Farm detour for record breaking rider

We often hear about how people have planned their journey to the Northlands around a visit to The Farm. One of this week’s most notable guests Larissa Mueller was no different, spending a few days with us as part of the “home straight” leg of a six-year-long journey around New Zealand on horseback. “Since I turned around Cape Reinga it's really felt like I'm on the way home [Hawkes Bay], although it's a long way away still. “People often say "why the hell would you do something like that?" and I say "why not", that's my favorite answer, “because I can, why wouldn't you?” she said. 

A few days on The Farm has meant a well-earned rest for Larissa and her horse Sprite, a chance to meet up with family and to tap into local knowledge for this section of the trek.  When she finishes - ideally returning to Hawkes Bay by August - Larissa will have completed the longest horse ride around the country in modern history. “In pioneer times people probably did this to get somewhere,  I'm a new pioneer without as much purpose.” 

Larissa, who’s 32 and originally from Reefton (South Island), first thought about doing the trip around the entirety of the country by horse eight years ago, only having ridden one a handful of times. “I still consider myself a beginner rider. When we started out I had a towel for a saddle and a kayak paddle for a helmet,” she said. Despite what began as an experiment of will, the self-funded trip also raises money for the Leg-Up Trust, which helps kids from disadvantaged backgrounds to access therapy through horse riding and interaction. 

After two years of planning, along with teammate Kendall (who has since ceased with the challenge because she is “sensible”), the pair forged a path clockwise to the South Island which they completed over the course of two summers, stopping to work during the winter. 

Plans are made in the immediate days beforehand relying largely on local knowledge of the terrain. Several close calls have involved scaling a ‘gnarly’ cliff face in Taranaki after a quad track she was relying on turned out to have washed away. “Those moments definitely make you question it and reevaluate whether it’s worth it, I definitely don't want to kill a horse on this journey. It makes you really check yourself and be really careful.” she said.

The Leg-Up trust presented a good opportunity to make the ardour worth it, Larissa aims to raise $20,000 for the charity, a fraction of the running costs each year but a pretty impressive single donation for a worthwhile cause. “They work with troubled kids and horses, a lot of disadvantaged kids and sometimes situational when they've ended up in foster care. They are often identified through their school, they bring them up to the trust, they can learn to trust the horse and communicate, and have respect for a living being and that all transfers back to how they deal with people and their peers.” she said. 

Carrying just 10-15 kilos of extra kit - aside from when her partner brings her the standing order of chocolate and beer every few weekends - Larissa finds the kindness and hospitality of people she’s met along the road one of the highlights of her trip. “There’s been so many beautiful views and special places. My two long-standing highlights are the places and the people. I’m always astounded how people just take me into their lives and treat me like I’m one of the family.”.

“I've experienced so much human kindness. It's quite overwhelming sometimes how much people will give you especially if you can't give anything back except stories. You feel very humbled by it. I feel really humbled and it gives me even more motivation to try and finish it to honour their generosity.

People further up the line said you must go to Mike and Ellen Bennett and I said “Ellen Bennett? Horse trainer? I know who she is!” she said.

We wish Larissa the best of luck with the rest of her trip, it was great having her for a few days and if you’d like to donate to the Leg-Up trust you can do so here: https://www.legup.co.nz/donate.html

Text: Alex Warlow
Photo: Kai Bernstein