Steph Toms and Daniel Grubb and one of their ex-racehorses found themselves in a sticky situation after arriving in Roslyn, near Crookwell, on their epic 5330 km Freedom off the Track journey. Photo: Steph Toms.
There are a million reasons to head off the beaten track and go bush and right now two sets of horse riders are coursing their way through southern NSW in the name of charity.
It was a slightly sticky welcome to the Southern Tablelands for one couple, Steph Toms and Daniel Grubb, who with their two ex-racehorses are walking the National Trail – 5330 kilometres of Australia’s eastern seaboard – for youth mental health awareness, under the banner Freedom off the Track.
Staying overnight at Roslyn, near Crookwell, the simple task of leading one of the horses, Future, to water became a lesson learned and a story the whole district will talk about over the Christmas table.
Steph says the ground looked a little muddy, but having been through lots of mud and wet ground during the 3000 km she’d already notched up, she didn’t give it a second thought.
“But I noticed too late the ground moving under my feet, turned around and Future was already sinking,” she said.
“He tried to turn and got all of himself stuck fast.”
It would take four farmers, many straps, a bit of head scratching and, finally, a tractor to pull Future out of the bog, but the experience is one Steph says reminded her not to become complacent.
And as they now head deep into the Snowy Mountains, that lesson will stick, she says, excusing the pun.
Before setting off from Cooktown in North Queensland in August 2023, Steph hadn’t done any overnight hikes or camping out with horses of any kind.
Neither had the racehorses – who are being ridden bit-less and barefoot throughout the ride.
Once the trek is complete, in the Victorian town of Healesville, it will mark the first time two ex-racehorses have walked the length of the National Trail.
Not only are Steph and Daniel making friends and influencing people every step of the way, they’re hoping to raise awareness about the importance of mental health in each community they pass through, and encourage other adventurers to get out on the trail.
“No prior skills are required, just a can-do attitude and a half-decent tolerance to the outdoors,” Steph says.
They’re also encouraging those communities to host an event and any businesses to support their efforts.
Sarah Wheeler has traversed outback NSW and is now riding through the south of the state in honour of her parents and to raise money for Pancare. Photo: Sarah Wheeler.
The Outback Horse Ride
That’s certainly the mantra of another long-distance traveller, 27-year-old Sarah Wheeler, also currently doing about five kilometres an hour on horseback as she picks her way through the NSW South West Slopes on The Outback Horse Ride.
She starts her days with 18 km on foot, leading her horses, before she steps up into the saddle to complete about 30 km before sunset.
Sarah set off in May 2024 from her home town of Rowena in northern NSW with her cherished horses Sally and Shifty on a deeply personal mission: a 5500 km trek to raise awareness and funds for research into upper gastrointestinal (GI) cancers and her own charity, A Daughter’s Way, which supports Australian rural families experiencing grief and loss.
The nine-month journey through outback Queensland and outback NSW honours her late parents, her father Gavin, who died as the result of an enlarged heart in 2010, and mother Terri from bile duct cancer in 2022.
The ride has so far taken her as far north as Mt Isa, Julia Creek and Charters Towers, and she has raised $163,692 of her $250,000 goal for Pancare.
Now in the cooler southern climes, she heads south through Canowindra, Cowra, Young and down to Wagga, then Hay, before turning north again on the home run to Walgett, her final destination, by the end of February.
Sarah says the journey is one of hope and healing, of grief shared, but also one of faith that people will get behind her cause.
Her story featured on the ABC TV’s Landline last weekend and Sarah has also graced the pages of The Australian Women’s Weekly.
For more details on Freedom off the Track, visit https://freedomoffthetrack.com.au/
For more details on The Outback Long Ride, click here.
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