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 Border rider Polly Fraser along with Cicely and Mark Thorne have judged their marathon ride to North Yorkshire a phenomenal success having just raised well over 3,000 towards cancer care and the RDA. This comes after an eventful and at times extremely gruelling sponsored, 9 day riding marathon from Easter Ulston near Jedburgh to Goathland in North Yorkshire.
Covering 150 miles of unpredictable terrain in temperatures often hovering around 27, they rode through bluebell woods and deserted farms, crossed open moor-land, scrambled up sheer sided cliffs beside waterfalls and even leapt across and through - deep river pools.
 'Sometimes, said Polly, 'there was simply no other option and we just had to keep going, even although at first the way ahead looked impassable.'
'On one occasion, we ended up on a very narrow track which took us forty minutes our of our way. We were forced to go in single file and simply couldn?t turn round.'
Something that impressed all the riders was the behaviour and stamina of their horses who remained fit and healthy throughout the lengthy journey. The rigorous fitness training programme undertaken before the marathon paid off and in fact proved crucial to the success of their ride. This involved around 8 weeks of walk, trot and canter work for varying lengths of time through miles of Border countryside.
 'Without this, stressed Polly, 'we just couldn't have done it. Throughout the ride, we fed the horses on slow release energy cubes and this made a huge difference too. Our longest day was over 30 miles and our shortest 9 miles, 8 of these uphill. The horses were marvellous.'
'All in all it was an uplifting experience. The true purpose of our ride was never out of our minds and this created a huge sense of responsibility. In so many ways, it was an incredible shared, learning experience for both ourselves and for our horses. I would certainly urge local riders to try to get out into the hills much more if they can and to push themselves and their horses to experience more together. We're now inspired to take two young horses on a non-sponsored and much shorter trip to the lake district in the autumn and I'm sure it will still teach us all a thing or two!'
 Through raising funds for cancer research and the RDA, this outstanding ride was undertaken as a tribute to Catriona Arres (Tutti) who died of cancer last year. Donations to this fund are still welcome and can be made by contacting Polly Fraser on 01835 862 501 or Cicely Thorne on 01450 373 845. The final cheque will be presented at a fund raising dance to be held at Dryden, Ashkirk on Friday 28th July.
Polly concludes:
'Tutti continually made me face riding challenges that I was convinced I couldn?t meet. On this difficult ride, I never once turned back. Her influence is still very much with me.'
A huge thank you goes out from the team to all their sponsors, which include local farriers, vets, hauliers, land agents as well as all their families and friends without whom this journey simply would not have been possible.
If you or anyone you know is contemplating taking on a long distance riding challenge the team would be happy to talk to you and give you some advice. They undertook a huge amount of research before setting off and have many useful facts and tips as well as invaluable advice that they'd be happy to pass on to anyone for a small fee of £10 to cover admin costs.
Contact: Polly Fraser for more info T: 01835 862 501
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