Anna wins her endurance race!

Anna Williams, our friend at the FEI, just wrote in to tell us that she won her endurance competition over the weekend! I asked her to tell us a little bit about the experience, so here it is in her words:

 

"It was a National Swiss competition, an endurance race of 81km ran over 3 loops (30km, 30km and 21km) with a strict veterinary control at the beginning, between each loop and at the finish. There were 15 starters and 8 finishers. 

"In order for a horse to ‘qualify for the next phase’ they must pass the vet controls – this includes lameness, pulse, dehydration and general well being. If at any point the vets feel there is even the slightest problem with the horse they will stop him and the horse and rider are eliminated from competition.

"19kph doesn’t seem so fast when you’re driving in your car, but it basically means 

we did a good canter the whole way round…that’s tough!"

"It was a difficult competition, very competitive and fast. We also had temperatures of about 26 degrees just to make sure we were nice and hot ;-) This also takes a toll on the horses, they have to use more effort when it is as hot as that and then of course they tire more quickly. 

The speed was fast with the average riding speed of around 19kph – this dropped to a winning speed of 17.6kph once the times for the vet controls had been added. So 19kph doesn’t seem so fast when you’re driving in your car, but it basically means we did a good canter the whole way round…that’s tough!

Image by Claudia Meier

"My horse (HS Saboteur – but Sabby to his mates!) was great. He was so enthusiastic all day and just flew over the terrain. We both had a great day, and top podium position just about topped it off! The atmosphere was brilliant with big crowds at the prize giving…everyone was very supportive even though an English girl had just swiped away their first place!! The satisfaction of completing the 81km was huge, after all the hard work, training and 5am starts, it all seems to be worthwhile!"

"So Sabby is having a week’s holiday now before he starts his training again. He has a couple more smaller competitions before he then goes to Hungary in September to compete in the Young Rider World Championships with a rider from Australia – he has a busy summer ahead of him!"

Thanks Anna for sharing your experiences - and keep us posted how it goes in September! If any readers have any questions for Anna - please comment!