Tom Quilty Gold Cup 2022 - Written by DRNZ Member Ashley Cole

The day after quarantine for Covid ended I booked my flights to get to the 2022 Tom Quilty Gold Cup. Getting a horse to ride in the cup is never assured. It’s a hard job getting a horse 160km fit and getting a start. This was made especially hard this season with event cancellations due to Covid and floods in Aussie. But I didn’t care if I rode or not, attending the Quilty is an addiction I don’t plan to give up anytime soon and after the two years of Covid I was gagging to get over there. 

A rider licence was the next thing I had to get. So I had to renew my ESNZ membership and pay the fee for the licence. This is necessary or ESNZ will phone AERA and I would be disqualified. If it’s your first time in Aussie riding you also need proof as a rider that you have completed a 160km endurance ride through ESNZ. I didn’t need to take any proof as I’ve done a few 160km FEI completions which are on the database and also I’ve got an AERA number from competing there before. 

This would be about my 10th trip over there to ride so arriving at Sydney and picking up the campervan was like coming home! We drove 6 hours to Orange on the first day (the Tuesday) and spent the afternoon with our old mate Chris Bailey looking at his fabulous horses. This bought back memories of the last time I did this, the first time I layed eyes on Tonki Dee Boo Novak (Boo). Later that night we had dinner in Orange with Chris and his family,the Bullio Staff, Jolene and Chrisso. Not a lot of drinking going on with such a big race coming up, which is always a little harsh for us. Haha. Beside which, we were leaving for ride base at daylight. So off we went again at daylight, first stop was to food shop. Second stop was a bottlo. Haha.

As we neared Torraweenah we started to see the big Aussie gooseneck rigs on the road heading the same way, my adrenaline was starting to pump big time. By the time we passed the horse quarantine I was dancing in the drivers seat. All horses must stop here before they are allowed to travel into ride base, where they get their general health check and temps taken. Pulling into Toraweenah, the ride base is virtually in the middle of this little Aussie town, there was a long line of trucks and rigs because it was sooo muddy the majority were needing to be towed into their allotted camping spaces by tractors! What a sight that was! We were ok because Jolene had got in early when booking and we had a spot right off the road. 

Our camp was awesome, Aussie camps are! A fire drum, a crate of firewood waiting for us. We put up a big gazebo outside our camper for hanging out. Amira was in a nice pen with sawdust. The rest of Wednesday was for relaxing and a nice walk out on Amira. Thursday was a little more hectic. A walk out on Amira in the morning then a harder sweat run in the afternoon. Entry had to be confirmed, log book taken in, my rider weight done and there was shopping to do in the many horse equipment stalls. Old friends to catch up with and there was a street fair in town! This was a bit left field riding past on the way to the training leg. Thursday was an early night.

Friday first thing I rode Amira again then Jolene got her ready to vet. I brushed my hair. Pre ride Vetting at Quilty is spectacular. Watching all the horses. We were running a little private calcutter so we had skin in the game. Amira flew through her pre ride. And we had a start!!! Breathe. Breathe. We did the walk through, that’s when the officials take us all on a walk to familiarise us with where we warm up pre ride, where the start and finish lines are, crewing area, vet etc. then there was pre ride talk straight after so all riders and crew could get an early night. All generators had to be off by 6. That was my bed time.Then it was time… 

Well, where to start! So much to say…. Firstly I like to show my appreciation to the Torraweenah Endurance Club and the Torraweenah community for their welcoming, amazing attitude. They were thrown some curve balls at the 11th hour and stepped up with a can do attitude and I applaud you all. After all the rain and floods, parts of the National Park were closed to the ride, 36 hours before the start. So they had to remark quite a bit of the track. My trips from Kiwi Land to Australia are something I always look forward to. The Australian endurance family are so amazingly inclusive and welcoming. Thank you all.  

My previous trips to TQ haven’t ended in a buckle - first was 2015, the big one! Unfortunately I lost a shoe and my crew had a health mishap at the same time. The next one was Victoria when the bog tripped me up. Next one, Sth Australia on my own horse and I totally messed that up - total rider error! So this time I wasn’t leaving without a buckle even if I had to carry the horse - lucky I had a small one.  Jumping on strange horses the day before a big event can be interesting. I enjoy the challenge. Yallaroo Amira was my partner for 2022 TQ and what a cracking little Sadaqa granddaughter she is! Jolene Cole graciously gave me the ride, and Nadine my right hand came with me from NZ. My other mate Heather came over with her bloke, she had the hardest job - looking after me between loops. Her instructions were “ if you ask me to eat, I’ll say I’m not hungry, you have to make me eat” haha. She did a cracking job. Chis Gedes, what a guy, between shoeing other peoples horses he was camp cook and chief horse trotter up for vet. And rider catcher when I’d virtually fall off dismounting in the later loops. I’m 55 years old and I’m not kind to my body - the two weeks before TQ I kind of ended up under a tree and until the week before I couldn’t even walk. 

The midnight start, as usual, was emotional. There are no words to describe starting an event seeped in tradition with 200 odd horses. The warm up area was huge which boded well for a non eventful start - that’s code for “I didn’t fall off”.   I was so mindful of the big climb up the mountain 3km from start that we went real gingerly keeping out of trouble as the pack sorted themselves out. About 10km in I found Stella with her number 1 bib on and I tucked in behind her. Something I should have done at Sth Australia a few years back. I trusted her implicitly to ride a good line, and being a foreign rider this can be hard to pick on the Aussie hard country. I’d riden a few rides with Stella both in NZ and AU so I was pretty happy tucked in with my buddy. 

There were many highlights - the daylight views of the Warrambungles, spectacular. The relief of the thumbs up after each leg! But the locals lined up cheering us on a remote dirt road on the 4th leg was something I’ll never forget! Boy that was a lift! The welcoming checkpoints with the fires burning, the lucerne for the horses and lollies and water for the riders - wow, just so great!

The final vetting was a bit emotional for me after a few years of finding ways for it not to work! My eyes made a bit of water, I wasn’t taking those dark glasses off! My appreciation and love for Jolene and Chris for keeping the faith in me is never ending.  To attend prize giving knowing I was going to actually get awarded a buckle was a real buzz. And when Alam called me back to present the trophy for first foreign rider home, oh my lord I was surprised and over the moon. 

Congratulations to the winners Kristie (one of my hero’s) and Tahlia (hard work and perseverance pays off). And congratulations to my other hero Debbie. Wow. 10 consecutive buckles on her champion boy, most in the top 10 including a win. Inspirational, all of you, everyone who gets a horse there! I’ll certainly be there next year.

Article added: Sunday 24 July 2022