14/ JUNE 2017 THE RIDER Race The Wild Coast, An Endurance Race Like No Other Race the Wild Coast


is a wildly exciting new horse race designed to chal- lenge the endurance of horseback


adventurers.


Rockethorse Racing intro- duced the first annual event in 2016, and the race at- tracted more than a dozen people from across the globe who signed up to ac- complish this massive feat. The event kicked off last October 22nd, in the small town of Port Edward on the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast of South Africa. This ride would prove to be the high- light of many of the partici- pants’ careers. Riders, each with


teams of three horses raced for 12 – 15 hours per day across nearly 350 kms of the remote and unspoiled para- dise of South Africa’s east coast; their goal – to navi- gate through challenging wilderness, swim across rivers and keep their horses fit for vet checks in a com- plex multi stage race. The 5- day race required two horse changes


at prescribed


points: 123km and 209km, and each stage ended with a vet check for the horses (ap- proximately every 20- 40km) to ensure animal


thing from untouched beaches to rocky mountains and cliffs. Thick coastal forests and open farmland lead to river crossings, some so deep that riders would have to dismount and swim beside their horses. Being near the ocean, weather would change quickly, going from hot and sunny to cool and rainy without no- tice.


Thirteen international


and local competitors em- braced the challenge of being the very first to take on Race the Wild Coast. Prior to the race, riders had to prove they were up for the task at hand - by being physically fit, confident swimmers and comfortable in the wilderness, and of course, experts at GPS nav- igation. The extremely capa-


ble horses were provided by Moolmanshoek Endurance and Amra Arabians. Bred for trekking and endurance racing, they were Arabs, part Arabs and South African Boerpoerd. This modern breed is actually a re-creation of the traditional Cape Horse or old-type Boer Horse, now extinct from their native South


cots were brought along by the crew and set up for the group. However, the food would be far better than just adequate by most standards, varied with lots of African stews, BBQ and fresh seafood straight from the ocean.


For several months


previously, the Rockethorse Racing team had planned the race down to the small- est detail including a recom- mended


track with


alternative routes provided to riders on GPS. The fact that there were no route markings on the ground was probably their biggest chal- lenge but also made the race even more fun and exciting for many of the rid- ers.


D a y


one kicked off with a full day of adventure, e n d u r a n c e , horsemanship, n a v i g a t i o n , strategy and, of course, what- ever Mother Nature threw at them. Katja Joachim (Ger- many) led the first 23km, with Sam Jones (Australia) and


health. The rider was then able to continue without penalty only if their horse passed the vet check. They knew terrain


and weather conditions would be challenging and unpredictable. The teams would experience every-


Africa. Accommodat ions


would be basic but ade- quate. The plan was for rid- ers to camp along the way and carry their own sleeping bags and supplies with them. The bonus was that tents and air mattresses or


Sarah Cuthbertson (Canada) quickly closing in on her at the 55km mark. By the end of


the day, Monde


Khanyana (South Africa) had caught up to second po- sition.


Thirty four year old


Monde was the event’s only South African born rider. He grew up in KwaZulu- Natal on a farm near Kok- stad has been riding horses since he was a young boy. He is experienced in en- durance riding, polo cross and is currently involved with horse training in KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape. In 2013, he finished 6th in the Mongol


Derby, the world’s longest horse race and won the Horsemanship Award for “best care of horses”. Day two saw Sam,


Sarah and Monde neck and neck with Damyan Serovic (Guatamala) who unfortu- nately had to drop out due to knee injuries. Malcolm Hozack (Ireland/ South Africa) lost his way and was eliminated from the compe- tition.


By day three, the race


was split into three clear groups, with Sarah, Monde and Sam in first place. The next group was Louise Crosbie


(Australia),


Stephanie ‘Stevie’ Murray (USA), Rose Sandler (USA) and Jamey Altman (USA), who were closely followed by Chris Maude (UK), Brent Albuino (Australia) and Katja. Malcolm was determined to participate in the ride even though he was out of the competition and spent the night at Hole-in- the-wall, a natural land- mark, and small cottage settlement used as a race checkpoint where horses were swapped. On day four,


the


nerves, excitement and adrenaline really kicked in. Monde was leading the way across the Mbashe River early with Sarah and Sam very close behind. In a sad turn of events, Louise’s horse pulled up lame and she was out of the race. Just before the leaders reached Kob Inn, another disaster struck when both Sam and Monde’s horses each lost a front shoe. In a show of true horsemanship, they elected to wait for the farrier to ar- rive by helicopter so Sarah headed out to the next vet check on her own. By the time Sam and


Monde left Kob Inn, Sarah already had a 33-minute lead, but this was no prob- lem as Sam’s horse, Madonna and Monde’s horse, Kadar were up for the


job. They caught Sarah on the hills and Sam arrived at the Wavecrest vet check just seconds ahead of Sarah and Monde. The rest of the rid- ers were not far behind, making it to the Kob Inn vet check in good time even after another couple of lost shoes.


With a momentous


galloping finish, Monde took the win with the crew cheering him on across the finish line. After a tense wait for the horses to pass the last vet check, the results were in: Monde came in first, Sam in second and Sarah in third, with just seconds be- tween them. After that there was an almost 3.5 hour wait to the next group of Jamey and Rose and another hour before Stevie, Katja, Chris and Brent crossed the line to complete the nine race com- petitors. Malcolm took it easy and arrived at the finish on day five. The race was incredi-


bly successful and all the riders thoroughly enjoyed the adventure of racing the


Wild Coast, ticking this one off their bucket list. The en- tire race was ‘commentated’ on social media and via live feed on the Rockethorse Racing website allowing people to follow along from all over the world. Sponsors


are currently looking at doing another race in South Africa, with a view to fran- chising the concept world- wide.”


Look for Rock-


ethorse’s production of a feature-length documentary


of the event included Epol, Striped Horse, KwikBeet and Spot GPS Trackers by RentX.. Rockethorse Rac- ing co-founder, Barry Ar- mitage had this to say of the event: “Race the Wild Coast will be an annual event, and we hope to grow the field significantly next year. We


about the race, which is now in the post-production stage and set for release later this year. And if you think you have what it takes to com- pete in the next Race the Wild Coast adventure, visit their website: http://rock- ethorseracing.co.za.


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