Cirencester resident, Rosie Bathurst, has completed the Gaucho Derby – one of the greatest tests of horsemanship and wilderness skills in the world. As well as completing it, she also came 3rd and raised £2,235 for two Gloucestershire charities, Allsorts and WAM Youth.
After taking part in the Mongol Derby in 2016, she has been craving another horse-based adventure and the 10 day, 500km race in Argentina ticked all the boxes. She set out on 1st March and after a few days of training and acclimatisation, she crossed the start line on 3rd March with the other competitors, carrying all her food, clothing, camping and navigational equipment.
Rosie said: “I hadn’t prepared myself for was the completely insane routes I would be crossing, whilst caring for an unknown horse, scrambling up shingle cliff faces, falling into bogs, sliding down riverbanks, and bush-whacking our way through endless forest! There were more than a few moments where I thought I wasn’t making it home, let alone to the finish line in one piece!
Coming in just behind the eventual winners was a real shock. The drama, stress and exhaustion we had been experiencing throughout the race disappeared and we almost forgot we had just ridden over 500km in just over 8 days.”
Rosie chose to raise sponsorship for two charities who offer activities and essential support for young people with additional needs. There’s still time to show your support, by donating to her Just Giving page www.justgiving.com/campaign/rosiebathurstgauchoderby
*The Mongol Derby is a 1000km multi-horse race using semi-wild Mongolian ponies which is currently in the Guinness Book of World Records as The Longest Horse Race in the World.
For more information about the Gaucho Derby, go to https://equestrianists.com/guides/gaucho-derby/
About Rosie
Rosie is a 29-year-old Gloucestershire resident who runs her own bespoke cake decorating business, Little b Bakes. Alongside baking cakes, Rosie competes horses in Eventing and plays lacrosse for Cheltenham Lacrosse Club and also at a regional level. Rosie also has 2 dogs, one of which she competes in Flyball with a local club.