RSJ grad releases book about horseback journey across South America

Filipe Masetti Leite, a Ryerson School of Journalism class of 2010 grad, has launched a book about a 7,500 kilometre horseback journey he did through windswept deserts, frozen mountains, and scorched landscapes from Brazil to Argentina that took him 15 months to complete. 

Masetti’s book, called "Long Ride to the End of the World: A Lonely Long Rider’s 7,500 km Journey to the Land of Fire," (external link)  came out on June 30. 

Masetti rode horseback from Calgary to Brazil in a previous long ride. 

“When I got to Brazil, what I thought would be the highest point of my life actually turned out to be the lowest,” he said. “When I was out on that first trip, I saw a lot of crazy things. It was like going to war.” 

He recalled seeing people shot dead, witnessing a man try to kill his wife, and experiencing extreme hunger and thirst. There were moments when he thought he was going to lose his life or one of his horses. These experiences led to him developing some symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, the beginning of depression, and anxiety. 

He went to give a talk at a children’s cancer hospital in Brazil after he finished his first long ride. Meeting the kids who were battling cancer motivated him to do a second long ride from Barretos, Brazil, to Ushuaia, Argentina. This long ride helped to raise funds for the hospital and bring awareness to Latin America about the importance of early diagnosis for childhood cancer. 

The journey required him to draw out his route beforehand. He had to find materials and funding. He worked out at a gym to reach a physical state that would allow him to complete the adventure. 

One of his most memorable experiences from the trip was riding two horses in Argentina from the same bloodline as the ones Aimé Tschiffely, one of the most famous long riders, rode. Tschiffely inspired Masetti to do his long rides. 

Masetti met his girlfriend who is now his fiancée while he was travelling. He adopted a stray dog. His family and people from Canada, the USA, and Brazil were waiting at the final point of his journey, which was memorable. 

He said it felt like a piano was taken off of his back when he completed his journey. 

Writing “Long Ride to the End of the World” allowed him to relive moments from his trip. It provided him with closure. 

He said he sees parallels between Cheryl Strayed, the woman whose hike on the Pacific Crest Trail was made into the movie “Wild,” (external link)  and himself. Strayed and Masetti were soul searching, suffered, and did their journeys because they were experiencing rough periods in their lives. 

Earlier this year, he completed another long ride from Alaska to Calgary. He has become one of three people to have ridden a horse the entire length of North and South America. 

He said his second long ride taught him negative moments are temporary.

“I learned love always wins no matter what,” he said. “Sometimes we can be in a bad moment in our lives, are depressed, or facing challenges, but we have to stay positive because in the end, it always works out.”