Samantha is a former U.S. Army journalist. She moved to Nevada in 2008 to work as a television news producer and quickly fell in love with the Silver State, as well as its wild horses.

Samantha began riding horses at age 13, and it's been her passion ever since. When she's not working she's out riding somewhere! She currently lives in Reno, and her herd includes a mustang (Sage), a reg. APHA gelding (Geo), 2 dogs (Bella and Sebastian), and 2 cats (Finnegan and Tomas).

Samantha's love for horses and long riding led her to start planning the 1st Nevada Discovery Ride in 2010. She was awed and humbled to have the opportunity to ride close to wild herds of mustangs in the mountains around Reno, but saddened to learn that many languish in holding facilities because they are not being adopted. This project is her way to encourage wild horse adoption.

ON THE TRAIL WITH THE NEVADA DISCOVERY RIDE
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by Samantha Szesciorka
One woman, one mustang and one rescue dog rode 452 miles in 30 days across Nevada to encourage wild horse adoption by embarking on a challenging long ride. But the mission is not complete. Stay tuned for the second Nevada Discovery Ride -- 1,100 miles in 2016! 

Wild Heart Mustangs™ is proud to be a media sponsor for Samantha's 2016 Nevada Discovery Ride!  Samantha will be writing guest articles in the months to come, sharing her preparations, journey and stories from the trail with Wild Heart Mustangs. 
In 2013, my adopted mustang Sage and I trekked nearly 500 miles from the Utah border to Reno, Nevada along back country trails. The Nevada Discovery Ride was intended to be a personal adventure, but my larger mission was to encourage people to adopt wild horses by demonstrating their reliability on a challenging long ride. Thousands of people around the world followed along on our adventure thanks to media coverage, our website, and social media. Sage became an awesome ambassador for wild horses and inspired countless people to adopt their own mustang.

After the ride ended I tried to get back to real life, but the trail started to call once more. This August, Sage and I will set out once again on an even bigger adventure – a 1,100 mile ride around Northern Nevada. With the next Nevada Discovery Ride, I hope to bring our wild horse adoption message to an even larger audience. I am so excited to have Wild Heart Mustangs™ as a media sponsor for the project and look forward to contributing more articles in the months leading up to our next big ride. I’m happy to kick things off with this interview so you can get to know us.
​You can learn more by visiting my website:
​NevadaDiscoveryRide.com. 

How did you get Sage?
Sage was born in the wild in central Nevada. He was captured by the Bureau of Land Management when he was two years old and put into a holding facility. At age 4 he was chosen to go into the Northern Nevada Saddle-Trained Wild Horse & Burro Inmate Training Program where he was paired with an inmate for 90 days of gentling and training. At the end of the 90 days, the horses are auctioned off to the public. You know how they say that the horse picks you? Well, Sage picked me. Before the auction begins you’re allowed to walk around and look at the horses and talk to the inmates. I walked around trying to narrow down my bidding choices but none of the horses seemed interested in me… except for Sage. When I walked up to him he grabbed the auction booklet out of my hands with his mouth and tossed it to the ground. Then he put his head out and allowed me pet him. I just knew he was the one. And, as luck would have it, I bid on him and won and we’ve never been apart since!
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Why a Mustang?
Mustangs are really interesting horses to work with. They tend to be the one-person kind of horse and can bond really well with people. They’re generally trail savvy, not too spooky, and super smart. You have to be all those things to survive in the wild! And you’ll find amazing diversity in the herds depending on where they’re from so there’s a mustang for just about everyone. You’ll find some with a lot of draft influence, some more like pony size, curly coats, flashy paints, and so on. I’ve seen people do everything from dressage and stadium jumping to cutting and team roping with mustangs. They’re incredibly versatile. Since I love trail riding, a mustang seemed like the perfect choice for me. I wanted a horse that would enjoy being out in the wild.
 
How did you come up with the idea of the Nevada Discovery Ride?
I moved to Nevada in 2008 and learned a lot about wild horses. But what stood out to me most was what happens to the horses after they’re rounded up. If they aren’t adopted they’ll live in holding facilities for the rest of their lives. That is very costly. But more importantly I think it’s so incredibly depressing for the horses. Right now there’s somewhere around 50,000 horses in holding facilities around the country, but adoption rates have been historically low for years.  
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Around the same time as I was learning about wild horses, I also started reading about some amazing long riders around the world. I was enthralled with the stories of people riding across continents, spending years on the trail. I loved the idea of a trail ride that kept going and it inspired me to try my own long distance horseback ride. I knew I needed a special horse to do something like that and decided to adopt a mustang. The rest is history!

How did the ride develop?
It took almost three years of planning to get on the trail for the first Nevada Discovery Ride! Those years were spent researching, planning, training, and routing. I had a really hard time finding support initially. I think most people thought I was crazy to suggest riding across Nevada! A lot of people told me it couldn’t be done. So, I made sure to put the time in to plan properly so I could prove them wrong! I had to find a route, scout it, make maps, etc. I had to get gear. And most importantly I had to find a mustang and train him. Sage and I spent a lot of time together to get ready for the ride. All of that hard work paid off, because when we hit the trail in 2013 we had an amazing adventure together and we finished the one-month ride healthy and happy!

What is your goal?
Ultimately my goal is get more people to adopt! I lucked out when I adopted Sage. He’s proven to be such a wonderful equine companion. I heard a lot of negative stereotypes about mustangs, though. They get a bad rap and a lot of people think they don’t make good riding horses. I want to prove those people wrong. I can’t tell you how many people have told me that Sage has helped to change their mind about mustangs. That’s a great feeling.
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How have you and Sage grown from this experience as partners?
There’s no better way to bond then spending 24 hours a day for an entire month with your horse! Sage and I ate together, camped together, and went through a lot of challenges on the trail together. By the time we ended the first ride we were total partners. The connection and reliance on each other becomes so strong when you go through a journey like that. Sometimes I feel like he can just read my mind when I’m in the saddle now. I feel even more confident about the next ride because I know Sage and I are speaking the same language.
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Check back in the coming months to follow Samantha and Sage as they prepare
for and undertake their next long ride together beginning in August 2016.

Want to saddle up and head out for an adventure, but not sure where to go?

We love to ride and experience new places.  Sometimes close to home for a nice relaxing day...sometimes for vacation to explore some place new.  But where to go?  This is not always easy to answer.  Some people are fortunate to have a network of horse friends who can recommend a place;  other people may not have that fortune.  It is not always easy packing up your equine and heading for the hills, not knowing if there are facilities to accommodate you and your equine to your liking.  You do not always know the skill level of riding that is necessary when you get their either.  Throwing your bedroll on the back of your saddle and grabbing your saddle bags, should be fun and enjoyable!

Wild Heart Mustangs™ wants YOU, the reader, to write in with places you have been and can recommend to other people who love to trail ride!  CONTACT US and send photos of places you love to share with your horse, mule or donkey.