Shahzada, a marathon story 2009
Originally published in the February - March 2010 issue of Equine Excellence magazine
On Monday 17 th August 2009 I was woken up by my alarm at 3 in the morning feeling excited but very nervous. As I laid in bed in the dark I wondered why I was doing this to myself. After months of careful preparation and training with my Arabian endurance horse, Omani Mr Sqiggle (Sqig) we were about to attempt the 400 km marathon endurance ride called Shahzada, considered by many to be the ‘ultimate’ test of horsemanship.
Over 5 days, competitors would be heading out in the dark every morning with headtorches, the challenge to ride approximately 80 km each day with a sound and healthy horse at the end. Endurance riding is a sport where riders team with their horses to cover distances of 80 km to 160 km in one day to 400 km over 5 days. The motto for the sport of endurance is ‘To complete is to win’. Horses must pass strict veterinary tests prior to, throughout and following the ride, to be judged as ‘fit to continue’ in order to complete the ride. If your horse is not sound, you will vet out.
Attention to detail is a must in this sport. Not only must the horse be completely sound before an endurance ride, all the other aspects must be attended to including saddle fit, fitness of horse and rider, conditioning, hoof care, electrolyting and nutrition. Fortunately the nutrition side of things is easily attended to being an equine nutritionist. One of the golden rules of endurance is to never change anything before a ride. For example, changing to a different saddle or introducing a new feed ingredient just before a ride is a recipe for disaster.
Shahzada is held every year in a picturesque tiny NSW town in the Macdonald Valley called St. Albans, about 100 km from Sydney. Surrounded by sandstone bluffs and hills, St. Albans nestles alongside the Macdonald River, offering scenic and challenging sandstone trails and roads through private land and national park.
I was one of 58 entries in this 29th Shahzada. On Monday morning I got myself ready and Sqig saddled for a 4 am start. It’s always a thrill those few minutes waiting to be given the signal to start. The first leg involved covering 52 km along one of the most scenic trails, the Transmission Road which gives panoramic views of the bush valleys and hills in the distance. 14 km in has the biggest climb for the day up Johnny’s Hill. I got off Sqig and walked beside him as the sun made its appearance. I take any opportunity to make the job easier for my horse, we are a team. As we walk up the sun peeps over the horizon, I think about how tempting it was to stay in bed rather than saddle up in the dark but to watch the sun rise in the bush with your horse is fantastic.
At the top of the ridge we trot and canter along and get back into camp 4 hours 14 minutes after the start. First stop is the time keeper who hands me a time slip with the time for presenting to a TPR steward who will record Sqig’s pulse. It cannot go higher than 55 beats after each day’s first leg or segment of the ride. My strapper, Rob and I have 30 minutes to prepare Sqig. We quickly unsaddle him, wash him down and give him a feed. Rob is concerned I’m going too fast, we have 348 km to go but at the required time we walk Sqig over to the vetting area in a relaxed manner. The last thing we want is our nerves to put his heart rate up. Heart rate is 39 beats per minute (bpm), 3 beats less than his pre-ride pulse on the Sunday before the ride, a testament to how fit Sqig is.
Kym Hagon, head vet and an endurance rider himself, thoroughly checks Sqig out. He looks for any issues with hydration (mucous membranes in Sqig’s mouth, capillary and jugular refill and skin recoil), gut sounds and heart sounds are indicators of how well he is handling the workload. Then a close look at muscle tone, girth, withers and back for soreness, abrasion and possible leg injuries and lastly, the trot out. The trot out is a heart in mouth moment. It’s possible that your horse can feel smooth and perfectly sound out on the course but by the time of presenting to the vet your horse may cool down and stiffen if there are any issues. Kym says “nice even trot”. What a relief and awards straight As for all parameters.
The afternoon ride of 35 km is scenic and fun with the challenge of McKecknies, a steep and narrow climb amongst sandstone boulders. Some people stay on their horse, reasoning that it’s safer to be out of the horse’s way. Part of my preparation for the ride was for me to be fit enough to get off Sqig to lighten his load on climbs like this but I’m sweating and heaving, wishing I was far fitter. Back to camp and again all is well at vetting with a heart rate of 42. Heart rate has to be no more than 60 bpm on the second leg or segment of the ride each day. Sadly 4 riders vet out, all due to a high heart rate.
Tuesday seems to arrive faster than it should when my alarm goes off again at 3 am. Today’s ride has a fair bit of road work mixed with scenic trails through the national park. Roadwork can be very concussive so I keep Sqig off the small amount of bitumen leading out of St. Albans and on the softer grassy verge. Where the bitumen ends the dirt road starts, unfortunately showing the results of a recent grading. There isn’t much soft stuff on the sides of the road. I do my best to point Sqig to the softest part of the road possible. A slower time today and one of the three vets who checks over Sqig is very pleased with how he is going, despite the hard roads and climbs of the day. Heart rate is 42 bpm after the 47 km first leg and 44 after the second leg of 33 km. Rob and I are delighted with how consistent Sqig is pulsing. Five more riders either withdraw their horses or are vetted out lame.
Wednesday is a day that cannot be easily forgotten. Wednesday is Prestons day. Prestons is a word that strikes awe and fear in many riders. It is a very long and narrow, twisting climb amongst the sandstone boulders requiring many big steps to the top. Not many riders stay on their horses, recognising that the climb itself is challenging enough. It’s necessary to have a horse well trained on the lead, crucial that the horse doesn’t rush along but is steady and deliberate with placing his hooves. Once at the top, the elation of making it is put aside for the deadliest part of Preston’s, the shorter but steeper climb down to the valley floor on the other side. Sqig is a delight to lead along single track as he lowers his head quite low and checks out the track and thinks about where he puts his feet as he follows my feet. After a fair bit of sliding and careful negotiation of the boulders, the run home beside the Macdonald River is a relief. Again we vet through with no issues and similar heart rates. Sqig is a champion to me regardless of whether we finally get through or not.
After dinner the temptation is to go to bed straight away is strong but nothing will stop me from attending Shahzada Idol, one of the premier social events among many during the week. It’s an opportunity for the truly talented to perform in front of everyone and for the audience to laugh with those who happily clown about. I go to bed however saddened that another four horses are out.
The next scary section of the ride was on Thursday where we had to climb down a sandstone bluff called 'The Steps'. The Steps is a series of narrow, uneven sandstone ledges and loose rubble and again, a very narrow track. The best feature about The Steps apart from the view is that the scary section is very short. Sqig was brilliant as he carefully studies the track before placing his feet. I was very careful too to stay out of the way and give him enough space. Being on the side of a bluff, it could be a very nasty and fast descent so I make sure Sqig sticks to the track. Thursday has the highest number that vet out, seven in total, mainly for lameness.
Friday comes and I’m feeling great because Sqig is feeling great. Friday means that we have to go up The Steps but it felt very like 'old hat' and we had no trouble at all. I cruised around the course enjoying my time with Sqig, reflecting on our partnership. It got me thinking how nice it would be to get the award for successful completion, a Shahzada buckle, I definitely do not want to become a member of the infamous ‘Friday Club’. The Friday Club is for those people who have ridden the whole 400 km course but vet out at the very end. No one wants to be a member.
I rode into camp at the end of the ride with the cheers of many people in my ears. A welcoming sight of a crowd assembled to watch all the horses vet through. Rob and I carefully prepare Sqig for his last vet check. This is it. We get through for a successful completion or we are in the Friday Club. Things are a bit tense as we walk him up to the TPR for his pulse to be taken. The watching crowd quietens to prevent the pulse going up. 39 bpm, phew, no problem there. Kym Hagon checks Sqig over and then asks us to trot out. I’m so nervous I’m simply running on adrenaline. I surge into a run with Sqig beside me under the gaze of all the vets. The crowd yells and cheers in encouragement. The crowd starts clapping which means they think he is sound but the real test is the vets’ vote. Thumbs up or thumbs down? I run towards the vets with all my attention on them, what will it be? Moments pass and together the thumbs go up. A wave of emotion, relief and sheer elation overcomes me as I run to Rob to hug him and together we hug Sqig. We made it!
More Shahzada stories can be found on the Shahzada website.
