Sarah completes 5500km fundraiser on her two horses

Sarah Wheeler, with little more than her two horses and a vague idea of a long ride ahead, has returned triumphant after The Outback Long Ride that has helped her heal and inspired others.

Sarah Wheeler has completed an epic nine-month horseback ride with her cherished horses, Sally and Shifty, to raise awareness and funds for upper GI cancers after the loss of both her parents. Picture: Georgia Redden

Nine months ago, Sarah Wheeler was lost. Grief-stricken after the loss of both her parents, she left Rowena in country NSW with little more than her two horses, Shifty and Sally, and a vague idea of a long ride ahead.

Today, she returns triumphant after The Outback Long Ride, a 5500km solo horseback journey that has helped her heal and inspired others.

Sarah Wheeler trekked nearly 5500km across Australia with Sally and Shifty. Picture: Valentina Aliprandi

“The journey itself could have been isolating, but it’s been more beautiful than I could have ever imagined,” Wheeler, 27, said. “One night, I watched Tracks and Jessica Watson’s story, and had a thought: ‘Maybe I could do something like that – to honour my parents and heal myself’.”

That something became The Outback Long Ride, a fundraiser for upper gastrointestinal cancers through the PanCare Foundation.

For the past nine months, she has covered 35km a day. Along the way, more than 30 volunteers have stepped in as support drivers.

Her original plan was to raise $100,00, she upped it to $250,000 and has exceeded that easily.

“I never expected this journey to touch so many people,” she said. “But it turns out, the more I shared my story, the more people shared theirs. That’s been the most beautiful part of all.”

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Originally published as Sarah completes 5500km fundraiser on her two horses