Woman and Wild Brumby Cross Australia in 8-Month Journey

Gin Szagola just proved that the wildest dreams really can come true, one hoofbeat at a time.

The 25-year-old from Pennsylvania completed an 8-month journey across Australia on horseback, covering 4,400 kilometers from Tathra, New South Wales, to Forrest Beach in Busselton, Western Australia. Her partner for the adventure was Fable, a former wild brumby she adopted and trained herself.

Fable came from Kosciuszko National Park through the Victorian Brumby Association, which rescues wild horses from public land. When Szagola first met him, he had only just been halter-broken and was still very much a wild animal.

She spent six to eight months planning the journey and three months training Fable before they set off in May last year. "I said to myself, 'OK, either everything's going to go well and I'm going to realize we can actually do this, or it's going to be a complete dumpster fire and we'll go home crying,'" Szagola said.

The pair traveled up to 32 kilometers daily, taking 10-minute breaks every hour. Szagola walked alongside Fable for about a quarter of each day to give his back a rest, always prioritizing his wellbeing over speed.

They crossed the legendary Nullarbor Plain, Australia's longest straight road spanning 1,200 kilometers. Szagola traveled alone without a support vehicle, sleeping in a tent beside Fable each night with only a saddle mat for comfort.

Why This Inspires

This journey celebrates more than physical endurance. It shows what patience, trust, and genuine connection can achieve between human and animal.

Colleen O'Brien, president of the Victorian Brumby Association, flew from Melbourne to watch the pair finish. "The first time she met him, she just really knew that he was the right horse," O'Brien said, adding that watching a wild brumby prove himself was deeply emotional.

Szagola had previously crossed the United States on horseback, where she fell in love with wild horses. Hearing about Australian brumbies inspired her to travel halfway around the world to train one and cross another continent.

The section Szagola once feared most, the Nullarbor, became her favorite part of the journey. Looking back, she realizes that what seemed impossible at the start felt almost easy by the end.

Szagola is already dreaming of her next adventure: crossing New Zealand on horseback, which would complete a trifecta of three countries and three wild horses.