My First Tom Quilty Gold Cup Ride 2022 by Duncan Woodhead
They say all big ideas start with a dream and I have had a few. So after sailing around the world and
returning to our house in Northern NSW, I was introduced to the sport of Endurance riding and joined the
Tenterfield Endurance Club. They were incredibly friendly and encouraging ( I think maybe they just
wanted someone else to suffer with them on these long rides through the varied and magnificent
countryside). With a great deal of help, particularly from Michael Combe, the then president of TERC., I
finally became an open rider. As a way to thank him and the club, Caroline and I volunteered to strap for
him at the 2019 Tom Quilty at Imbil, near Gympie.
Now the Quilty is the premier event for endurance riding in Australia. It starts at midnight and the idea is
to ride 160km in less than 24 hours. But every 40km the horses are thoroughly checked out by vets and if
passed as fit to continue they are allowed to rest for an hour and then sent back out again to do another
40km. This is where the strapping comes in as not only do the strappers have to look after the horse but
also feed and care for the rider, while getting some sleep while the riders are out on track is very
challenging.
But after watching 300 riders circling around ready for the off at Imbil, I knew I was hooked. So after
various false starts I was finally able to enter the NSW Quilty 2022. I had a good horse with plenty of
experience and lots of attitude but she went lame two weeks before the event. So after much soul
searching Caroline lent me her second horse called Cobber. A solid grey Arab cross stockhorse with only
3 x 80km experience, ridden by Caroline on board who is a lightweight rider. I am a heavy weight rider so
a difference of 35kg!!
So after a long drive to Coonabarabran we arrived at the Quilty site to be greeted by lots of mud. We had
to be towed to our site by the very friendly team of organisers, but setting up yards for the horse and
camping in these conditions was challenging.
On Friday 8th
July at midnight we were off on my first Quilty ride with about 200 riders. The first 40km
in the pitch dark was hard with lots of hills, boggy ground and rocky areas. It was very demanding both
on riders and horses. Of course you try to take care of your horses, making sure they are fit for the ride
ahead. We have always ridden in Blue Pegasos shoes which are polyurethane shoes and which help to
reduce the concussive effects of miles of trotting. We also inserted plastic plates in the shoes to reduce the
chance of a stone lodging in the hoof.
We got through the first vet check and then it became a test of endurance for both rider and horse. Not
going too fast but also trying to maintain a good average speed. It became a game of chess, sometimes
you might pass a rider only to be passed by them an hour later.
After 15 hours 42 minutes we crossed the finish line. It was dark and very cold but we had one final vet
check and then we were home. Cobber passed with flying colours, an amazing effort from Caroline’s
horse.
After taking care of Cobber we celebrated with a few rum and cokes and then a good sleep. We did not
know how we had done until the next morning, when to our surprise we found we had come fifth heavy
weight out of twenty five national heavy weight riders elevencompleted the ride.
A great achievement which would not have been possible without my strapping crew and the support of
Blue Pegasos shoes which I believe really helped Cobber perform at his best.
