It’s the type of sporting occasion that might solely have developed out of a bar wager, and that’s precisely the origin story behind the Prescott, Arizona Man Towards Horse Race that noticed its origins 4 many years in the past.

All of it started in a bar in 1983, when Gheral Brownlow wager his good friend and cowboy Steve Rafters that he may beat his horse, on foot, in a race. The present occasion features a 50-mile, 25-mile, and half-marathon race. The horses run alongside the runners and the primary horse and rider (or runner) to cross the end line wins. There are a number of vet checks for the horses alongside the route and the time they’re stopped for that is subtracted from their general time. The organizers warn that “the 25- and 50-mile programs are extraordinarily strenuous … shouldn’t be undertaken with out important preparation.”

In different phrases, months of coaching goes into getting ready for the race that features driving over tough, steep, and rocky terrain. Organizers describe the route as mountainous trails and again roads with an elevation at base camp of roughly 5,000 ft and the 50-mile course climbing to an elevation of seven,500 ft.

In accordance with the race guide, awards are additionally given out for Greatest Conditioned Horse. Different guidelines embody a number of vet checks for the welfare of the horses, who’re required to be shod. Mules are allowed. Oh, and you’ll’t race bareback – though one wonders why you’d even strive!

An fascinating part within the guide accommodates the principles and proposals regarding lighting for these early begins and late finishes. The administration crew “strongly recommends that solely pink headlamps be used whereas progressing down the path. Different colours of lights together with white, blue, and inexperienced have been confirmed to negatively affect equine night time imaginative and prescient.” Rider should flip off lights on the request of different riders. And glow sticks connected to the entrance of the horse are permitted, however not behind the rider or tail of the horse.

This 12 months’s winner of the 50-mile race on horseback was Jennifer Herbert. Historically, the race was all the time gained by a horse and rider – till 2019, when Nick Coury blasted across the course in simply over six hours to complete far forward of the closest horse. He repeated this feat once more in 2020:

The Arizona race isn’t the one of its type; the sort of competitors can be held in Wales, Scotland and New Zealand.

Watch a video of the 2021 race right here:

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