As 16-year-old Kalyna Fedorowycz and her father, Markian Fedorowycz, drove through Topanga Canyon, there was one thing on Kalyna’s mind.
It wasn’t their house, which withstood the flames of the devastating Palisades fire. The fire, which started Jan. 7, has consumed almost 24,000 acres and is approximately 60% contained after the Santa Ana winds fanned the flames for days.
It was Sovereignty.
Sovereignty is a Friesian-warmblood cross who belongs to Tamara Walker, the Fedorowyczs’ neighbor and Kalyna’s trainer, who owns Walker Horse Farms near Tuna Canyon Park. Walker had evacuated her horses and other animals, but despite being trailer trained, Sovereignty had balked when it was time to load to go to Los Angeles Pierce College in Woodland Hills. The trailer ultimately had to leave without him.
The Fedorowyczs had evacuated from their house at that point, and they had gone back to check whether it was still there, hoping it was and trying to grab a few things they’d left behind.
“Once I got up there and saw all the smoke and flames, I was so worried about him,” Kalyna said. “We forgot about getting anything out of our house. We just drove straight to the barn.”
Sovereignty was still there, but he was shaken, and Kalyna could only think of one way to get him out. She grabbed her favorite tack from the barn and saddled him up to ride out of the canyon. The fire had disrupted cellular service in the canyon, but she hoped that if she could ride him away from immediate danger and into cell range, she or her family could call for help, and he might be tired enough to load.
Markian followed behind Kalyna in his Prius, which was small enough to duck under fallen telephone poles and skirt around rocks. He photographed and videoed their journey as his car crawled along behind the horse. Smoke and sparks occasionally flew across the road as spot fires popped up along the side of the road. Sometimes, Kalyna had to dismount to lead Sovereignty through moments of uncertainty.
They first traveled east and then north, aiming for a point they knew they could get signal. Their target was 14 miles away. The ride took them four hours, including breaks.
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“There was no plan. We were just improvising the whole time,” Markian said. “You can see in some of the videos where she’s actually directing traffic because people were trying to get by.
“Kalyna’s hard to say no to. She said, ‘We’ve got to get him out of here.’ You do what she says,” he said. “Even though she’s a kid, she’s in charge. She’s a great rider, and I trust her instincts, so we just did it. Since I was following her, I just videoed it. It was exciting to see her persevere like that, and I’m really proud of her.”
Although Sovereignty isn’t hers, Kalyna has known him her whole life. Of all the horses at Walker’s farm, he is not the one she would have picked to ride out of the canyon, and it’s not totally surprising to her that—although he and his stablemates had been trained to load in emergencies—he was the one who froze in the moment.
“A lot of the time, I was thinking, ‘Why is he not realizing that he has to get out of here?’ ” she said when asked what was on her mind during the ride. “He kept stopping and rearing and spinning, and I was like, ‘Dude, the canyon’s burning.’ ”
By now, a photo of Kalyna and Sovereignty riding down the road has gone viral. Equestrians around the world have imagined themselves in her saddle, wondering whether they would have had the same courage.
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Kalyna was shocked the post has been shared so many times—and a little surprised she’s been hailed as a hero.
“I wasn’t expecting this to go this crazy,” she said. “I know most horse people would do the same.”
A couple of miles short of their planned destination, a woman pulling a trailer full of Shetland ponies came up to an intersection they were riding through. She offered to make room for Sovereignty, and for whatever reason—possibly exhaustion, possibly curiosity—he hopped right on and was whisked away to safety.
Like many Californians, Kalyna has spent her entire life familiar with the threat of wildfires. It’s not uncommon for her family to have to evacuate during fires, but the flames have never come so close before, she said. Many of her neighbors’ houses burned, and her school was leveled.
She has also spent most of her life with horses, thanks to Walker. Kalyna and her sister Olenka began riding at Walker Horse Farms as youngsters. The girls wanted to learn how to ride, but the family was working on a budget. Their parents found some retired camp ponies for sale and contacted Walker to see if they were a good fit. They weren’t, but Walker invited them to the farm, where the girls learned to ride. Riding ponies morphed into riding green horses, and eventually becoming working students sponsored by Walker as they launched their show careers. Olenka received a grant from the Michael Nyuis Foundation in 2024, allowing her to expand her show career while she studies equestrian science at Pierce College.

Kalyna spent 2024 bringing along her first young project horse for Walker, 7-year-old Dutch Warmblood Nonpartisan KF (Governor—Voila, Emilion), known as “Ciel.” The two tackled the 1- and 1.10-meter jumpers last season and had planned to move up to the 1.20-meters in 2025. Now, those plans are on hold.
Although Ciel evacuated safely, she suffered a puncture wound in her knee at the evacuation center, believed to be caused by a run-in with a fence. She was sent for emergency surgery at Humphrey Giacopuzzi and Associates Equine Hospital in Somis, California, which turned into a three-hour process flushing and cleaning the wound. The surgery went well, but as of Thursday, Jan. 16, Kalyna still hadn’t been able to see the mare. She isn’t sure what the prognosis will be.

“I’m just praying she’s OK, because she’s my baby,” she said. “When I first got her, nobody could really ride her. I hate to be that person who’s like, ‘Oh, only I can ride that horse,’ but I got chucked so many times on that horse. Once I really got to know her, a whole new side of her personality came out, where she was so smart and willing.”
Walker started a GoFundMe to help offset the expense of Ciel’s surgery, and it rapidly exceeded its fundraising goal. Excess funds will be used to replace the Fedorowycz family’s trailer, which was destroyed in the fire.
“It’s really nice to see this part of the horse community,” Kalyna said. “In the competition world, everybody is always judging each other. It’s really nice to see everyone being happy about the horses being safe.”