Marathon effort rewarded at Shahzada

A LONG-term dream of competing in Australia’s toughest equine endurance ride has become reality for two Tasmanian horse enthusiasts.

Lydia Rigby and her 11-year-old daughter Emerald have recently returned from successfully competing at the well-known Shahzada endurance ride.

Held at St Albans in NSW, the event requires competitors and their horses to complete a gruelling 400km course over five days.

This was the 40th Shahzada event and Ms Rigby said they were absolutely thrilled to have successfully completed the full course.

There were 47 starters in this year’s event and only 18 received the prized Shahazda buckle, which is presented to all competitors who successfully complete the whole course.

Stringent vet checks are conducted throughout the ride, including after crossing the finish line.

Emerald was the youngest rider competing in this year’s event and she rode her mum’s Friesian-cross Arabian mare Z’lights Giselle.

Ms Rigby completed the ride on a horse called Jake, an appaloosa, standardbred Arabian cross whom she borrowed from friends Heather and Greg Johnston.

Emerald ended up finished first in the junior competition and Ms Rigby finished fifth in the lightweight section. They also won the team event with Claire Godwin riding Maringo USA and Allison Knihinicki riding Newbury Magneticaa. Emerald and Giselle also completed the ride in 44 hours 13 minutes and had the lowest heart rate which earned them another prize.

The pair spent months preparing and training for the event, which required dedication and very careful management of the horses. 

Ms Rigby said travelling from Tasmania also created some unique challenges.

“Originally I wanted to take two horses because it’s a big risk to go over on the boat all the way up there and then expect them to do 400km,” she said.

“If anything happens on the way and you only have one horse, well, it’s all over.”

Luckily both horses arrived fit and ready to compete so Emerald also got a chance to compete in the ride. “I had no expectations before we went, I was just hoping we would get around,” Ms Rigby said.

“ I was thinking we might not even get that far because a lot can go wrong in a ride like that.”

The 400km course covers some varied terrain including some very steep and rocky sections.

During one of the more difficult parts of the track Giselle lost her footing and fell throwing Emerald to the ground.

Despite having injured her ankle Emerald was determined to finish the event and with her ankle strapped continued on to complete the last couple of days.

Emerald started riding when she was five years old and started competing in endurance not long after.

Ms Rigby started endurance ridging when she was about 13 and said competing in the Shahzada had been a long-term goal.

“When I was about five or six my aunt and cousin went over to compete and she was the first Tasmanian to get a buckle,” she said.

“So, I think that’s where it started and I’ve wanted to do it since then.” 

Ms Rigby’s aunt Dorothy Hughes was the first Tasmanian to successfully complete the Shahzada.

The competition days start at 4am when riders head out in the dark using torches to find their way.

Ms Rigby said this enabled riders to complete as much of the course as possible before the conditions get too hot.

On average they ride about 80km each day and they must be off the course by 5pm. 

Ms Rigby said a crucial part of getting the horses through successful is managing them between competition stages, making sure they are eating and drinking enough and moving around to prevent them getting stiff.

While they were the ones riding, Ms Rigby said successfully completing the event was a team effort and they had fantastic support from their crew.

“We couldn’t have done it without them,” she said.

“We had a big team but without them I don’t think we would have had the same result.

They were up at all hours walking to horses and making sure they were OK so we could have some time to eat and try to get a bit of sleep as well.”

After successfully completing the Shahzada, the pair now have their sights set on the well-known Tom Quilty 160km event, which will be held in Tasmania next year.