WHO?

S O P H I E L I L L I E

Expedition Lead

Five years grafting across Russia and the Far East birthed a tenacity that carried Sophie from open-water races around British islets to a 2,000 km solo bikepack across Patagonia. There, riding alongside Argentine gauchos and Chilean rodeo families, she felt the pull toward horse travel, a pull that led to years of dedicated training: ranch work in Ecuador, the craft of packing in Bolivia, and the study of natural horsemanship, all culminating in the first attempt of The Peru Divide on horseback. She later led expeditions across Bulgaria, Wales, and Exmoor. Sophie’s work is not about conquest, but about resonance: with the animal beneath you and the animal within, as well as with the land and the domestic lives and traditions of ordinary rural people.

D A N N I P O L L O C K

Horse-Packing Storyteller

As a Royal Society appraised Biologist, Danni has garnered a diverse range of technical and creative skills; allowing her to harness scientific expertise to translate complex concepts into visual and written communication; empowering narratives and giving the climate crisis a voice within the creative industries. Danni is drawn to how long-distance riding returns people to a more attentive way of moving through the world. Western horsemanship taught Danni the language of mutual trust and riding has reconnected her to her Roma ancestry. Danni’s work is led by a compassionate form of exploration: observant and dedicated to preserving the life that surrounds us.

‘Two women ride off the map into remote, under-sung horse country in a bid to chase unmediated human and terrestrial connection’