Tom Quilty Australian Endurance Ride Championships
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(First published in Australian Horseman magazine Jan-Feb 2010).
(First published in Australian Horseman magazine Jan-Feb 2010).
Story and photos by James Vereker
Tom Quilty Gold Cup 2009
Ride ‘One Hundred Miles
in One Day’ for a prized Quilty Buckle!
AUSTRALIA’S BIGGEST ENDURANCE RIDE came
to Victoria in September based at Tonimbuk traversing the picturesque “Bunyip
State Park” in West Gippsland. The 160-kilometre ride, to be completed in 24
hours, is one of the world’s major endurance fixtures.
As a national championship of the “Australian
Endurance Riders Association”, competitors qualify by completing three 80km
rides and one 160km ride at a state level. The title course was broken into
five distance legs of 44, 45, 35, 22 and 14 kilometres, terminating at the
base, where veterinary checks were performed for the 206 riders taking the
challenge.
Ride
Legend
RM WILLIAMS, the famed ‘stockman’s outfitter’, first promoted
the idea of an Australian endurance ride of ‘100-miles in one day’ during 1964
after reports of the 100-mile “Tevis Cup”, a mountainous trail ride in the USA.
The first “Tom Quilty Endurance Ride Committee” was formed in Sydney and a
course was marked out from Windsor, near the Hawkesbury River, by Ron and Val
Males - for the inaugural event in 1966.
The winner was Gabriel Stecher of Victoria - who rode his
Arab stallion ‘Shalawi’ bareback to complete 100-miles in the time of 11 hours
and 24 minutes - from a field of 26 starters with only 7 completions. His name is
inscribed on a perpetual gold cup.
Boss Stockman
TOM QUILTY was the ride patron and ‘the largest station owner
in Australia’ - with properties extending across the Top End from the late
1930s. Tom was a fine stockman whose exploits on horseback including
cross-country cattle drives in the Outback earned him a legendary status as ‘Boss
Stockman’.
By the 1940s, RM Williams diversified into owning station
properties in the Northern Territory and befriended Tom Quilty. RM invited Tom
to donate a gold cup in 1965, using the spur that ‘a good horse could be ridden a 100-miles to post a letter and be ready
for work the next day’. The cup has more gold and silver than a Melbourne
Cup!
RM and Erica Williams both competed for the cup ,which she
won in 1975 as the ‘first female champion’. Since then, it has resided at the
“Stockman’s Hall of Fame” at Longreach, Qld and makes an annual pilgrimage as
the ride rotates to a different state.
Tom Quilty’s grand-daughter, Emily, presented the cup for
2009.
Silver Buckle
THE ULTIMATE CHALLENGE for an endurance rider/trainer/breeder
is to condition a horse to complete the ‘One Hundred Miles in One Day’ - without
suffering the fate of being ‘vetted out – unhorsed’ and not earning a prized Quilty
silver buckle.
Ride stalwart and Arab breeder Ron Males earned his 20th
Quilty buckle in 2004 at age 73 and a special buckle for completing 2000 miles
in the competition. He remains the ‘top buckle holder’ and in 21 starts was
only vetted out once.
Completing one Quilty can start an incurable addiction - only
sated by subsequent attempts - over many years. Claude Filleul of Tasmania
earned eight buckles from nine starts from 1975 to 2006 and was proud to earn a
Tevis Cup buckle from the USA in 1989 too.
Endurance Horses
ANY BREED CAN ENTER the Quilty but ‘you’ll have to pass an
Arab to win’ is the disclaimer from the “Arabian Horse Society of Australia”. The
breed and ride have prospered, as it rotates between the states, together with the
rise in the 1990s of the “United Arab Emirates” as the Mecca for endurance
riding.
Ron Males made the first sale of an Arabian stallion to the
UAE from his “Ralvon Stud” and for an Australian breed record of $300,000 in
1992. “They like to ride fast and with race
prizes of US$1 million or more, it is very competitive”, says Ron. Today there are ‘joint-ventures’
between Australian studs and UAE interests.
A competitive endurance horse can cost $30,000-$40,000 but a
winner of the Quilty can attract an export sale of $150,000 plus.
Super-horse ‘Sarisha’
A $100 HORSE seems a ludicrous value for a pure bred Arabian -
destined to excel in the sport of endurance riding. In 1992 Keryn Mahoney of
Tasmania saved a five year-old grey gelding named ‘Sarisha’ from the knackery: “I had a gut feeling he was something
special”.
Sarisha is to be retired after this Quilty and 16,679kms in
competition - rising 23 years of age. His outstanding record includes 37 rides
of 160kms; a record 11 Quilty completions from 12 starts and is the only horse
to have covered 2000kms in annual competition. Sarisha won “National Distance
Horse of The Year” in 1989, 1999 and 2001 – the only horse to earn the title
three times.
Ride Preparation
Genetics, conditioning, strategy, tack, luck and the
combination of ‘horse and rider’ are all ingredients for endurance success. The
ability to run beside the horse in adverse conditions is also an advantage for
front runners competing for line honours. A couple of strappers on hand to
assist with transitions and vet checks are also indispensable.
Preferred riding tack includes lightweight saddles, woollen
cloths, caged stirrups, reins and headgear that avoids any rubbing of the
horse. Many experienced riders use ‘hackamores’ for ease of eating and drinking
en route while ‘horse boots’ are becoming more popular.
Horses are only eligible for 160km at six years of age, while
most are seven or older allowing for the preparation and completion of four
qualifying rides.
Vet Checks
A TEAM OF VETERINARIANS at the “Tonimbuk Equestrian Centre”
included New Zealand and USA members for the first indoor vetting in Quilty
history. Horses receive a preliminary ‘vet check’ and after each leg. Vets
assess heart rate, metabolism and observe for lameness during a trot on-lead. The
maximum allowable ride duration is 21 hours.
At the end of the 160km ride a final vet check includes three
veterinarians independently assessing the horse’s gait. The overwhelming factor
in being ‘vetted out’ is lameness, followed by metabolic problems - with the
least being a heart rate over 60.
Ride Results
FRONT RUNNERS, brothers Brook and Matthew Sample of Qld, rode
and ran over the course. They joined hands to cross the finishing line and
claim equal-first place in the middleweight category and fastest time overall -
five minutes clear of any rival. Their Arabians, ‘Tuktar Saladin’ and
‘Brookleigh Ricardo’, completed the circuit in 9 hours 50 minutes and 12
seconds - for an average speed of over 16kph.
They received the Tom Quilty Gold Cup as champions for 2009 -
as well as ‘Best Team’ - with Matthew’s ‘Brookleigh Ricardo’ judged as ‘Best
Conditioned’ in the middleweight category. Brooke Freeman on ‘Cedar Ridge
Magnetic’ won the heavyweight in 11:17:10 and ‘Best Conditioned’, while Angela
Hawks on ‘Crysari’, finished first in the lightweight in 10:41:44 and ‘Best
Conditioned’. Shannon Hill on ‘Judah of Glendhu’ won the junior section in
12:05:15 and ‘Best Conditioned’.
The sparkling mare ‘Kurrajong Concorde’ of Castlebar Stud, ridden
by Kristie Taprell, won the commemorative “Pat Slater Cup” for the horse with
the best endurance characteristics.
Of the entire field, only 12 were not pure-bred Arabians: They
included an Australian Stock Horse, ‘Treaty’, ridden by Chris Cheney to finish
43rd in the middleweight category, which had 97 starters including Keryn Mahoney
on ‘Sarisha’ who finished 47th.
Final Muster
‘TO COMPLETE IS TO WIN’ at the Tom Quilty with an attrition
rate of 45 percent being a compelling reason why the buckle is so highly
prized. The last one home - at seven minutes to midnight - bore the biggest
smile of any finisher after being presented with her buckle: Ann Batt of Qld with
‘Roxborough Nato’, brandished the binding talisman of the ‘Quilty Family’ to
rapturous applause for completing Australia’s premier endurance ride.
The next AERA national championships will be held at Manilla near
Tamworth NSW in 2010. See more Tom Quilty Gold Cup 2009 photos at www.horsephotographics.com.au ©James Vereker 2009
(First published in Australian Horseman magazine Jan-Feb 2010).
