People travelling the world on foot or by bicycle are no longer surprising these days. But it's not every day that you meet a girl on a thousand-kilometre journey on horseback.

Last week, more than one person in our district probably spotted a blonde girl leading an apple-cheeked horse, a dog and pulling a travel trolley loaded with belongings.

This is Ania Szamreta, a Polish girl travelling from Norway to Poland.

The friendly girl said such a trip is a long-time dream of hers. Ania works at a horse farm in Norway and has been saving money for a long time to embark on a trek of more than 1,200 kilometres. Not alone. With Mango the horse and Oro the dog.

The girl has been travelling for two and a half months. She walks about 20–25 kilometres a day. She plans to reach her destination – her parents' house in three weeks.

– For the first week I was accompanied by my friends. Later, I stayed alone. Isn't it scary? I have been active for eight years now, hiking, climbing mountains and so on. Everyone says it's very scary, but instead of fear, I'm having a lot of amazing moments," says Ania.

The traveller says that the hike was faster until Riga.

– Near the Latvian capital, someone bit Mango on the back. I had an allergy, so I couldn't put a saddle on her. At some point I considered ending the journey. But I changed my mind. I bought a trolley for my things and now we are all going: Mango, Oro and me, – smiles the Pole.

The traveller says her day starts early at 3–4am. She gets her things in order, eats and leaves. She follows small, remote roads away from the major highways, stopping regularly at meadows to refuel on Mango.

– As I travelled through Norway, Sweden and Finland, I got a lot of attention. Mango is very similar to a cartoon character that is very popular in Scandinavia, so people were eager to take photos with her and treat her to treats. There is no shortage of attention in the Baltic countries either. I often meet people who are raising horses themselves. They invite me to stay with them, – Ania shares the details of the trip.

In the Pasvalys region, the traveller stayed at the "Gintarinės horseshoe" stud farm in Vaskai, spent the night in the vicinity of the Karpiai Manor in Joniškelis, and was invited to visit Vytautė Bedalytė stud farm in Pušalotes.

Ania is already planning next year's trip, which might be even longer, and hopes that Mango's allergy will be over and that she will be able to continue the hike as she started it – sitting in the saddle.