AG Society adventurer Tim Cope on Rusty, one of his Mongolian horses. He looks out at Blue Lake near the 3000-m Kharkhiraa pass in western Mongolia, at the beginning of the Altai Mountains.

In the three-year solo journey, Tim travelled by horse from Mongolia to Hungary across the Eurasian Steppe.
Read about his journey. A six-part documentary he filmed airs on ABC2 from July 28.

Tim makes the final adjustments to the gear on his horse Ogonyok for a day of riding through high pastures of Crimea.

The dangers on such a long and unknown journey were wide and varied. Before embarking Tim was warned that the horses could “turn him to dust in an instant.'” Dealing with such powerful animals as an inexperienced horseman was one potential danger, but what worried Tim more, he says, was the possibility of the horses galloping away and leaving him stranded in the wilds of the steppe – especially in the depths of winter.

In the three-year solo journey, Tim travelled by horse from Mongolia to Hungary across the Eurasian Steppe. Read about his journey

Two nomad children stand next to their camel on the Starving Steppe in Mongolia. They will use the camel for its wool.

In the three-year solo journey, Tim travelled by horse from Mongolia to Hungary across the Eurasian Steppe. Read about his journey

Tim and trusty companion Tigon walk the horses up a steep slope in the Carpthians on the way to the ‘polonino’, the high alpine pasture of the Hutsul people.

“Even when the camera was in working order, filming was a real challenge alone. It usually involved setting up the tripod, riding back, and away and then checking the results, ” says Tim. “Tigon became so accustomed that he used to sit under the tripod and wait, no matter how far I rode into the distance.”

In the three-year solo journey, Tim travelled by horse from Mongolia to Hungary across the Eurasian Steppe. Read about his journey. The six-part documentary airs on ABC2 from July 28.

Tim was given a young dog early on in the journey by a Kazakh herder who sensed the dangers ahead: “Tim, you need a friend on the road. He will guard you from the wolves and be your heater on cold winter nights.”

Tigon – which means ‘hawk’ or ‘fast wind’ – became Tim’s inseparable companion and honoured traveller whose own adventures included being stolen, frozen, and revived on raw eggs and vodka. Tigon is half kazakh Tazi breed (a sight hound), and half shepherd dog.

In the three-year solo journey, Tim travelled by horse from Mongolia to Hungary across the Eurasian Steppe. Read about his journey

Tim rides along the Emba River in remote western Kazakhstan.

“I also did most of the still photography myself by using a 20 s timer on my SLR. This meant setting up the shot, getting the horses to stand in the right place, then sprinting back to jump in the saddle. Since I shot almost everything on transparency film I wasn’t able to process or see any of my photographs until after the trip was completed.”

In the three-year solo journey, Tim travelled by horse from Mongolia to Hungary across the Eurasian Steppe. Read about his journey

Dashnyam and family in western Mongolia. Dashnyam guided Tim for eight days with a camel over the Kharkhiraa Pass in the Altai mountains. His family is one of the Khotont minority.

“The Mongolians say that ‘A man on the steppe without friends is as narrow as a finger. A man with friends is as wide as the steppe.’ For me, this rings very true; in fact I certainly wouldn’t have gotten to Hungary if it wasn’t for the friends I made along the way.”

In the three-year solo journey, Tim travelled by horse from Mongolia to Hungary across the Eurasian Steppe. Read about his journey

Tim leads his Mongolian horse Ogonyok down hard-packed snow to an alpine lake, high in the Carpathians.

“Historians believe that the horse was first tamed and ridden around 5500 years ago on the Eurasian Steppe in what is modern northern Kazakhstan. This gave rise to a nomadic way of life that revolved around the horse and put nomads on a collision course with the sedentary world. Mounted warriors rode into Europe throughout the ages, culminating with the Mongol Empire under Genghis Khan in the 13th century.

The horse, and horsemanship, was introduced to the rest of the world by nomads, and the horse still plays a central role in the life, and culture of all steppe societies.

For me, riding by horse in the ancient equine tradition would allow me to know the heart mind and soul of the steppe nomad. In addition, horses would allow me to experience a sense of freedom and adventure and, importantly, offer an opportunity to be a participant in the communities I passed through, so I was more than just an observer.”

In the three-year solo journey, Tim travelled by horse from Mongolia to Hungary across the Eurasian Steppe. Read about his journey

“Along the way there were constant warnings of wolves which in winter were rumoured to hunt in packs and said to attack in winter when hunting during the mating season. For this I had firecrackers to warn the wolves away. On one occasion in Mongolia my camp was surrounded by howling wolves which I kept at bay by keeping a camp fire going all night.

As they say in Russian, the most dangerous wolf is that which walks on two legs. On three occasions my horses were stolen in the night….but on every occasion I was miraculously able to recover them.”

In the three-year solo journey, Tim travelled by horse from Mongolia to Hungary across the Eurasian Steppe. Read about his journey

Tim describes his inspiration: “From Mongolia stretched the Great Eurasian steppe – 10,000km of fence-free land all the way to the Danube in Hungary. Ever since man first tamed the wild horse, people had been riding across this vast space creating nomadic empires that culminated with the greatest of all time under Genghis Khan.

I couldn’t stop wondering: did the nomad spirit still exist among the nations scattered across the steppes? Could I become a nomad, and re-ride the same trails that mounted warriors had travelled on their journeys to Europe?”

In the three-year solo journey, Tim travelled by horse from Mongolia to Hungary across the Eurasian Steppe. Read about his journey. The six-part documentary he filmed will air on ABC2 from July 28.