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Enduring passion
AMANDA Walton and Sir Cae know all about endurance riding.
IT takes a certain kind of horse to go the distance in an endurance ride – so too does it take a certain kind of rider.
So, it’s just as well Stratford District has an endurance-riding hero in Toko’s Amanda Walton who became North Island Champion last month.
On her grandfather Trevor’s horse, Lotus Blue Moon, the 18-year-old undertook a 57km endurance circuit near Waiuku, south of Auckland on Saturday, January 2.
"We started at nine in the morning," says Amanda.
"Travelling through the heat at that time of day was pretty tough, but we managed to get back first."
The following day on her own horse, Sir Cae, Amanda undertook another gruelling 103km trail and came second – ending an extremely successful, but tiring two days of competition.
Unlikely union
Doing so well in endurance riding was an unlikely turn of events for Amanda, given she was terrified of horses when she was very young. It was only through the intervention of her grandfather that she eventually discovered her passion for all things equine.
"It was my grandfather who bought me my first horse, Goldie, when I was five. He’d bought one for himself – Pierre – and we worked on looking after our horses together."
Eventually, Amanda overcame her fears and went on to develop a taste for trekking. This then provided a natural lead-in to the competitive endurance-riding career she began around three years ago.
"I find long-distance riding quite peaceful and enjoy getting to know my horse – what it is and isn’t capable of.
"On a long ride, it’s just you and the horse, so you have to understand it."
Sir Cae is one of three horses that Amanda looks after on her family farm; the other two being Copper and Shaz, and Amanda is responsible for training them to their full endurance potential.
Going the distance
"Every couple of days, each horse gets taken out for a good two hours. I take it through trotting, cantering and distance training.
"You have to really get involved with your horses. You have to wash them and keep them looking good, as well as keep their muscles toned.
Part of Amanda’s training and maintenance routine also involves massaging her horses to keep their joints and limbs healthy, and keep their blood flowing.
"Because of the length of time the horse is performing, you’re training them to stay at their best over a long distance. If you push them too hard and try and go too fast, you might lame them.
"As a rider, you also have to make sure that things like the saddle fit well; not only because you have to sit in them for such a long time, but also because they can catch the horse’s hair and make it really uncomfortable for them." Amanda is also a part of a long distance club based in Kohuratahi. Participation in the club sees her regularly wandering through the far eastern reaches of the Stratford District; providing perfect training for many of the trails she finds herself regularly competing on around the country.
At 18, Amanda already knows where she is headed, having made the decision to go full-time on the farm two years ago.
"This has been the Walton family farm for five generations, so I’m happy to carry on here," she says.
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