Larissa Mueller (left) and 11-year-old mare Sprite are close to finishing their journey around the country to raise funds for Ros Rowe (right), of the Leg Up Trust. Photo / Warren Buckland
Larissa Mueller (left) and 11-year-old mare Sprite are close to finishing their journey around the country to raise funds for Ros Rowe (right), of the Leg Up Trust. Photo / Warren Buckland
What next? That's the question facing Larissa Mueller, who's about to complete an eight-year goal of circumnavigating New Zealand on the back of a horse.
Mueller's adventure began with a conversation with a workmate about having never owned a horse and "snowballed" from there.
Setting off from Clifton six yearsago, she's now close to crossing the finish line having entered Napier on Wednesday afternoon.
It was a chance for Ros Rowe, of the Leg Up Trust, the charity the ride is raising funds for, to join Mueller.
The charity pairs at-risk youth with horses as part of an equine therapy programme.
Larissa Mueller (left) and 11-year-old mare Sprite are close to finishing their journey around the country to raise funds for Ros Rowe (right), of the Leg Up Trust. Photo / Warren Buckland
Mueller said the last leg of her journey down the east coast had taken her through some amazing but also steep country, averaging about 20km a day atop 11-year-old station mare Sprite.
"I feel really lucky, especially now that so much is going into forestry – some of the places I've ridden you won't be able to do again."
From having to find a new route through Ruatoria, traversing freshly fallen trees, to being evacuated after last month's tsunami warning and having to ride 35km in one day, it's been quite the adventure for the pair.
Mueller said she enjoyed the trip through "horsey country" and was grateful for the community's support of her journey.
"I appreciate most people around the coast know how to drive around a horse.
"People have also adopted us along the way."
Averaging abut 20km each day and riding only during the summers, it's taken Larissa Mueller (left) and Sprite about six years to complete the trip. Photo / Warren Buckland
For Sprite it was a "tour of the country's best grasses".
"It's a nice life for her."
It felt like the right time to finish though, said Mueller who expects to ride into Clifton sometime on Saturday.
"It's not going to sink in for a while. It's been eight years of my life."
She said she was most looking forward to a long, hot shower and a warm bed when the trip concluded.
After that she plans to move to the South Island, while Sprite will be staying in Hawke's Bay to become a new therapy horse for the Leg Up Trust.
Riding into Napier on Wednesday afternoon, Mueller expects to complete her trip around the country on Saturday when she crosses into Clifton. Photo / Warren Buckland
Sprite is great with kids and bears a remarkable resemblance to a recently departed and much-loved horse at the centre named Benny.
Mueller has raised about $15,000 of her $20,000 goal for the charity.
She said her goal for the "bucket list journey" had been to inspire people to follow their dreams, big or small.
A highlight of the trip had been the people she had met, from farmers offering for her to ride through their land to other horse enthusiasts riding alongside her.
"Doing something like this teaches you that there are still good people out there.
"People are so kind and generous. It restores your faith in people."
• To donate to the Leg Up Trust, visit givealittle.co.nz/org/bennyboy
