Mudgee Endurance Riders Club held their big endurance event at Cooyal on May 13 and 14.
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There were five events to choose from with more than 115 entries, and the main event of 120 riders had an early start of 2am on Sunday morning.
With a full moon and clear skies however the beginning of the ride was quite spectacular, according to riders who also had headlamps fixed and shining in the dark.
The join winners of the 120km were Emily Streckfuss and Debbie Pevy, holding hands as they crossed the line in the traditional endurance salute to signify equal placing.
Their final time, and the fastest of the event, was 7 hours and 23 minutes.
6am marked the beginning of the 80km event, just as day was breaking, and there was reportedly very little fog for the riders.
Andrew Bailey was the winner of the 80km event, finishing in just over 5 hours, while his horse also received the fittest Heavyweight entrant.
There were also 40, 20 and 10km events held over the weekend, with the 10km notably having just a single entrant – 12 year old Paige Jupp rode the entire distance on her own for a successful completion.
The prestigious Ray Gooley Memorial Trophy for Best Managed Horse went to Rochelle Knihinicki on Sunday, and was presented by Ray’s son at the event.