An exotic and still mysterious culture, a famed and magnificent breed of animal, and a feisty female explorer – these three ingredients inspire Beirut to Baghdad: the Journey of an Intrepid Englishwoman. American horse-woman Cynthia Culbertson recreates the historic 1879 expedition of Lady Ann Blunt, the first western woman ever to venture to the heart of Arabia.
130 years ago, the dashing Lady Ann made a pioneering desert crossing in search of Arabian horses – the rare and classic mares and stallions from whom the western thoroughbred is descended. In our film the vivid diary and drawings of her daring 19th century journey entice Cynthia Culbertson to venture from her farm in New Mexico to Beirut, Damascus and the formidable red sand deserts of central Arabia, where she finally encounters the fabled Arabian horses of Hail and Nejd – definitively elegant animals, high-tuned, and costing a prince’s ransom, now as then.
The love of horses transcends frontiers, and that is the purpose of this multi-national production that wraps up history with discovery, a remarkable woman with unforgettable animals, stunning landscape and an epic tale.
