From the depths of ruin we did emerge. Covid, rain, mud, fires, floods, resignations and everything in between, that good old 2022 seemed to throw our way it couldn’t dampen or deter our VERA Members with a total of 12 rides paving the way for many successes!
Kicking off with the new kids on the block Mark & Renee Henry fronted up to the starting line with the Snake Valley Dash… and dash we did! With a total of 78 entries across the board this ride had it all. Shannon Decker riding Cooroora Bold Dancer set the pace completing the 80Km in a time of 5hrs 49mins, to take line honours and Best Conditioned LWT.
No rest for the wicked though as the season continued to gallop on pulling up only briefly in Lancefield before hitting the hills to Eldorado, before becoming somewhat unstuck at the GERZ Championships. With the rain making this course a slippery, technical conundrum but one our members still courageously handled with grace, smiles and perhaps some bevies at the end. Ben Hudson riding Oso Florin took line honours and the title of GERZ Champion with a flash
speed of 7hrs 5mins in the 100Km main event.
Next we floated over the border to find some Easter Eggs and check on our SA friends at the dual affiliated annual Mil Lel Marathon. 6 of our members fronted up to the big one at this event – the 240Km Marathon, ridden from Friday through Sunday. Our own Shannon Decker riding Cooroora Bold Dancer followed closely by Kasey Thomas on Rocky Point Sands of Sinhalite took 1st and 2nd place respectively with 5 successfully completing. A great effort by all involved!
Can you hear that sound? Hooves thundering, heavy breathing, riders wailing, bush parting, sounds a bit like Mia Mia… perhaps the Legendary-Penn Quilty Qualifier? It is and May already! What a fantastic spectacle organised & hosted by Ken Bradley & his team. Over the 4 events a total of 112 participants turned out to try their luck at what is fast becoming a must attend on the VERA Calendar. The 160Km saw Tabitha Schmetzer riding Eaglehawk Halima Bea take out line honours in a blistering time of 12hrs 57mins! With a completion rate of just 57.14% in the 160Km main event the course proved to be
challenging, perhaps one with a little grit up its track.
So now we’ve got the saddle on, it’s time to hold on as we Man from Snowy River it into winter. Hello mud and rain my old friends. Matt & Shanna Milne organising and hosting Murray River Ride were first into the trenches. They faced a difficult challenge in finding a track after extensive rain but managed to pull something together for the 95 attendees of this event. Next into the mud was ride 2 for the Eldorado Committee, hosting a 100Km Elevator that encouraged 61 riders who managed to pull on their gumboots and make an appearance. Thanks people!
Now to the event you’ve all been reading towards… The 2022 Tom Quilty Gold Cup! VERA was fortunate enough to be represented by a total of 21 brave (that’s the nice word) riders who battled mud, rocks, rain and of course enjoyed sunshine, scenery and in many cases success. Of the riders who traversed the 160Km Tooraweenah course a total of 12 were successful. We must appreciate and thoroughly thank the effort the Tooraweenah Committee went to and through in order to host our National Championships. Mother Nature sure decided to change things up and test her friendship boundaries but the committee made it through, so well done and thank you!
Mud to our knees, rain jackets saturated, horses stink eyeing us every chance they got we’d made it this far, just 4 more rides left for the season. Stepping up again was the Eldorado Committee, Naomi McGaffin-Brown, Tina Manousaki, Louise Mackey & their tireless trove of volunteers. Hosting a 116Km Elevator with 104 entries across the 5 events it proved yet again to be another successful ride. International rider Caterina Coppini on the very accomplished Castlebar Belair took the 116Km line honours with a time of 7hrs 59mins.
Stay with the horse the season is almost finished. Ararat Endurance Ride was next on the calendar. With 110 riders turning out it made for a busy but highly successful weekend for organisers. Now sliding into second last place on the VERA Calendar was the Tonimbuk VERA State Championships. What can we say about this event? What can’t we say?
Firstly, thank you to Ashleigh Van Leeuwen & Simon Beard for putting up their hands to organise and host this event. It was definitely not an easy task and given the challenges faced one we were lucky enough to attend. Thank you also to the members of the extended organising committee of this ride. Somehow things were pulled together & it was run and won! A total of 75 riders headed into the Tonimbuk hills in the pouring rain across the 3 events with Naomi McGaffin-Brown riding Kelkette Park Faris emerging first in a riding time of 10hrs 44mins. Marty Bryson on Miss Dior Mi was a close second with a time of 11hrs 57mins. It was fantastic to see such a mix of VIC, QLD, NSW and TAS riders attend this event.
Finally, if you’ve all managed to keep up your endurance and read on VERA finished our season with the Del’s Waterloo Challenge. A total of 54 die hards came out for this one with Gina Thompson on Henley Farm Islah riding away with line honours in 5hrs 5mins. And with that 2022 was sent out to the spelling paddock.
As mentioned throughout the course of 2022 the VERA Committee had a number of resignations, including Linda Tania as President, Ellen Prestage as Secretary, Lyn Taylor as Chief Steward Coordinator & Paul Bryson as a Committee Member. We thank these individuals for their time and effort on the committee and wish them all the best for future endeavours. Further to these resignations it needs to be mentioned that Paul Nugent stepped in as acting President and Kerrie Gabb Hunger Games style volunteered for basically every other job required to keep VERA functioning during this period. We can’t thank both of these members enough and really appreciate your efforts in keeping the sport we love alive in VIC! Luckily continuing into 2023 the VERA committee has been stocked with new faces to hopefully take it new places.
The awards season kicked of like any other; food, drinks and laughs with friends. An honourable mention must go to not only the LWT Distance Rider & Horse but also the 1 horse, 1 rider combination winners Kasey Thomas riding Rocky Point Sands of Sinhalite. This duo completed a total of 1,087Kms throughout 2022 with no vet outs and amongst the successful completions – the Mil Lel Marathon, Tom Quilty and VERA State Championships.
Lastly, if you’ve made it this far, although the VIC 2024 Tom Quilty was not to be we wish the 2024 QERA Tom Quilty organisers every success and to all our VERA Members attending this event – saddle up, hold on and just keep riding!!
Written by: Louise Mackey