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 ...]

A Golden Bond: How Marijke Visser and Chaitana Became European Champions

FEI.org - Full Story 27 June 2025 Stacey Stearns How the Dutch athlete rode to glory in Castiglione del Lago... Marijke Visser and her...