A Canadian man is trying to travel the length of North, Central and South America on horseback, and to complete his final stretch, he will be using South Okanagan wild horses. 

Filipe Masetti has already reached the tip of Argentina as part of his Journey America horseback tour over the past few years. Now, only 4,000 kilometres of North America remain — Alaska to Calgary, which he will undertake starting in May.

He is currently in Osoyoos, training the two wild horses from the Penticton Indian Band that will accompany him on his journey. The idea to use South Okanagan horses was given to him by a local friend, Sara Turner, who rode with him on her own PIB horse for a time in South America. 

"I was telling him all about the horses in the South Okanagan," Turner said, adding that wild horses have a tenacity and intelligence not always found in their domestic-born cousins. "That's really important on a trip like Felipe's, the horses are part of the team, it's very risky, there's a lot of things that could go wrong, the horses have to be smart, have to be able to adapt."

Masetti was convinced. 

"She gave me the idea, why not take these horses, talk to people about the importance and the worth of these animals that have been here for hundreds of years?" he said.

Masetti has been working with two horses, Smokey and Mac. Smokey is still quite wild, and the hope is that Mac will provide a calming effect. 

"I call him Big Mac, he's a very tall horse but very kind, he's great to ride," Masetti said. "Very calm."

The two horses, along with a third from the Osoyoos area, will ride in a trailer up to Fairbanks in Alaska in early May, and their 14-month journey will begin May 17.

"The end goal is 2020 July, Calgary Stampede," Masetti said. "We're going to be riding in with a couple of mustangs and having a great time."

He hopes to use the journey to highlight the continued importance of horses in the 21st century, and pay homage to the history of humankind's relationship with them. 

"I want to celebrate them, and that's the idea behind this journey, the spirit of it," Masetti said. "The rancher, the farmer in the 21st century, and the horses. Because without them, we would not be here."

Keep an eye on Smokey, Mac and Masetti throughout the year here.