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The longestridene of the most amazing equestrian journeys of alltime began in 1912 when 30-year-old loggerGeorge Beck decided that the scant living hehacked out in the forests of Washington state justwasn’t cutting it.The odyssey ultimately ended with the longestconfirmed horseback trip of the 20th century. Perhapsmost exceptionally, it provided the opportunityfor the single longest journey made by a horsein recorded history, a Paint Horse named “Pinto.”This fact is substantiated by The Long Riders’Guild (LRG, thelongridersguild.com), an internationalorganization of equestrian explorers whohave made continuous horseback journeys of1,000 miles or more. The LRG boasts being thelargest repository of equestrian travel knowledgein history, and they verify that Pinto made theentire trip, dubbed “the ride of the century.”This expedition astonishes those lucky enoughto bump into the few accounts of it remainingtoday. Beck and three other horsemen—hisyounger brother, Charles Beck; a 20-year-oldfriend, Raymond “Fat” Rayne; and Beck’s 38-year-old brother-in-law, Jay Ransome—passedthrough each capital of the 48 states thatcomprised the United States at the time. Thisrequired zig-zagging over mountains, deserts,plains, rivers and every other imaginablegeographic challenge nature can dish out fromsea to shining sea.Above: Though many horses began the expedition, only thestriking Paint Horse named Pinto completed the 20,352-mile trek.Facing: The Overland Westerners—George Beck, Charles Beck,Raymond Rayne and Jay Ransome."Let's make the longesthorse ride on record and getourselves a reputation."George BeckCOURTESYTOM MOATESPAINT HORSE JOURNAL ◆ MAY 2008 ◆ 107
Above: Afterposing for a localphotographer inMay 1912, the fourhorsemen steppedinto their saddlesand began their ride.Bottom right: Theposse started theirlong ride in Olympia,Washington, thenheaded for Oregon,eager to continuetheir journey.“What is ironic about the most logisticallyimpressive equestrian journey of the 20th century,”said CuChullaine O’Reilly, a foundingmember of the LRG, “is that it didn’t beginin Dodge City, or any other town associatedwith the mythology of the Old West. Nor wasit a legendary cowboy who completed the mostdifficult ride in 20th century American history.Though it is hard to believe, the greatest Americanequestrian journey began under the shadowof the mighty Olympic mountains, in the tinyvillage of Shelton, Washington, when four formerloggers, turned Long Riders, rode into therecord books.”Pinto may have lived half a century before theAmerican Paint Horse Association was formed,but we know he sported striking markings andcolor that would turn the head of any PaintHorse enthusiast today. Also, thanks to solidconformation and a sturdy build, he never tooka lame step in 1,127 days, as he covered 20,352miles on that continuous journey—a singularfeat worthy of praise and reflection for any horselover, and certainly qualities sought after byPaint Horse breeders today.The great journeyTo George Beck, seeking celebrity andaffluence from the saddle seemed a muchsuperior situation to laboring with an axe.“Logging is a lousy business,” he wrote inhis autobiography. “We’re lucky if we work 6months a year. In the meantime, there’s aWorld’s Fair, the Panama Pacific InternationalExposition, comin’ up in San Francisco in1915. The gold is there. We have the nags andgear. Let’s ride to every state capital in theUnion. Let’s make the longest horse ride onrecord and get ourselves a reputation. We’llwin fame. We’ll write an adventurebook. We’ll put on a show on the midway atthe Exposition. There’s a pot of gold out thereand we’ll find it!”Thus Beck assured his friends of their brightfutures and optimistically got the triptogether. Dubbing themselves the OverlandWesterners, the posse agreed with Beck and108 ◆ PAINT HORSE JOURNAL ◆ MAY 2008
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Page 5 and 6: What scant income camein went to ca

106 PAINT HORSE JOURNAL MONTH 2006 - The Long Riders' Guild

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