SUPPORT US
Update March 27, 2024 :
"More than 120 of you have helped us raise 10000€! Thank you so much. The main costs of the expedition are covered, and so are the costs of shooting a second film.
Our last fundraising goal is 13000€. With the extra 3000€, we can pay for professional translations so the film can be screened in both French & English, high quality color editing.
Any money raised over 13000€ will be put into the En Selle association, and our 2025 community projects.
Join us on an equestrian journey from Kyrgyzstan!
We're preparing an incredible new adventure, from Kyrgyzstan to the French Alps. To make this journey happen, we're raising money to round out the budget. During that time we’re thrilled to share with you our first film, En Selle, The Kyrgyz Ride.
Who are we ?
For those who do not yet know us, En Selle is made up of Ashley, a 31-year-old journalist and author, and Quentin, a 35-year-old director and photographer. We met 6 years ago through our common passion for travel and adventure. Since then, we have never stopped exploring the world on horseback.
In 2021, we met three Kyrgyz horses: Tian, Chai and Fidel.
Together we traveled 1600 km across the Celestial Mountains of Kyrgyzstan, a small Central Asian country, learned from each other and learned so much about the nomadic life of shepherds at high altitude.
The first movie
These horses also played a very big role in our first documentary film: En Selle, The Kyrgyz Ride (2023)
You can watch the film below!
During the next few weeks, we’re raising money for a new adventure. If you enjoyed the film, or already know about our new project, please read the story below and consider contributing to the adventure! Enjoy 😊
Anglophones 🇺🇸, click below (Stripe)
Francophones 🇫🇷, click below
(HelloAsso)
One chapter ends, and a new one begins...
Since leaving Kyrgyzstan, we found refuge in the Alps, at the foot of Mont-Blanc, in Saint-Gervais-Les-Bains. We were welcomed in the region by passionate people who taught us a lot about respect and solidarity in the mountains and we quickly fell in love with the alpine culture.
But we miss our horses...
One day, Hélène wrote to us: "I have a new adventure idea for you: what do you think about bringing Tian, Chai, and Fidel back to your home in France!"
It only took a few words to reignite the flame 🔥
We made our decision: We will bring our horses to the Alps! This journey will therefore not be a departure to a destination, but rather a return home! We arrive in Kyrgyzstan on March 1, 2024 to begin this new adventure!
The project
Bringing horses to the Alps... Easier said than done...
Between Kyrgyzstan and the Alps, there are mountains of administrative, health, political, logistical difficulties... but fortunately, also real mountains!
The journey is divided into two parts:
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Travel part of the way by truck to get to the eastern borders of Europe, Poland
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Then we’ll travel on horseback for nearly 3000 km across the Carpathians, the Danube Delta, and the Alps
Sound like the scenario for a new film? It is! The central theme? the horse as a bridge between humans and nature - in other words, we are going to try to show how the horse can help us connect more closely to nature while traveling.
Thanks to the horses, we feel more connected to wildlife, to the mountains, to the Earth. Do horses have a role to play in our transition towards greater respect for living beings?
This documentary film will lead us (and you!) to meet people who have chosen to live alongside horses and animals in the mountains, and learn from them.
How it’ll pan out:
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After 3 weeks of nervously waiting, got great news: the horses have already passed their health tests to enter Europe and everything is OK ✅
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After 2 years, we’ll be reunited with our horses in Kyrgyzstan.
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The horses get their passports.
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The first challenge is to travel 5000 km by truck to Europe in Poland through the Kazakh desert, Russia, and the Baltic countries.
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Once in Poland, our horses go into a short quarantine and... become citizens of the European Union!
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Finally, the horseback journey begins - we explore the Carpathians and the Low Tatras National Park between Poland and Slovakia
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We take advantage of the shaded paths along the Danube to reach the beginning of the Austrian Alps.
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Following the Via Alpina, we reach the Bavarian Alps at the German border.
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We enter the heart of the Alps to explore in Northern Alps of Italy.
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Then, in Switzerland, we explore the Pennine Alps, near Zermat, then the Valais region.
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In France, the adventure ends! After a second crossing of the Italian border, we arrive home to Saint Gervais les Bains via the Col de la Croix du Bonhomme.
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After our arrival, it's our turn to accompany Tian, Chai, and Fidel: settling them into their new life in the French Alps.
The budget
This new expedition is much more complicated than the first - and so is the budget!
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We need to get to Kyrgyzstan: 1200€
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The truck trip and the paperwork to enter the EU represent the most expensive part of the trip: 8000€
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We have to pay for Russian visas: 800€
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We have to buy the three horses from Hélène: 4000€
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We need to buy some new tack and camping equipment: 800€
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We need to budget for shoeing the horses throughout the journey: 600€
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We've got a budget of 1000€/month to feed and accommodate the team (humans and horses) = 6000€
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Fortunately, a lot of awesome brands have provided us with equipment so we don't have too much expense to incur on that front. Big ups to them!
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We have some filming costs: Minimum 5000€ to cover professional video editing and sound design
You can already see, this is not a small project.
The budget is currently partly financed by adventure grants, institutional partnerships, brands as well as our own funds.
But, we haven't raised enough funds to cover the entire provisional budget and that's why we are looking for pledges from individuals.
The funds raised will be used to support not only the expedition but also the production of our second documentary film.
And for you?
We want you to participate as much as possible in the adventure — not just with your wallet. As funders of the adventure,
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We will add you to our private mailing list, where you will have private reports on the progress of the expedition.
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You will also have tickets for one of the film's premieres, or a private online link if you can’t make it.
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And of course, we would like you to meet the horses in the French Alps- come and have tea with Chai, or go skiing with Tian, or maybe paragliding with Fidel?
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**Business owners/private indivuduals who'd like us to include your logo or organize a private screening or motivational conference, send us an email -- we're up for it! enselle.voyage@gmail.com
We aim to raise at least 10,000€ with this fundraising campaign.
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Starting at 7000€ 👉🏼 The expedition can take place
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Starting at 10000€ 👉🏼 The expedition is feasible + We can cover the main costs of the film.
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Starting at 13000€ + 👉🏼 The expedition is feasible + We can cover the main costs of the film + we can pay for professional translations and color editing.
HOW TO DONATE ?
Anglophones 🇺🇸, click below (Stripe)
Francophones 🇫🇷, click below
(HelloAsso)
