Thursday, April 17, 2014

Marathon riding, to complete is to win..


This Easter weekend national sports media attention will be focused on some of Australia's fastest sprinters, as they compete in the country's most famous race, the Stawell Gift.

In Tasmania, four legged athletes and their riders are competing in a sporting title that will last for days not seconds.

120 endurance riders are competing this Easter in the Van Diemen Marathon, a horse ride up of to 240 kilometres, in rough and rugged country, around Scottsdale in Tasmania's north-east.

For one of Tasmania's seasoned riders, Trish Smith, the marathon is not a race.

"I'm the sort of endurance rider, I don't believe in calling it a race.

"It is not a race, it's a ride, our motto is 'to complete, is to win'", she said.

"Everybody who actually completes successfully with a horse fit to continue by the vet is a winner."

Trish has been training her Arab Rahn for years covering long distances.

[Read more ...]

Great Britain: Veteran Anglo Arab defies the odds to win 80km at Shuckburgh Hall

May 3 2026  A 20-year-old Anglo Arab proved that age is no barrier to performance, as Balishla and Powys rider Fiona Griffiths took victory...