Authors, explorers, equestrians, trainers, rebels. Elly and Nathan Foote embody the ideal of living each moment to its fullest and taking it boldly as it comes. In four years, they traveled 20,000 miles on horseback, from the tip of South America to the forests of British Columbia, wending their way through mountains, jungles, and deserts. For their mounts, they chose four Argentine Criollo horses (cousins of the American Mustang). They also traveled with their dog, Chaco.
Out of that journey arose two books, Riding Into the Wind: On Horseback Out of Patagonia, A Life Journey and Hidalgo: The Desert Diaries, 100 Days Across the Atacama. These journals chronicle not only their experiences on the trip, but also their thoughts and feelings during a time of world disillusionment (1969 to 1973).
This creative, curious, and optimistic pair shares their open perspective in deed as well as words, offering horsemanship training based on relationship-building and respect for the horse. Their motto, "leap first," stems from a strongly held belief that not knowing what is around the next corner is what makes life worth living. Not only does planning detract from the joy of life, says Elly, it can create preconceived notions that interfere with how well you react, because you can't foresee everything.
Elly grew up in Sweden, where she exercised Thoroughbreds on the track, drove logging horses, and rode cavalry remounts. She credits coaching by Swedish cavalry officers for some of her early training. She met Nathan in Spain in 1962, and the two wed a few years later. They built a home and settled for a while before wanderlust struck. They lived like gypsies before striking out for the New World. When they decided they'd had enough of the nomadic life, they planted roots in Burns Lake, British Columbia.
There, the Footes turned a ramshackle wilderness cabin into Saddle Tramp Wilderness Ranch and ST Training Stables, an international destination for horsemanship training, and a unique summer camp for teenage girls. They also run a saddle/harness shop and, every winter, they log their 1,500 acres on Belgian Draft Horses. They manage with the help of their three daughters, Raya, 29, Conchita Maria, 25, and Naomi, 21, whom Elly describes as "all accomplished horsewomen in their own right." (Conchita Maria, an artist, also illustrated the couple's books.)
The Trail Rider caught up with Elly Foote for a one-on-one conversation on living an unconventional, unplanned life.
TTR: What inspired you to travel on horseback from Patagonia to British Columbia?
Foote: We didn't set out to travel from one end of the continent to the other. We had built a house in Spain, but then that house became a box and living in a box became an unbearable prison. So we sold everything and bought our freedom. We ended up in Patagonia, intending to ride around a bit and that became a way of life. We didn't plan any of it.
TTR: When you set out on the trip, did you plan to publish a book on your experiences?
Foote: Not really. We were writing when we lived in Spain, but we mostly just didn't want to be boxed in anymore.
TTR: What would you say was the single defining moment of the Patagonia trek?
Foote: There isn't really one moment- they're all defining. What you take away from something like that is a sense of wonder: How do you know what's over the next hill? And you go to find out. You learn to trust living in the moment. You don't worry.
