They call her, Mrs Golden Horseshoe.
They also say you need
lots of endurance to keep up with her.
For Barbara Wigley, a busy, fast-talking, no-nonsense,
endurance rider is the driving force behind what over
the years has become one of the great, legendary endurance
rides in the world.
Not that there haven't been set-backs along the way. In
fact, at one time it looked as though the days of the Golden
Horseshoe, which today covers 100 miles of the toughest terrain
in the country, were very nearly over.
Barbara was born in Stretford, Manchester. Her family were
distinctly non-horsey. Her father was a painter and decorator.
Eventually, he opened a painting and decorating shop in nearby
Urmston.
Barbara Wigley on Zara >>
"As a kid, I can remember begging and pleading with
them to let me have a pony," she says. "When I
was 11-years-old I managed to persuade my mother to let me
have riding lessons. She agreed. But it was on condition
I didn't tell my father.
"Then I can remember when I was 13 we went on holiday
to a farm at Prestatyn, North Wales. The farmer had a grand-daughter,
who had this little Shetland pony, which she couldn't ride. I
said, I can ride. I'll look after him. Me? I had only had
two lessons three years earlier.
<< Shushumi on the way to a gold award
at the Golden Horseshoe 1985.
"When we got back home I went with a friend to another
riding school, this time in Urmston, again without my father
knowing. I used to go there before and after school. I loved
every minute of it. I learnt to jump. In those days we just
used to jump over oil drums. The only jumping lesson I had
was being told, ‘Lean forward’. I used to muck
out, even give lessons and I'd never had a proper lesson
in my life.
"Eventually, my father found out. There were lots of
arguments. He thought horses were dangerous. He thought going
on the roads was dangerous.
"Then the riding school closed. I must have been
16 or 17. So I never got my pony."
Five-years later, when she was 22 she got married. With
husband, Ian, she moved to Nuneaton just outside Coventry.
There was a riding school nearby in Wolvey. They both promptly
enrolled. Ian to learn to ride. Barbara to brush up
on her riding skills.
Nic on Zara with a friend
during a training ride in horizontal sleet/snow last year. >>
"My favourite horse was Sonny," says Barbara. " 15.2,
part TB. I rode him for three years. Then I broke my ankle
playing tig on horsesback, of all things."
Not only did that mean another break from riding but then
came two children.
"My daughter, Nic, was sitting on horses when she was
10-months old. Twice she has been the national junior champion
for endurance riding. She's ridden and won for the UK in
Belgium. She's also ridden in Qatar. She did the first desert
marathon.
"My son David has never been keen on riding, preferring
city life to the countryside.”
Barbara herself discovered Endurance riding when she bought
her first horse, Shushumi, an Arab x Connemara.
"A friend was going to sell her because she was pregnant.
I said I'll have her. To pay for her I took on two extra
jobs in addition to my day job. Eventually I raised the money.
I was 30 years-old. I had my first horse.
"I thought she was going to be a jumper/eventer. I
took her to her first event. She didn't like it at all, and
couldn’t see why she had to go over the jumps. So that
was it. No more eventing. So I just hacked her out. But I
kept thinking, I must do something the horse likes. This
went on for two or three years.
"Then somebody mentioned the Golden Horseshoe. I rang
up the BHS and said I want to do this ride. What do I do? They
said, The first thing you have to do is join the BHS. I joined.
Then they said, You've got to get her fit and qualify at
a 40 mile ride.
<< Barbara on Zara
in fog at the
Golden Horseshoe in 2006.
"By 1983, she was fit and raring to go. Then she went
and injured herself. I missed the first season.
"The following year, we were ready. When we arrived
on Exmoor, WOW. She'd never seen countryside like it. Her
eyes came out on stalks. We flew round the course. I was
practically out-of-control. Shushumi was so excited
she got the thumps and we were eliminated.
"From then on, it was a steep learning curve. I had
to learn about things like diet. I didn't know anything about
diets for endurance horses. Training. I had to learn about
more specific training. But Shushumi was now in her element.
She knew she was an endurance horse. Not a jumper. Not an
eventer. But an endurance horse. This was what she was born
for. And I thought to myself, If this is what she was born
for, why try anything else?"
In fact, Shushumi was such a natural at endurance that prizes
and awards came thick and fast.
"The following year," says Barbara, "we actually
got a Gold Award. We turned up at Exford for the Golden Horseshoe.
We went round the course at 8.8 mph. It was amazing. After
that we went everywhere. We bred two foals from her. Even
when she was 23- years- old she was still going strong. Wherever
I took her, she would say to herself, I can do that - and
she did. She was just amazing. She died when she was 28."
After Sushumi came Zara, a part-bred Arab. Barbara was given
her in 1999 when she was nine-years-old. Unbroken. She
was also a great award winner. She won a Gold for
75 miles at the Golden Horseshoe and a Silver for 100-miles
also at the Horseshoe, also winning the Top Mare Award and
the Top Veteran Horse Award in 2006. She is still going strong.
Barbara takes her out three or four times a week for the
odd 10 mile or 15 mile hack in and around Exmoor. She is
currently in training to take one of the celebrities round
the course at this year’s Golden Horseshoe Ride.
In between, of course, Barbara is Chairman of the Organising
Committee for the Golden Horseshoe. She is responsible for
everything. Organising the whole event. Raising sponsorship
money. Even mapping out the route.
Officially recognised as the premier endurance ride in the
country if not in Europe, it was founded in 1965 when it
covered 50 miles over Exmoor. Since then, it is estimated,
that over 4500 riders have taken part covering a total of
over 400,000 miles between them.
Zara at the GHR in 2006,
about 3 miles
from home in the 100 mile class.>>
In the late 1990's the ride hit problems. Rider numbers
declined. But it was rescued by Liz Hinings, well known organiser
of the Wiltshire Droves and Three Rivers rides. And it is
on her success that Barbara has been building since she took
over as Chairman in 2007.
Such has been her success that whereas in the early 2000s, the
Golden Horseshoe was attracting around 60 riders in three
classes and hardly any interest from the general public,
today it is attracting over 200 riders from not only this
country but also from France and even the United States.
It also attracts international press and television coverage. They
even get crowds of people on the route.
In 10-years time, such is Barbara's enthusiasm, that she
can see it being an internationally recognised event, attracting
riders from around the globe.”
Part of the reason, she says, is because of the increasing
popularity of endurance riding.
"Anybody can do it," she says. "It appeals
to all ages. It appeals to all levels. If you've got a horse
anybody can have a try. And it doesn't matter whether you've
got an Exmoor pony, a Connemara or even a flashy Lusitano.
This is a sport for everyone.
"But," she warns, "You've got to be dedicated.
If you're going to go for it, you've got to really go for
it. There's no point in messing about and giving up half-way."
In other words, you've got to be like Mrs Golden Horseshoe
herself.
