Freedom Riding Club
Overview of FRC and Operational Information
Purpose of Establishment
Let’s ride freely without being tied to specific styles like British or Western.
In the world, there are as many ways to ride a horse as there are countries, ethnicities, and cultures.
Let’s not just stick to riding within the fences of Japan’s riding clubs, but instead ride freely across the hills and shores of the world.
The Origin of the Club Name “Freedom Riding”
Freedom”: freedom“Riding”: riding a horse or other mode of transport
Just as the name implies, this is the purpose of the club, and it’s easy to imagine.
However, the term “Freedom Ride” has a deeper history. In the late 1960s, during the civil rights movement in the U.S., the term “Freedom Ride” referred to a protest movement where people traveled by bus across southern regions to eliminate racial discrimination in public transportation.
The participants in this movement were called “Freedom Riders.”
As modern-day “Freedom Riders,” we choose to ride horses—not buses or four-wheel-drive vehicles—so that we can travel on paths that horses can only navigate. This includes not only the countryside but also the roads in cities that have been taken over by cars.
We aim to create a global circle of horse riders and spread the friendship of riding among people from all races, genders, and ages.
About FRC Representative Masafumi Tanaka（田中雅文）
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Born in Tokyo in 1951. Graduated from Waseda University, Faculty of Political Science and Economics.
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Worked for 10 years at Simul International, a company specializing in international conferences and simultaneous interpretation.
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In 1985, Tanaka left his job to establish his own foreign language service and consulting company in Tokyo and Sydney. He also served as the representative of the Tasmanian government in Japan for 7 years.
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Enjoyed horseback trekking around the world alongside his work.
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At 43, Tanaka semi-retired and started the activities of the Freedom Riding Club, researching global horse cultures. He has been organizing horseback riding tours around the world for over 28 years, and more recently, domestic riding tours have been more active.
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Studied endurance riding in Australia and France, Competitive Trail in the U.S., and TREC in the U.K., and introduced TREC to Japan in 2010.
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Started competing in endurance races in the U.S. and Australia in 1998. Tanaka was the first Japanese person to finish both of the world’s two major classic races—the Tevis Cup 160 km (USA) and the Tom Quilty Gold Cup 160 km (Australia).
Climbing the difficult section of the Tevis Cup, Cougar Rock. July 2001
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Served as the manager for Japan’s national team at the Endurance World Championships in Dubai (2005) and Malaysia (2008).
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Has organized seminars and lectures to promote endurance riding and outdoor equestrian activities in Japan and Australia for many years.
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A-level rider certified by the Japan Equestrian Federation, certified instructor, and former international endurance judge.
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Author of “Finishing is Winning: An Introduction to Endurance Riding” (Vol. 1 & 2), published by the Hokkaido Horseway Network Association.
Contributed for 27 years to equestrian magazines such as “Uma Life” (formerly “Riding Life”), writing about topics like “English for Horseback Riding,” “Endurance Riding Techniques,” and “Travel Diaries from Overseas Tours.” He is currently running a popular column “Horse Talk – Masafumi Tanaka’s Horse Story.”
Known for his unique teaching style as a riding instructor, emphasizing “Ride Freely and Have Fun,” Tanaka is particularly famous for his innovative techniques like “riding bareback.” His column “Unconventional Training Methods That Will Surprise You” published in “Uma Life” (Issues 4–11, 2016) received a great response.
