Riding Spanish byways

Press, 25 February 1989, Page 27

Riding Spanish byways

A Girl, A Horse and A Dog. By Belinda Braithwaite. Collins. 1988. Illustrations. 23Spp. $42.95. (Reviewed by Tui Thomas) To ride 1700 miles in four months from the southern Spanish town, Sotogrande, to the Champs Elysees in Paris, with only a horse and a dog for company, was either a fearless or foolhardy journey. Readers can make up their own minds on that point; admire or deride the young Englishwoman who did it. Belinda Braithwaite admits she did not know what she was letting herself in for when she set out on her Andalusian gelding with her Dobermann guard dog. As the months of plodding on from one village to the next went by her early feelings of happiness and excitement evaporated. “It became a matter of survival,” she says. But she stuck out the torturous heat of the rough, tough Spanish interior; the rain and snow of the north. Hard on her and the two animals, but their trials and tribulations make this extraordinary traveller’s tale fascinating to read. Though she met with tremendous kindness among the Spaniards along the road, she had some nasty experiences too. She says she found it difficult to cope with never being able to trust anyone, and always felt vulnerable, terribly alone and unable to communicate. Her only Spanish, which increased in time, came from a phrase book she carried and she had little money on her at any one time. Braithwaite’s only gear had to be carried in two saddle bags. She never

knew from one day to the next whether or not she would have a bed, or her horse and dog stabling for the coming night. They were dependent on the good will of strangers for food and shelter and she was grateful for. any accommodation to rest her exhausted body — in a goat shed or a monastery, a chateau or a field. In Spain she took part in local life, such as watching a bullfight or riding to a feria. Fit as she was, she caught a bad dose of ’flu at one stage and was nursed back to health by a caring Spanish family. Once across the Pyrenees and into France the author seems to be in an understandable hurry to reach her destination and, for the most part, skips details and writes more concisely. In Paris at last, she is met by parents and friends, newspaper and television teams and the long journey is over for the intrepid rider, her horse and dog. All along the route she telephoned regularly reports of her journey to the “Daily Mail” London, for publication. The money she earned made, the venture financially' possible. “By the end of my journey that phone call had become my lifeline,” she says. “After months of isolation ... it was this contact with my old world which kept me going.” Braithwaite has written her book with intense awareness of all she experiences and with a delightful sense of humour. For riders who enjoy week-end horse treks the book will have a special appeal and for anyone else with a liking for adventure.