Meet A Globetrotter: Regine Deubner

Regine Deubner was one of our very first clients to experience the joy of seeing the world from horseback. She joined us on a ride through Kenya, where she whet her appetite for Globetrotting, and has since completed many more rides with us, enjoying every minute of her time in the saddle. This is her story.

What is your day job?
Administration Manager.

What is your earliest memory of horses?
My earliest memory of horses is as a little 3-4 year old on my dad’s shoulders, watching a parade of horses beautifully adorned with flowers, marching through a town in the spectacle of a famous German Horse Festival and being awed by their beauty and grace.

What was your childhood pony called?
I never owned my own horse or pony growing up or had lessons for that matter. But I worked in a riding stable to earn my rides until I was 14 when my favourite horse, a gorgeous white, silver-maned Anglo-Arab called Halef, died. I gave up riding until horses came back into my life 10 years later through a friend who inspired me to join an Australian Light Horse reenactment group. I felt I had found a strong purpose for my love of horses and riding.

What does riding or being with horses mean to you?
I have since shared in the lives of many horses from hand rearing foals, some from their journey to retirement. I have had to part with some of my best four legged friends with whom I have shared so many adventures from tent-pegging, light horse sporting, parades and competitions, participating at the Ekka, country polo, bush and precision rides, to galloping and swimming at the beach.

My first horse (Walk About, aka Buddy) found me when he was seven and shared life’s journey and his never ending patience with me for 20 years until his passing last year. Yes, horses have and are teaching me patience, mostly patience with myself, and also that we never stop learning.

What was your first globetrotting ride?
My first Globetrotting ride was to Borana in Kenya. It was the ‘trip of a lifetime’ inspired by the stories related by a fellow globetrotter. The ride did not mark a specific milestone in my life, but was shared with my then partner and a group of special friends.

What is your most memorable globetrotting moment?
The most memorable moment was cantering along a dry sandy creek bed and chancing the fleeting moment of seeing a sleek cheetah chasing a little Dick Dick antelope, followed by the antelope’s mate in a desperate attempt to save its life…

However the trip was filled with so many memorable moments it is hard to pick just one.

What globetrotting rides have you since completed?
Since then I have been to the Okavango Delta, Botswana, which was another extraordinary experience, especially our close encounters with elephant, zebra and giraffes. Swimming and cantering the horses through some of its clear waterways was exhilarating beyond belief to me.

I am just about to embark on my next ride in one of my favourite places on earth, Australia’s Kimberley, which I have previously explored by vehicle and hiking.

Why choose this type of travel? As in exploring a new country from the back of a horse?
Horses bring an added element of adventure, excitement, perspective and alertness to exploring any region that cannot be explained but has to be experienced!

A tip that every globetrotter should know before going on a ride…
You will come back a changed person!

Finish this sentence – Don’t leave home without…
Your favourite hat – after the ride it will have a story to tell and every time you wear it thereafter it will remind you of the adventures had!