Win a copy of A Standard Journey – 5 horses, 2 people, and 1 tent:
GOOD LUCK! If you are not one of the lucky ones – the book is on sale on Amazon (ebook and paperback) Here: A Standard Journey
Don’t forget I am donating 50% of proceeds of this book to charity – I want to help rescue more horses!
I’ve been uncovered and exposed. I’ve been cajoled, poked, pushed and pulled.
It’s been a roller-coaster couple of days.
“Dig deep,” she said, “search your soul….”
For twenty-four hours I was worrying and fretting; how was I going to do this?
Then…. I GOT it!
Opening Up
My heart opened, my words flowed and my goodness it was cathartic. It was a relief, liberating, and on a par with a two-day marathon counselling session.
I laughed, I cried, I did both at once!
Even I understand myself better now.
The Beginning
It started last year (or seventeen years ago, depending how far you delve into my psyche!) In 2013, Noel and I rescued five horses and trekked part of the Bicentennial National Trail.
Jackie’s on Charlie taking the picture, so you can see part of Ned. Noel and his three behind.
The Story
I’ve written the story, and the editors (at Narrative Ink Editing LCC) said, “This was an absolute joy to read! It’s such a unique story. The characters are funny and kind and endearing. This book at times had me laughing out loud, but it is serious too…. Some of your descriptive passages were absolutely breathtaking. At times I felt like I was right there on the trail with them all.”
Noel on Stevie, leading Spirit and Dom (Dom’s trying to roll)
A Whole New Level
Now, together, we’ve taken the story to another level. Fears, accomplishments and my very soul weaves through the book; so not only will you laugh, cry, and be shocked, you will ride the trail with Noel and I, and you will also cling to the emotional roller coaster with me.
Jackie on Charlie, holding Ned, and from r to l Spirit, Dom and Stevie
Jackie on Charlie and leading Ned
(l to r) Stevie, Spirit, Dom, Charlie, Ned
For more about our current escapades, take a look here.
The day I galloped down a steep incline to find a gun to shoot one of our horses, was the day I realised that I may have bitten off more than I could chew.
It was Noel’s idea. Not shooting the horse, but living with horses 24/7 while trekking along part of the Bicentennial National Trail in Australia. When he mentioned the trail for a second time in one week, I knew we’d be doing it. We’re nomadic folk. During our seventeen years together we’ve sailed around the world one-and-a-half-times, become professional skippers and now live on a Dutch barge in France. Amid this mayhem we rescued five scatty, scared horses and slowly transformed the seven of us into a team. 
There were elements of success and elements of failure. The initial realisation that I hadn’t ridden for twenty years and Noel hadn’t ridden for fifty was quite sobering. The stark comprehension that we were now middle aged was a painful one – literally. The joy of transforming those lost boys into strong, confident ‘war-horses’ was sometimes overwhelming. At the start the boys wouldn’t step into a puddle – imagine the emotions when they tackled steep ravines, faced-off bolshie kangaroos and plowed through deep rivers. I sometimes indulged in the enormity of my responsibility. The desolation of our failure still punctures my heart. The yet unanswered desire to return and make the journey a success is still vivid. The heart-break of saying farewell to our boys, our family – will never leave me. There are plans that are slowly unravelling in my mind – we will tackle this once more.
The growth and realisation that – actually – we did succeed; we survived (at times it was an extremely close thing), we turned those boys into useful, brave animals by loving them and giving them a chance.
And, did we shoot the horse? Well there’s a story; a story that will help rescue more of these incredible animals. In June this year I will publish our escapade, warts and all – a percentage of proceeds will be donated to saving more horses-lives. Come join me on a thrilling ride! Up to date information our FB page ‘For the love of horses’.
In the meantime, read more about our watery adventures here.
Jackie Parry - author 