14 hours ago
Man vs Horse rider thrown and horse lost for over an hour
A COMPETITOR at last weekend's Man vs Horse race said she 'needed' to finish, after being thrown from her horse, who then bolted and was lost for more than an hour.
Julie Griffiths heaped praise on event organisers and marshals, as well as runners who came to her aid when another horse reportedly barged into her and her horse, Swizz.
Julie fell from the saddle, while spooked Swizz then darted off down the track, before he was found about an hour-and-a-half later at a nearby farm.
Julie and Swizz recovered to finish in four hours, 27 seconds, which was good enough for 210th position overall, out of 712 finishers (including three-person relay teams) at the madcap race, held in the hills and forests surrounding Llanwrtyd Wells.
'Thank you so much Robert (Bob Greenhough, of organisers Green Events) and all your amazing helpers, organisers and marshals,' Julie said, in a post on the Man vs Horse Community Facebook page on Monday.
'Me and my boy Swizz had an unfortunate incident by a rider who sped past me on a very, very narrow track in the woods on the second half, barging into my horse, causing him to go vertical up the steep embankment.
'I came off and don't recall anything until I was surrounded by some amazing runners whom I would like to personally thank for your help in getting me back on my feet.
'My poor boy had disappeared down the track which is unlike him and I couldn't find him. But with the help of my partner, who rushed to me, and your amazing marshals, organisers and helpers; he was found in the woods after 90 minutes, safe with no injuries.
'I decided, after checking him over, we needed to finish the race and we did.
'I cannot thank you enough for everything; it was just unfortunate that the rider had no etiquette.'
Dewi Griffiths won the race, becoming the first Welshman to outrun a horse in the iconic Powys sporting event's history. He was the third human winner in the last four years.
The Swansea Harrier crossed the finishing line nearly 13 minutes faster than Gweni the horse with a time of two hours, 23 minutes and 54 seconds, earning himself a trophy and £250.
Gweni, who was ridden by Gabi Morley, took two hours, 35 minutes and 45 seconds to complete the multi terrain course, which this year was just over 22 miles.
It took 25 years before a runner finally beat all the horses when Huw Lobb won £25,000 after crossing the line two minutes quicker in 2004.
His feat was repeated three years later in 2007 by Florien Holzinger, followed by Ricky Lightfoot in 2022 and Daniel Connolly in 2023.
