Australia: Kaylea Mahera Takes Out 2019 Tom Quilty Gold Cup

TomQuilty2019.com.au - Full Article and Partial Results

Local endurance rider Kaylea Maher got to fulfil her dream of holding up the most coveted prize in the sport of endurance ― the Tom Quilty Gold Cup ― when she crossed the line ahead of 298 other riders from across Australia and abroad in the iconic 160km endurance race.

Kaylea completed the ride, which was hosted at the Stirling’s Crossing Equestrian Complex in Imbil Queensland, in ten hours and eight minutes after setting off on the ultimate endurance challenge at midnight last night.

She said she was hopeful of taking out the win but there were many factors that influenced the end result.

“Every ride you just take as it comes as you never know what the end result is going to be,” said Kaylea.

“You always have to have hope in your horse and believe in your horse and that’s what we did today. We believed in each other and we worked through all our challenges and he came home really strong. I’m really happy with his achievement today.”

“Credit goes to the people at home in our stable, they do a fantastic job of looking after him and yes, it’s a lot of hours and a lot of time; a lot of tears and sweat that go into getting a horse to the condition they need to be in to perform on the day. And that’s what we’ve seen, the hard work’s definitely paid off and I want to thank everyone who’s helped me get there today.

“It doesn’t matter if you’re at home or away, the competition is still there but to actually pull it off on home ground with the support from all my family, my friends and my team, I guess that’s where it comes down to feeling good about having this win on home ground.”

Kaylea also gave credit to her horse, Matta Mia Dimari, a locally bred Arabian with a feisty spirit.

“The first time I saw this horse I had a connection with him and I always believed from the first time I rode him that he could take home the Gold Cup,” said Kaylea.

“I worked with him from day one on our farm and I had the goal set in my mind that I was going to work towards getting him ready for this 2019 Tom Quilty Gold Cup...”

Read more here:
https://www.tomquilty2019.com.au/tom-quilty-gold-cup-2019-results/