He travels halfway around the world and even sleeps in straw
Herbert Colemansberger once climbed Mont Blanc and skied across the icy desert. Then he saddled the horse and galloped over 4,000-metre peaks in Kyrgyzstan.
Adventurers Together: Herbert Kohlmannsberger poses with his stallion Miran.
Photo: Lukas Barth
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Herbert Colemansberger had been uncomfortable with horses for a long time. He did not learn to ride a horse until he was 46, when he had had enough of his life as a daredevil. When he was young, he rode his racing bike from Hallertau in Bavaria to Chamonix, climbed Mont Blanc – and back home again. He made his way across parts of Siberia on cross-country skis, went on whitewater expeditions, and organized high-altitude tours as a mountain guide.
The German is now 82 years old and has seen impressive things on horseback over the past three decades. Colemansberger made a name for himself as a long-distance cyclist: first winning several competitions over 80 kilometres, he later rode across Poland, Denmark and Portugal. Through Morocco, Norway and South Tyrol. To Vienna, Venice, Paris. He was even drawn to Kazakhstan and three years ago he was in Kyrgyzstan and China.
Not possible? He doesn't have that.
He searched for distant secret paths
He wasn't always far from his home in Bavaria. For example, if he had not traveled through Central Asia with his own horse, “the transportation process would have been very arduous and uncomfortable for the animal,” says Colemansberger. He saw the pristine landscapes of Kyrgyzstan, magnificent and beautiful, and rode peaks over 4000 meters high.
Colemansberger planned his travels through Europe meticulously. At first, he rode almost all the routes on his mountain bike, such as those to Merand, Vienna, Venice and Fontainebleau Castle near the French capital. It was an intense reconnaissance operation, as we had to find remote trails. He traveled to Paris through dense forests, and to Venice even over the Alps, where his experience as a mountaineer helped him.
Colemansberger planned his adventures on up to 50 topographical maps, choosing routes far from towns, and horses were supposed to move on the tar only if necessary, but even those who knew the area were often unaware of these deceptive and detours. He transferred his custom-designed routes to a GPS device, and even built a special saddlebag holder so he could always keep an eye on them while riding.
The horse's health has always been the top priority in all the plans, says Colemansberger, who takes the time to listen to the claims of animal rights activists and tries to refute them. Specifically because he was traveling with animals, careful planning was even more important: he looked for riding stables with the right equipment, because the horse had to be properly cared for and fed.
On his trip to Paris, Colemansberger covered a maximum of 50 kilometers a day, about a third of which he covered on foot in order to protect the horse. In the end, this also carried luggage weighing about 30 kilograms.
When a horse fell in love
“Going Astray” is the title of the book Colemansberger wrote about his many adventures, in which he lets the power of images do the talking, but he also tells funny tales: for example, how his Russian purebred Arabian stallion found himself in the middle of the desert. In the middle of nowhere in a mountainous landscape. The mare missed, ran away and was not seen again for a while. He jumped over eight barbed wire fences, bleeding profusely, but managed to spread himself back out two days later.
At times, the bureaucracy irritated the retiree, as he needed permits to cross some national parks, and he also had to come to terms with forest offices, landowners and even brothers in monasteries – something that did not always go smoothly. An equine passport is required to cross state borders before departure, as Bavaria's official veterinarian takes care of the horse.
Untouched landscape: Herbert Kohlmannsberger (right) was with a local guide in Central Asia three years ago.
Photo: BD
Colemansberger recounts his experiences in lectures and donates the proceeds to charity. He himself hardly needed any money when traveling; On average, the cost of a horse's overnight stay was about 15 francs; In Kyrgyzstan, he spent the night in tents, sometimes alongside nomads.
Kohlmannsberger was 63 when he sold his craft business in Moosburg, Upper Bavaria, and began riding in all directions. From time to time he went out in small groups, but mostly he kept to himself, just him and the horse, and his relationship with the animal was also close. Almost nothing happened at all, and only once shortly before Paris was shot down. The pain was intense.
Miran is the name of his horse that he rode many places in the world. Now 31 and retired, “all she wants to do is get out to pasture,” Colemansberger says. He also makes things easier for himself and no longer looks for adventures outside the country. “I've been crazy long enough,” he says.
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