Australia: Striking gold in the Mary Valley trails

NoosaNews.com.au - Full Article

18th Jul 2019

LOCAL endurance rider Kaylea Maher on a locally bred Arabian horse Matta Mia Dimari have claimed the Holy grail of endurance horse riding with 160km of true grit on the weekend.

Maher fulfilled her dream of holding up the coveted Tom Quilty Gold Cup when she crossed the line on Saturday ahead of 298 other riders from across Australia and abroad in the iconic endurance race.

Hosted at the Stirling's Crossing Equestrian Complex in the Mary Valley, it took the tough-as-teak duo 10 hours and eight minutes to complete after setting off at midnight on Friday.

The mother of two said while she was hopeful of taking out the win, there were so 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,” Ms Maher said.

"You always have to have hope in your horse and believe in your horse, and that's what we did.

"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...”

Read more here:
https://www.noosanews.com.au/news/striking-gold-in-the-mary-valley-trails/3782655/