After more than seven years and thousands of kilometres spent in the saddle, a British pony breeder made a stop in Canada’s capital this week.
Megan Lewis, 65, has been horseback-riding around the world since 2008.
Originally from the United Kingdom, Lewis began her journey in China, just after the end of the Beijing Olympics. Her original plan was to spend four years travelling from the tip of the Great Wall to London, where the 2012 Olympics were held.
But after riding through Kazakhstan, Ukraine and Hungary, Lewis didn’t stop when she hit London. Instead, she decided to explore the Irish coast, and in May 2014, she crossed the Atlantic, arriving at Cape Speak, Nfld., to start a Canadian stretch of her trip.
Accompanied by her Newfoundland part-bred pony, Lady, Lewis travelled from the Maritimes to Trois Rivieres, Que., in 2014. She went home to Wales for the winter, but returned to Canada last month to continue her ride along the Trans Canada Trail and through southern Ontario.
"(Horseback-riding is) a very good way to get to know a country," Lewis told CTV Ottawa this week.
Lewis keeps a blog about her travels, writing about her impressions of the places she visits. Since arriving in Canada, she has described how delighted she was to see icebergs off the coast of Newfoundland, how much she enjoyed "Cape Breton hospitality," and what it was like when she tried poutine for the first time in Quebec.
"Poutine is a Quebec specialty of chips (French fries) with cheese curds and a gravy sauce," Lewis wrote. "It sounds grim but is actually delicious!"
Lady, on the other hand, prefers to eat bananas, Lewis said.
Lewis said she and her horse tend to travel up to 40 kilometres a day, and that they both get a break every three months or so when Lewis returns home to visit her family in Wales.
While on the road, Lewis fundraises for her husband’s organization, Challenge Aid. The charity works with children in the slums of Nairobi, Kenya.
On her website, Lewis said that in addition to raising money, she wants to raise awareness of the history and culture of the countries she visits, and to research and/or promote local breeds of horse.
She also hopes to write a book about her horseback adventure -- but first, she wants to make it to the West Coast of the United States. She said she hopes to reach her final destination sometime next year.
"My children think I’m mad," she joked. "But they’re not surprised."
