What kind of fool thinks they can run against a horse in a 40km race and win?
Angela Stockdale said New Zealand was about to find out.
The Only Fools and Horses Race co-ordinator said runners and horse riders would compete against each other in a 40km race, starting and finishing in Wedderburn, Maniototo, on March 1, 2025.
Who the winner will be is anyone’s guess.
She said humans had more stamina than horses, and the race would be held on a mix of flat, hilly, uneven and rocky terrain, the latter of which is not favoured by horses and would slow them down.
"Going downhill is a lot harder on a horse, and rocky and boggy terrain will slow a horse down."
So in the end, it would be an evenly matched race.
Ms Stockdale said she came up with the idea while at a Central Otago pub.
Initially, she thought of it as a relay event where horses ran one part, and a human ran the second part.
But then she bumped into trail runners Chris Taylor and Steve Tripp.
"Being runners, they said being able to beat a horse would be ‘so great’."
And so the Only Fools and Horses Race was born.
"It’s been going for 40 years and I think the runners have won five times, so it is possible.
"I’m a horse rider, so I’m putting my money on a horse winning this race," she said.
When Mr Tripp, who is Inch Events co-director and a fellow race co-ordinator, first heard about the race, he thought it was a hare-brained scheme.
"I still do think that.
"Runners competing with horses — it’s just so different. It’s going to be great."
He said the runners would have to keep an eye out and navigate around hurdles that they would not usually encounter — like large piles of horse manure.
However, he was confident a runner would have a good chance of winning because when horses got tired, they were hard to keep moving.
"Whereas, runners can just keeping jogging along slowly."
The event aimed to raise funds for the Central Otago Hunt.
Ms Stockdale said spectators could buy a 4WD package to the summit of the race with great views of the competitors.
After the race, there would be a prizegiving, a dinner, a live band, an auction and a raffle for a new Toyota Hilux.
