western australia

endurance riding

State Championship Endurance Ride, Western Australia

Endurance State Championships, Collie, Western Australia

@JudyEv (342100)

Rockingham, Australia

September 25, 2022 6:18pm CST

The endurance ride that we attended over the weekend was the State Championships. For this event, riders can choose to ride 40 km (25 miles), 80 km (50 miles) or 160 km (100 miles). The winner of the 160 km ride becomes the state champion for the year. This is the only ride where the winners of the 160 km section have to saddle up and give a very short display the morning after. This is to show that the horses have taken no ill-effects from the huge effort of the previous day. It creates a lot of interest among the other riders who all gather to watch. They especially like to see a rider give a short burst at the finish. All four horses shown successfully covered 160 kms on Saturday. The riders top left and lower right rode in together. However, lightweight riders are not eligible to win the Championship so it went to the lady in the top left photo. The lady lower right is also a very accomplished surfer although she now only competes in veterans’ events.

21 people like this

19 responses

@allknowing (137772)

• India

26 Sep 22

I wonder if the horses know when they win such awards. Great photos.

3 people like this

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@allknowing (137772)

• India

26 Sep 22

@JudyEv I think all animals can feel the emotions of their care takers.

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@JudyEv (342100)

• Rockingham, Australia

26 Sep 22

I guess they know when their owners are happy with them. They are such 'giving' creatures.

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@JudyEv (342100)

• Rockingham, Australia

26 Sep 22

@allknowing I'm sure you're right.

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@DaddyEvil (137636)

• United States

26 Sep 22

The horse in the top right is sticking his tongue out at you.

Did you say something that he felt was an insult?

The photos are beautiful, like always.

Thank you for sharing them.

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@DaddyEvil (137636)

• United States

26 Sep 22

That's so funny!

2 people like this

@JudyEv (342100)

• Rockingham, Australia

26 Sep 22

I'll put up another photo later where his tongue is even further out.

3 people like this

@JudyEv (342100)

• Rockingham, Australia

26 Sep 22

@DaddyEvil Sometimes you don't notice these things at the time. It's only later that you pick it up in a photo.

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@wolfgirl569 (108144)

• Marion, Ohio

26 Sep 22

They all look great.

2 people like this

@JudyEv (342100)

• Rockingham, Australia

26 Sep 22

Considering they travelled 100 miles the day before, they do look good. The riders were all a bit stiff.

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@wolfgirl569 (108144)

• Marion, Ohio

26 Sep 22

@JudyEv I am sure they were.

2 people like this

@RasmaSandra (80748)

• Daytona Beach, Florida

26 Sep 22

Nice photos and beautiful horses, Glad things are going well,

2 people like this

@JudyEv (342100)

• Rockingham, Australia

26 Sep 22

Thanks. We took around 700 photos between us that we put on the website. There were quite a few duds too.

2 people like this

Lenore Plassman

@sallypup (61633)

• Centralia, Washington

26 Sep 22

Look at those muscles and legs ready for action. Great shots.

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Lenore Plassman

@sallypup (61633)

• Centralia, Washington

26 Sep 22

@JudyEv I bet they do tons of practice. Two more Saturdays and my hubby and I will go on a horse adventure.

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@JudyEv (342100)

• Rockingham, Australia

26 Sep 22

@sallypup That's good to hear. What will you be doing? I hope you'll write about it.

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@JudyEv (342100)

• Rockingham, Australia

26 Sep 22

They have been well trained over many months. I'm glad you like the photos.

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Anindita Sengupta

@aninditasen (16503)

• Raurkela, India

26 Sep 22

Why aren't lightweight riders eligible? Was the woman having any standard weight?

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@JudyEv (342100)

• Rockingham, Australia

27 Sep 22

If a horse is carrying a lightweight it is seen to have an unfair advantage over a horse carrying a middle or heavyweight rider.

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@JudyEv (342100)

• Rockingham, Australia

28 Sep 22

@aninditasen There are three divisions - lightweight, middleweight and heavyweight. Lightweight is less than 73 kg, middleweight 73 kg and over and heavyweight 91 kg and over. The riders weigh-in before and after the ride. The saddle and headgear are all considered as part of the overall weight.

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Anindita Sengupta

@aninditasen (16503)

• Raurkela, India

27 Sep 22

@JudyEv I see. So the weight of the riders should be somewhat equal.

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changjiangzhibin89

@changjiangzhibin89 (16789)

• China

26 Sep 22

Wonderful photos ! All of them in the collage seem to be female riders.

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@JudyEv (342100)

• Rockingham, Australia

26 Sep 22

There are a lot more female riders than males but there are some males. Maybe I should do a collage of the men just so you know I'm not biased.

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@nicegolden (284)

• Shenzhen, China

26 Sep 22

1 person likes this

changjiangzhibin89

@changjiangzhibin89 (16789)

• China

27 Sep 22

@JudyEv If there is collage of the men,so much the better !

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@flapiz (23152)

• United Kingdom

27 Sep 22

Wow it is always such a thrill to watch someone riding a horse!

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@flapiz (23152)

• United Kingdom

27 Sep 22

@JudyEv I've never ridden one but dream of it someday.

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@JudyEv (342100)

• Rockingham, Australia

27 Sep 22

It's a lovely experience tor ride a horse.

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@rebelann (112969)

• El Paso, Texas

26 Sep 22

Why aren't lightweight riders eligible to win? I've always thought jockeys were small lightweights.

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@rebelann (112969)

• El Paso, Texas

26 Sep 22

OH, ok, now I get it. They don't want lightweights to have an unfair advantage.

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@JudyEv (342100)

• Rockingham, Australia

26 Sep 22

I suppose with endurance, a lightweight rider is a great advantage. A horse having to carry a big man, say, would be at a disadvantage against a small girl rider.

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@JudyEv (342100)

• Rockingham, Australia

27 Sep 22

@rebelann Yes, that's the way it is.

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@xFiacre (13155)

• Ireland

26 Sep 22

@judyev Horse 4 looks a bit like it’s being blown backwards by a strong wind. Not the rider though. The position of all 4 legs is quite impressive in moving horses.

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@xFiacre (13155)

• Ireland

26 Sep 22

@JudyEv You’re doing rather well with your method.

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@JudyEv (342100)

• Rockingham, Australia

26 Sep 22

@xFiacre Thanks. When you're on a good thing, stick to it!

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@Ronrybs (19585)

• London, England

26 Sep 22

100 miles in a weekend! That would be more than enough for me driving over a weekend

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@JudyEv (342100)

• Rockingham, Australia

26 Sep 22

Actually it only takes them a day. 17 hours for first over the line with an average speed of 9.28 kph. That's actually quite slow.

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@JudyEv (342100)

• Rockingham, Australia

27 Sep 22

@Ronrybs Some do it in a bit over 8 hours. It depends on the terrain and the fitness of the horse and rider.

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@Ronrybs (19585)

• London, England

26 Sep 22

@JudyEv That doesn't sound very fast! But 17 hours in the saddle might feel different!

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@RubyHawk (99405)

• Atlanta, Georgia

26 Sep 22

They are beautiful horses. How long does it take a horse to run a hundred miles?

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@JudyEv (342100)

• Rockingham, Australia

26 Sep 22

This was quite a slow race. The winner took 17 hours at an average of 9.28 kph. There are compulsory rest breaks between the different 'legs'.

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@JudyEv (342100)

• Rockingham, Australia

26 Sep 22

@RubyHawk Yes, it is. Thankfully, there are now a lot of standards in place to keep the horses safe.

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@RubyHawk (99405)

• Atlanta, Georgia

26 Sep 22

@JudyEv That’s a long time for horses to run.

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@LindaOHio (181708)

• United States

26 Sep 22

Always enjoy your professional photos. Have a good week.

1 person likes this

@JudyEv (342100)

• Rockingham, Australia

26 Sep 22

Thanks very much. We head off tomorrow for a different house-sit.

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@CarolDM (203422)

• Nashville, Tennessee

26 Sep 22

More stunning photos. The black horses always catch my eye.

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@JudyEv (342100)

• Rockingham, Australia

26 Sep 22

Black horses, and white ones, can be hard to photograph. We're forever adjusting our light settings for them.

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@CarolDM (203422)

• Nashville, Tennessee

26 Sep 22

@JudyEv I can understand as there is not a lot of lighting difference to help out it seems.

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@jstory07 (139976)

• Roseburg, Oregon

26 Sep 22

Those are really beautiful horses. Thanks for sharing the pictures.

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@JudyEv (342100)

• Rockingham, Australia

26 Sep 22

It's nice to be able to put them up here for people to enjoy.

@Kandae11 (55162)

•

26 Sep 22

Those horses all look very smart. I like the horse at the bottom right.

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@JudyEv (342100)

• Rockingham, Australia

26 Sep 22

Carol likes that one too. It is totally black with no white markings at all.

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@dya80dya (36775)

•

26 Sep 22

These photos are amazing.

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@JudyEv (342100)

• Rockingham, Australia

26 Sep 22

Thanks. I'm really glad you like them. I'm always a bit surprised that people make such lovely remarks about them.

@arunima25 (87854)

• Bangalore, India

26 Sep 22

Why do they not let the light weight riders win the championship? That sounds unfair. And despite knowing that these two participated in the race and successfully completed it. Kudos to them! They must be loving the game so much. Nice pictures as always

@JudyEv (342100)

• Rockingham, Australia

27 Sep 22

A horse carrying a lightweight rider has an advantage over a horse carrying a middle or heavyweight rider. It seems unfair but I can see the logic behind it.

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@JudyEv (342100)

• Rockingham, Australia

28 Sep 22

@arunima25 If the difference is minimal, you could perhaps use a different saddle or carry lead weights in your saddle-bags.

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@arunima25 (87854)

• Bangalore, India

27 Sep 22

@JudyEv Hmm... there is a logic there. So, I guess sometimes having those extra pounds can make you the winner

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@Beestring (14697)

• Hong Kong

26 Sep 22

Nice pictures. The horses are beautiful.

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@JudyEv (342100)

• Rockingham, Australia

26 Sep 22

Thanks. I'm glad you like them.

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