Documentary of epic journey by horseback has Caledon connections

By Zachary Roman

Traveling about 30 kilometres a day, current Caledon resident Filipe Leite rode a horse from the Calgary Stampede to his hometown in Brazil. 

He then rode from there to the southernmost tip of South America, “the end of the world.” To complete his epic 25,000-kilometre journey across the Americas, he rode from Alaska back to the Calgary Stampede.

According to the Long Riders' Guild, an international association of equestrian explorers, a long rider is someone who has ridden more than 1,000 miles on a continuous equestrian journey. Leite now certainly fits that bill.

He wrote a book for each segment of his journey, the last of which will soon be available in the Caledon Public Library for all to read. He also documented the journey through over 500 hours of footage, something director Sean Cisterna has narrowed down to an hour and a half documentary, “The Long Rider”, with added interviews with Leite.

Cisterna and Leite both went to Robert F. Hall Catholic Secondary School in Caledon East and the pair were first introduced to each other by their former drama teacher.

Leite began his ride on July 8, 2012 when he left from the Calgary Stampede for his hometown in Brazil. His journey concluded in 2020 when he arrived back at the Stampede. About five of those years were spent riding; the rest, planning.

Leite said he was inspired by a book called Tschiffely's Ride, the story of Swiss school teacher Aimé Tschiffely. In 1925, he rode two horses from Buenos Aires, Argentina to New York.

“My dad used to read the book to me when I was a little kid, and it just became my life's dream,” said Leite, who was born in a small town in the interior of São Paulo, Brazil. Leite and his family moved to Canada when Leite was 9 years old, in the mid-1990s.

When they moved to Canada, Leite's family didn't have the financial means to keep horses in their lives. But a few years later, Leite was able to begin competing in rodeo events and from that time forward, horses have remained in his life.

Caledon being an equestrian community wasn't the main reason Leite's family moved here, but it certainly helped. They had some friends in Caledon and liked the fact it was a rural community that had ranches and farms.

Cisterna said he followed Leite's journey online and knew it would be an amazing story someday. He commended Leite's foresight to record the whole thing, and when the pair linked up, it became their COVID project to produce a documentary about the journey. Cisterna conducted his own interviews with Leite to help tell the story of the journey to the audience.

“It was really remarkable, being a first-hand witness to everything that (Leite) went through and watching all the footage on this journey. I felt like it's hard for the audience not to feel that they're invested in the story… when you have such compelling material, it just makes for a really, truly compelling film,” said Cisterna.

Horses have always been a constant in Leite's life. In fact, the reason his name is Felipe is because it means “friend of horses.” Leite said he was riding horses before he could walk and that his dad was an epic cowboy.

“He was my first hero,” said Leite.

Leite is indeed a friend of horses, and said the most important thing on his journey was the well-being of the horses he was with. He said you have to walk at the horses' natural walking pace, take the appropriate amount of rest days, and make sure they're not losing weight.

He always had two or three horses with him: one to carry his packs, one to carry him, and one extra horse carrying nothing. The horses would switch roles each day so they all got turns carrying nothing. 

Leite said there absolutely were some peaceful, serene moments on the journey, such as when he was in Yellowstone's backcountry. But more often than not, there were stressful situations, be it because of the weather, a bear, or a speeding transport truck.

Leite would have departed on his journey from Ontario, but the route down the western United States was much less populated and therefore better for a journey by horseback.

Planning for the journey took two years and was very hard, said Leite, as he had to find funding, draw his route, talk to long riders from around the world, find horses, and more. He went to a clinic in northern British Columbia to learn how to pack and travel with horses in the mountains.

“The universe found the horses for me: two ranches in Montana donated the animals… a production company in the U.S. funded the trip, that's where the money came from,” said Leite.

“The actual planning was in some ways harder than the journey itself because I needed to acquire everything I needed, from the know-how, to the equipment, to the money in order to take that first step.”

Leite said a huge part of the documentary, and the long ride itself, was to shake people up and show them nothing is impossible.

“We all have excuses. And we all have problems and limitations and fears. But you know, when you're willing to just write it down, plan it, and pour your entire life and heart and soul into anything, nothing is impossible, which is what people told me before I took that first step — that it would be impossible to even leave, impossible to get there,” said Leite. He hopes people leave seeing the documentary thinking about their own dreams and goals, and how they're going to make them happen. 

Cisterna said, at first, nobody wanted to pick up the documentary, but as soon as he started cutting scenes together people started to come on board. Now, the documentary is touring film festivals and will be shown on national television on Super Channel in early 2023.

The documentary is the first that Cisterna has produced, and it's already won some awards. He comes from a narrative movie background, which helped him produce the documentary. He also said Leite's background as a journalist and documentarian helped and the movie was truly a team effort.

Cisterna said “The Long Rider” screened on the east coast at the Sunscreen Film Festival in Florida where it took home the best documentary award, as well as the Beaufort International Film Festival, where it won audience choice. He added it will be screening at the upcoming 17th Annual Mumbai International Film Festival in India; and, in California at the 25th Dances with Films Festival. 

There will be a special screening of the documentary in Caledon as a fundraiser for the Caledon Public Library, something Cisterna and Leite are both incredibly excited about. The screening will take place on Wednesday, July 27 from 7:30 to 10:00 p.m. at the Caledon Inn on Airport Road. Leite and Cisterna will be in attendance to host a question-and-answer session after the documentary is shown

Tickets are $35 if bought before June 27, and $40 if bought after. They can be purchased online on the Caledon Public Library's website. There will be a cash bar at the screening, and attendees are welcome to come to the Inn early for dinner — reservations can be made by calling 905-584-0033.

Leite said growing up, he volunteered at the Caledon Public Library and went to its events. It's always been a part of his life and that's one of the reasons the upcoming special screening of his documentary is so special to him.

“We're excited to help raise funds for them… everything they do for the community, it's such important work, so we're just happy to be a very small part,” said Leite.