Imbil endurance rider Kaylea Maher got to fulfil her dream of holding up the most coveted prize in the sport of endurance riding ― the Tom Quilty Gold Cup ― when she crossed the line last Saturday ahead of 298 other riders from across Australia and abroad in the iconic 160km endurance race.
Ms Maher completed the 160km ride, which was hosted at the Stirling’s Crossing Equestrian Complex in Imbil, near Gympie, in ten hours and eight minutes after setting off on the ultimate endurance challenge at midnight on Friday night.
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.”
“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 here.
Ms Maher 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,” she said.
“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.”
Stirling’s Crossing Endurance Club hosted the ride and President Kim Moir said she was delighted that a local rider took home the Tom Quilty Gold Cup, especially a success story like Kaylea Maher.
“Kaylea has had an impressive endurance record having completed 122 official rides covering over 11,600km to this point, as well as taking home the lightweight title at the Tom Quilty Gold Cup three times in the seven years she has competed,” Ms Moir said.
“She’s been riding since she was a young girl and now dedicates her time to training endurance horses, something she does incredibly well as seen in her performance in the Tom Quilty.”
“The ride was very successful with exceptional conditions given the cool, dry weather and condition of the tracks in the Imbil State Forest. There were riders aged from 12 to 77 and they all had from midnight on Friday until midnight last night to complete the ride.”
“There is great prestige associated with completing the ride, hence the tagline: To complete is to win; and every rider out there was aiming to complete the 160km track within the 24-hour deadline to collect their Quilty buckle. The ride is really challenging and the welfare of the horse is paramount so if the rider or one of the 20 vets onsite feel it’s best for the horse to withdraw, that’s what happens. This year 194 buckles were presented to riders who completed the ride with the longest rider out on the course for 20 hours and 53 minutes.”
“We also have the original Tom Quilty Gold Cup here from the Australian Stockman’s Hall of Fame which for many riders is a wonderful connection to when this ride began 54 years ago.
“The idea was based on the premise of completing 100 miles (or 160km) in one day and when R.M. Williams approached his good friend Tom Quilty about the concept in 1966, Tom donated the $1,000 which paid for the original gold cup.”
Second place went to Jamie Green from Brisbane and third place to Paul Bidei from France who both rode in the middleweight division.
