30th anniversary 2012
National Capital Endurance Ride 1982 – Ride Review
The new National Capital Endurance Ride, in the Brindabella Ranges near Canberra, was held for the first time on Sunday 14 November 1982. Organised by the ACT Endurance Riders Association (ACTERA) and based at Mr Allen Blundell's property Brookvale, the ride comprised three legs in a clover-leaf configuration, totalling 110 km. Heatwave conditions and fire bans on top of the continuing severe drought had organisers worried that the ride might not be able to proceed, but with a forecast for slightly more favourable conditions over the weekend, they decided to continue.
The 39 horses entered in the ride ranged from experienced endurance horses that had done the Quilty to some in their first endurance ride. Riders, who came from Victoria and a wide area of NSW as well as the ACT, were also a mixture of people who had been competing in endurance rides for a number of years - among them veteran rider Betty Serpell, holder of 11 Quilty buckles - and those trying the sport for the first time. The campsite was a paddock beside a meandering creek, which on this occasion was very low due to the drought. Riders and helpers were provided with a choice of gourmet food at Maggie and Eric's canteen tent, one of the highlights being vegetable soup with Italian overtones - but some people just wanted a sausage sandwich. See a photo of the office caravan and canteen tent.
Some people set up camp on the flats by the creek while others preferred the shade of the trees on the hillside. Several riders retired early in preparation for the early start but others socialised for some time and arose, rather bleary-eyed, when the dulcet tones of Searle Johnston announced that it was 2.00 am. One had even less sleep than she had envisaged, having had to move her horse during the night to prevent him being kicked by his neighbour whose feed he was trying to steal through the rope fence separating their yards.
One horse was vetted out at the pre-ride check on Saturday afternoon and another was withdrawn before the start, leaving 37 to assemble for the start at 3.00 am on Sunday. Two riders were thrown at the start and took no further part in the ride. One of the loose horses galloped off into the darkness and eventually trotted up to a group of riders well out on the track, where one of them - Bryan Kidman, on Pigslops - caught it and led it the rest of the way around the first leg.
The riders' impression of the first leg was of the ground being hard, rough and rocky, particularly when they saw some of it for the first time in daylight. The night was very dark and riders were relieved to see the sky begin to lighten; some had a good view of daybreak over the mountains from the top of Baldy Range. At 6.10 am, the five leading riders came in from the first leg: Peter Cole on Arabian Park Flash, Allan Robertson on Prancer, Peter Waters on Dunrovin Sid, Stuart Davidson on Jackeroo and Doris Porritt on Bullitt. They were followed closely by Alan Waters on Bay Cindy. Peter Cole's horse was showing signs of tying up and was vetted out. The others were passed as fit to continue. Bryan Kidman and Pigslops finished the first leg only 24 minutes behind the leaders, despite being encumbered by the led horse. By 7.00 am, 20 horses had finished the first leg and all had done so by shortly after 8.00 am, except for one that tied up on course and had to be floated back. Despite the rough terrain, only two horses vetted out lame at the first check. None were vetted out on pulse, but with three having tied-up, only 30 horses were still in the ride after the first leg.
Peter Waters was the first rider back from the second leg, arriving at 10.36 am, but the pace was too much for Dunrovin Sid and he was vetted out on pulse. Next in was Allan Robertson on Prancer, at 11.12 m, followed at 12.19 pm by Kevin Bohm on Kelkette Park Izak and Bryan Kidman on Pigslops. As the day advanced, the heat and lack of water took its toll on both horses and riders. Five more horses were vetted out on pulse at the second checkpoint, including Stuart Davidson's Jackeroo, one of the early leaders. Two other early leaders, Alan Waters' Bay Cindy and Doris Porritt's Bullitt, passed the vet check but were withdrawn: Bay Cindy's pulse was high and Bullitt was tiring.
As well as having to climb a long, steep slope on which their leather-soled boots kept slipping as they laboured up, leading their horses, riders found the lack of surface water a big problem on the second leg. Some went about 6 km out of their way to get water from a creek only to find the creek was dry. Horses bogged up to their hocks in mud trying to reach water in a drying waterhole and in another place, logs laid across a muddy creek crossing to aid vehicles made the going difficult. The organisers had to make arrangements to have water for horses carted out to a point on the course. One rider confessed to being so hot and tired by the end of the second leg that she was praying she would be vetted out rather than having to decide whether to withdraw or keep going. However, her horse passed the vet check with no problems and she decided to keep going and completed successfully. Another commented that he really needed a camel, not a horse, to do this ride. Several riders did not complete the second leg until after 2.00 pm. Three horses were floated back (in one case, because the rider had got lost). The last three riders to finish the second leg withdrew rather than push their horses to try and complete the ride in the remaining time.
All 16 riders that set out on the third leg finished the ride and passed the final vet check. A dam not far from the end of the ride provided a welcome opportunity to give horses a drink and a sponge-down before returning to camp.
The winner, Allan Robertson of Taralga on Prancer, finished at 3.26 pm, a riding time of 10 hours and 26 minutes. Next to finish was Bryan Kidman on Pigslops, in 10 hours and 51 minutes. Third open, and first heavyweight, was Victorian David Mortimer on Faraway Vega, in 12 hours and 5 minutes. Dorothy Clee, riding the eight-year-old Palomino gelding Amber, was first lightweight, in a time of 11 hours and 49 minutes. Local rider Megan Dyason, on her eight-year-old Australian Stock Horse gelding Euree Mandingo, was first junior in 11 hours and 58 minutes. Other local riders to succeed were Alison Guy of Bungendore on her Australian Stock Horse mare Soft Breeze and Judith Perkins of Canberra on her part-Arab gelding Razzle Dazzle: they shared the first local lady rider award. Judith was also third in the lightweight division and Razzle Dazzle was awarded a ribbon from the Arabian Horse Society for being one of the Arabian horses to successfully complete the ride. The last group of riders finished at 5.43 pm, after being on the course for 12 hours and 43 minutes. Prancer, an unregistered seven-year-old gelding, was judged Fittest Horse.
ACT Endurance Riders Association President Searle Johnston, and Secretary Janet Rose, thanked the Blundell family and other landowners who allowed access to their properties; the local businesses that provided sponsorship; the veterinary team headed by Richard Chapman; and the many people who helped to organise and run the ride.
The National Capital Ride was the first in the Snowy Mountains Zone for the 1982–83 season, with the next scheduled rides being the 120 km Kevin Miners Memorial Endurance Ride at Adaminaby on 12 December and the 101 km Snowy River Ride at Jindabyne on 9 January.
This review was written nearly 30 years after the event, based on data in the mastersheets and input from several of the riders and organisers (Searle Johnston, Janet Rose, Alina Gilpin (Schunke), Judith Perkins, Alison Hudson (Guy), Merilyn Payne, Jan Neal , Kath Dyason, Marie De Monchaux (Hill) and Doris Porritt). If anyone who took part has any additional or different recollections, please tell us so they can be added to the Brookvale ride history.
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