Posted on 06/13/2010 10:04:34 AM PDT by JoeProBono
LLANWRTYD WELLS, Wales, - As has happened almost every year since 1980, a horse won the annual Man vs. Horse race Saturday in Wales.
Sly Dai covered 22 miles of mixed terrain on the edge of the Brecon Beacons in 2 hours and 7 minutes, The Daily Telegraph reported. The fastest human in the race was 10 minutes slower.
"It's great to have won," said Llinos Jones, who rode her own horse past the finish line. "I'm a local girl and I've been coming to see the race since I was a little girl but this was the first time I've competed so I'm really happy."
This year's field was a large one with 283 humans, 60 relay teams with three runners each and 44 horses.
The race began in 1980 to settle an argument in the local pub about whether a man or horse would do better over a long distance.
Race organizers say the humans have been doing better. The first horse won with 30 minutes to spare, a lead time that has been cut to a few seconds in some races.
In 2004, Huw Lobb, a champion marathoner, became the first man to beat the horses, a feat that has been matched once since.
Huw Lobb ran the race for the first time
I read about an Arab stallion who was a 100 mile endurance race specialist.His rider reported that they covered the last 17 miles of a hard fought race in 34 minutes.I own a Spanish Mustang mare that I think would humiliate the human runners in a 22 mile race.
Not to take anything away from Mr Loob,he’s an amazing athlete.
I bet the riders of the horses feel a lot better at the end of the race than the runners do, no matter how well the runners do.
The difference is that a human marathon runner will be done after 26 miles. A well-conditioned horse will keep on going. Fifty miles in a day is hard, but can be done; war horses did almost that much regularly. Some exceptional (usually Arab and/or Morgan crosses) can do 75. Arabian horses are splendid at endurance competitions and have been known to do 100 miles, though this is exceptional.
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