Karen Lancaster aboard the Lipizzan stallion Igor while in Hungary.

From Australia’s Sunshine Coast to the Great Wall of China, Hungary’s Lipizzaner Trail to Colorado’s Rocky Mountains, Karen Lancaster finds the world’s best equestrian-vacation spots, then wraps them in packages for riders to enjoy. If she weren’t doing this, she says, she’d be a detective — although as owner of Cross Country International, her natural sleuthing skills come in handy. She travels down many trails and over countless miles, making sure the exotic locations, comfy accommodations, and trail-savvy mounts are up to her high standards.

“Tough job, but someone’s got to do it!” Lancaster says with a smile.

It all started nearly 20 years ago, when Lancaster, hoping to take her riding skills to the next level, traveled to Yorkshire, England, to train with British National Dressage Champion Christopher Bartle. Happy with the results, she referred friends to him, and a snowball started rolling.

Lancaster started her business modestly, working out of her New York City apartment with just a phone and a fax. Today, Cross Country International, located in the picturesque Hudson Valley north of New York City, employs 18 people and represents 35 facilities in 14 countries. Several adventurous new rides are set to debut in 2007.

When Lancaster is auditioning equestrian facilities to add to her list of vacation sites, what does she look for in their horses? “Heart, heart, and more heart,” she says. She’s found that around the world, from Italy to China, horse lovers develop an immediate connection that requires no translator. Read on to meet globe-trotting trailblazer Karen Lancaster. 

TTR: How did you first become involved with horses?

Lancaster: My four sisters and I grew up in the middle of Maryland hunt country, but not in a horsey family. My father was concerned that the racing community was not something desirable for his daughters. However, my Uncle Henry in California was a real horseman. During a summer visit, I rode one of his Quarter Horses, and that was it. It was just something in my blood. At age seven, I started riding through 4-H, and I joined the Girl Scouts and earned my horsemanship badge.

Today, I proudly support the Girl Scouts of America’s nationwide horsemanship program. If they call us, we set them up with local stables that offer lessons at group rates, and we make sure troop leaders have all the necessary printed materials. 

TTR: Tell us about your first horse.

Lancaster: I leased horses, but didn’t own one until I was 30-something. At the time, I was taking lessons, and a local horse buyer drove in with a van filled with show jumpers from Canada. Rocket, then 7 years old, was one-quarter Quarter Horse and three-quarters Percheron. He was 16.2 hands high, chestnut, with a white blaze and four white socks. I took one look and fell in love. My instructor wasn’t impressed: Rocket wasn’t fancy enough. She called him a Kroll, which in Dutch means anything but graceful. But it was too late. I’d bought him.

Today, he’s 24 years old, and I still have him. He can be a bully and a loner, but he’s also reliable, true, brave, and fierce. He’s George C. Scott playing General Patton. I feel that he loves me with all his being. When I look at him, my heart hurts.

TTR: Do you have horses today?

Lancaster: I have three. Rocket is essentially retired now, and enjoys a two-acre pasture with Swan. Swan, 18, is a Trakehner gelding, and the charming, equine version of Cary Grant. He’s very sweet and gentlemanly, with an engaging sense of humor. And I have Sweeney, 8, an Irish Hunter straight from the Emerald Isle. He’s reliable, with no ego, just a huge desire to please. He’s the nicest looking horse I’ve ever owned — a beautiful guy — the Jude Law of my pasture. He, too, is very brave.

TTR: Who’s your all-time favorite trail horse?

Lancaster: Rocket. He is my rock. Here’s an example: One day, some friends and I were hacking down a landing strip at a small, usually deserted local airport. Suddenly, a jet landed. We hadn’t even heard it approach. But Rocket just stood his ground and looked at it.

His enormous confidence has given me confidence on many occasions. If a tree falls across a trail we’re riding, he just jumps it. He has a huge barrel and I have long legs, so it looks like I’m riding a living room sofa. He eats everything; his food disappears as if sucked up by a vacuum cleaner. Today, Rocket has Cushing’s Disease, which we treat with both veterinary care and herbally, and he enjoys life. I simply love him. 

TTR: How did you become involved with the equestrian-vacation industry?

Lancaster: Gradually, and almost by accident. In the mid-1980s, my husband and I were living in New York City, both working Monday to Friday for large corporations. On Friday nights, we’d scramble to drive back to Millbrook, a horsey town in the Hudson Valley, about an hour and a half away. I took riding lessons and was competing at low-level one-day events in Millbrook and in Connecticut.

When I heard about a great trainer in the United Kingdom, Christopher Bartle, I flew over to spend a week with him and came home vastly improved. Of course, I immediately told all my friends about him. Over the next year, I referred 30 people to him. Eventually, he called to say I’d sent him more clients than his agent in the States and asked if I’d be interested in representing him. So, in 1989, I started — gradually. It was a great opportunity to do something with horses. I worked out of my apartment in the city, armed only with fax machines and phones.

Soon, other trainers and equestrian-holiday sites in England, then in Ireland and France, found me. I sought out only the very best. Then, the year before the Barcelona Olympics, I got a call from the Mexican Army Cavalry Team. They needed help securing facilities in England for 60 people and 17 horses to use as a training base for four months before Barcelona. I quit my city job to handle that — and I was on my way!

Today, I continue to work with the United States Equestrian Team, and we’re handling tickets to the World Equestrian Games in Aachen, Germany. We also plan to work on tickets and accommodations for the Pan Am Games and the Olympics in Hong Kong. Our company has grown to 18 people, handling 35 facilities in 14 countries. Next year, we plan to add three more.

TTR: How do you select the rides that your company offers?

Lancaster: Several ways. Every year, I ask our customers what new trips they’d like to see, and some of our most popular vacations have resulted from their suggestions. Those include a visit to Vienna’s

famous Spanish Riding School and our tour of Australia’s Sunshine Coast, riding wonderful stock horses through rain forests and on spectacular sandy beaches. We have an 800,000-person database, and we listen to their ideas.

Once we know there’s an interest in a particular area, we make several visits to participate in potential vacations. We make certain that their horses are well-cared for and well-mannered; that they have great instructors or guides with the attitude that they cannot do enough for our clients; that the accommodations are excellent, with private baths; and that the scenery, food, and wine are fantastic. Of course, it must be fun!

TTR: What are your three most popular trail rides?

Lancaster: That’s tough. In Ireland, it’s probably Ireland’s Galway and County Clare Trail. It’s an inn-to-inn ride, through some of the most scenic — and historic — trails in Ireland. We ride English- or Western-style through villages and forests, passing castles, forts, and deep, blue lochs, while enjoying Irish pubs and their famous hospitality. Our mounts are Irish Hunters and Irish Cobs, some of the best sport horses in the world.

In Europe, the Tuscany Trail in Italy may be our most popular. We stay at a romantic villa, and ride English-style through vineyards and farms. We also visit the castle where an Italian version of Robin Hood once lived. And the food is out of this world!

For our totally Western aficionados, our Texas’ Roundup Trail is very popular. Cowboys at the Wildcatter Ranch teach riders to gather, hold, and sort cattle, and move a herd. And after a long day in the saddle, riders relax in truly luxurious accommodations. Each trip is special and unique in its own way, and offers opportunities for side-trips and additional adventures.

TTR: What are the most important factors for travelers to consider when booking an equestrian vacation?

Lancaster: I ask people to visualize what makes them happy: beaches, mountains, castles, quaint villages in historic locales — we fulfill their dreams. Are luxury accommodations important? Do they want to spend six to seven hours per day in the saddle, or one or two? What are their riding skills? Do they want specialized riding instruction? Are additional side trips desired.

Everyone in our office has been on all the trips, so what we tell you comes from firsthand knowledge. We spend lots of time just talking before you book anything. Most of our clients have always dreamed of an equestrian vacation, and when they come back from their first, they say, “Why didn’t I do it sooner?” It can be life-changing. Over 35 percent of our clients take another vacation the same year, and 72 percent refer friends to us. For me, it’s very satisfying.  

TTR: What’s your favorite trail ride in the United States?

Lancaster: First, I love riding at home. I live in Millbrook, New York, in the historic Hudson Valley, and especially in autumn, trail riding here is fantastic. I also particularly like a ride we represent in Northern California. Riders settle into the rocking-chair gaits of Tennessee Walking Horses, while riding through ancient redwood forests, wildflower meadows, and along the white sandy beaches of the Pacific Ocean. Much of the territory is seldom open to the public. It’s spectacular.

TTR: What’s your favorite international ride?

Lancaster: I love our ride along Scotland’s Argyll Trail. It’s rugged and breathtakingly beautiful, with purple heather, green hills, and Celtic ruins. We visit the 16^th century Carnassary Castle and a 1,500-year-old chapel, then ride over moors and along stagecoach routes. We end near Inveraray Castle, home to the 13^th Duke and Chief of the Clan Campbell, who kindly allows us to ride his family’s historic estate.

But then, I also love Greece, where we stay on Kefalonia, largest of the Ionian Islands, and then there’s Australia, where the horses are great and the men are gorgeous. You’re asking me impossible questions, you know!

TTR: What’s the most exotic ride you’ve ever taken?

Lancaster: Our most exotic ride is one we’ll begin offering in 2007, along the Great Wall of China. We’ll ride alongside the wall approximately 70 percent of the time. It’ll be relatively inexpensive. It’s a long way to go, but well worth the opportunity to see an ancient culture, and meet horsepeople and learn about their tack and their approach to trail riding in China. When I was there, I was struck by the way our mutual love for horses created an instant connection between us that needed no translator. Horses helped build both of our countries.

TTR: What was your most embarrassing experience on the trail?

Lancaster: I was in the West Country of England, where we ride onto Exmoor National Park. There, the fog from the sea nearby often rolls across the moors. One day, I rode with one of the guides we’ve had a long business relationship with. At one point, he took off at a gallop. It didn’t take me long to take off in pursuit. I expected to catch up with him — but not when he was relieving himself behind a tree! He looked at me and said, “I have absolutely nothing to hide.” I’m sure I was far more embarrassed than he was.  

TTR: What’s the scariest thing that’s happened to you on the trail?

Lancaster: It occurred while riding a new trail along the European coastline, testing some horses at a potential vacation spot. We galloped across beautiful sand dunes. It was exhilarating! I could see that about 500 yards in the distance, our trail ended at a cliff with a dizzying drop into the sea. As we got closer, I sat back to begin to slow down and abruptly found myself holding broken reins. As we galloped straight toward the cliff’s edge, I had absolutely no contact with the horse’s mouth. I could hear the guide shouting for me to stop and I shouted that the reins were broken, not knowing if he could hear me through the rush of wind. I’d never jumped off a horse before, but that day I bailed out, tucked, and rolled. Amazingly, I was just fine, and the horse? When he got to the extreme edge, he stopped and nonchalantly started to graze on green grass.

TTR: What’s your all-time favorite equine book?

Lancaster: Jane Smiley’s Horse Heaven, a novel about the racetrack with vivid characters, beautifully brought to life. I love that book.

TTR: What three people — living or dead, of any era — would you invite for an evening around the campfire?

Lancaster: Robert E. Lee, a great horseman who loved his horse, Traveler. Even though he didn’t believe in the Civil War, he fought for Virginia, and he’s always fascinated me. I’d also invite Amy Tan, author of The Joy Luck Club, an incredible book about women — mothers, daughters, wives — and their lives. It has wonderful insights into relationships. And finally, I’d invite Ellen DeGeneres. She’s so funny, so smart, and never, ever mean spirited. And I’ve heard that she’s learning to ride.

TTR: What’s your most treasured possession?

Lancaster: Without a doubt, my horse, Rocket.

TTR: What’s your idea of perfect happiness?

Lancaster: When I peek into Rocket’s stall, and see him lying down, totally relaxed. It rarely happens, but when it does, I feel that all is well with the world. If anything unsettling happens, I head for him to get grounded and find a special peace.

TTR: If you had a motto, what would it be?

Lancaster: There’s no place like away!