Painted canvases of worldly rocks beguile a mounted adventurer. This is the curiosity of Thierry Posty, an unbridled French cowboy and adventurer who has made a vow to himself to see every colour of the world on the back of his horse. His journey has finally brought him to Jamaica, a land he has been longing to see.

Posty began a tour of the world on horseback when he was 18. After countless adventures in other countries, Posty bought a ticket to Jamaica with the intention of seeing every inch of it. He spoke with The Gleaner about his reasons for travelling the world on the back of a horse.

"They say passion often comes from trauma. When I was a kid, my parents were not rich and so could not afford to pay for riding lessons for me. So I did my best and worked all day in stables just to ride five minutes at night. So now I want to ride horses all my life. And now I let every kid I pass ride on my horse to give them something I had to work so hard for. I think a horse is also a passport to meet people."

Reasons

Posty, now 51, has been riding for 33 years. His reason for coming to Jamaica is simple: "I have heard such beautiful things about the people and, of course, I love the music," he said.

He intends to claim every inch of Jamaica despite warnings of dangerous places. To such warnings, he simply retorts, "I crossed South Africa for a year with one horse; it was dangerous and I was attacked three times. I think now that I have been through South Africa, I can go through anywhere."

The Frenchman has travelled a number of countries, which include most of Europe, South America, Alaska, Australia, Mongolia, South Africa, Zimbabwe, New Zealand, New Caledonia, Fiji and Japan.

With such a list, he has unavoidably set many records and now holds the world record for the greatest long-distance horse ride.

The next chapter of Posty's journey cannot be completed just yet.

He, as with all the countries he has visited, has arrived without a horse or any real knowledge of the place. So his search for a horse is on.