Emma Ireland and Razorback Kelly’s Fire on their way to winning the 2024 Tom Quilty. Image by Rebekah Bianca Studio.
While millions of eyes were on Royal Randwick watching The Everest unfold, there was arguably an even tougher race taking place in a picturesque corner of South Australia. The Tom Quilty Gold Cup is the most prestigious event on the Australian endurance calendar and the 2024 edition saw a new winner crowned at Wirrinna Cove on the Fleurieu Peninsula.
Eighteen-year-old Emma Ireland and Razorback Kelly’s Fire. Image by Rebekah Bianca Studio.
Emma Ireland, 18, needs no introduction to the endurance world as the granddaughter of the late great Peter Cole, a legend of the sport, and the daughter of successful trainer and competitor Jolene Cole.
Now Emma has joined her grandfather on the historic list of winners of the Tom Quilty Gold Cup after taking it out aboard seven-year-old Arabian Stockhorse stallion Razorback Kelly’s Fire on 19 October.
The Tom Quilty Gold Cup began in 1966 and takes place every year in a different state around Australia. It brings people from all over the country, and around the world, to saddle up to be part of Australia’s history. Established by R.M. Willaims as Australia’s first 100-mile race, his friend the great horseman and cattleman Tom Quilty put up the initial $1000 prizemoney, and Williams named the race after him. The course is still 160km long and the horses undergo strict veterinary examinations no less than five times before, during and after the event.
Emma’s victory is one for the history books. She is the youngest woman to ever win the prestigious Cup. Making it even more special was the family connection. Not just through her family but the one of Razorback Kelly’s Fire.
“My Pop, Peter Cole, he won the Tom Quilty in 1983 on Chip Chase Sadaqa, which was Razorback Kellys’ grandfather, so it was very special a granddaughter won on a grandson,” Emma explains. “My Pop was with me the whole entire race of course and I was very blessed in that aspect.” Emma actually kept her grandfather’s buckle with her throughout her journey and he never left her mind.
“It has been my
childhood dream since
I was six years old.”
CHILDHOOD GOAL TO WIN
She might be young but winning a Quilty wasn’t a new goal for Emma. “It has been my childhood dream since I was six years old,” she said. “I manifested this. Since I was six years old, I said ‘when I am 18, I am going to win the Quilty on a stallion’. I said it every day since I was six years old! On the way to the race, I wrote my speech. Anything could have happened at any point, but I just manifested harder than anyone else.”
Her Tom Quilty dream began at that age when she first strode out on a 10km ride on fellow endurance rider Jo Davis’ mare, Roxy. From there, Emma couldn’t be stopped. She attended rides alongside her mother, Jolene, and really got into the sport at the end of 2016 when she started her partnership with Windradyne Flame. It wasn’t without its hiccups though. Flame bucked Emma off at the start of their second 40km ride together.
Persistence paid off, finishing 2017 with her qualifying requirements (three successful 80km completions) to be an open endurance rider. The following year, Emma and Flame continued their partnership as well as completing the gruelling 400km Shahzada Marathon.
Her first 160km ride came the very year where she finished as the first junior in 2019; it was aboard Flame, and it qualified her to take on her first Tom Quilty.
Emma has had another two successful attempts the Tom Quilty for a 100 per cent completion rate as a junior rider. But she always had her sights set on the day she turned 18 so she could win the Tom Quilty Gold Cup aboard a stallion.
Emma says when it comes to the Tom Quilty, slow and steady wins the race. Image by Rebekah Bianca Studio.
TEAMING UP WITH ‘KELLY’
That’s where Razorback Kelly’s Fire came in. ‘Kelly’, as he’s known, was bred and is owned by veterinarian Matthew Walker who has a long history in the sport. After breaking Kelly in, Matthew trusted Emma, Jolene, Lizzie Moir and Essy Mountford with the task of training him and then becoming an endurance horse. He began endurance in 2022 but didn’t team up with Emma until this year.
Emma had flown the coop for a little while but was eager to return home to the Southern Highlands in NSW to ride the young stallion, on the condition she would train more of her mum’s horses. Emma and Kelly cruised around an FEI ride before finishing off his Quilty prep with the 120km Shahzada Mini Marathon held each year around St Albans on the Macdonald River north of Sydney. It evidently proved successful with the Tom Quilty triumph a couple of short months later.
The Tom Quilty race itself isn’t what you would typically imagine. It doesn’t necessarily mean you go out hard and fast. Instead, a consistent pace is what proves the distance. Emma began the ride with last year’s victor in New Zealand’s Ashley Cole (a good friend, but no relation), and they weren’t at the front at the start. They just kept their horses steady throughout and didn’t burn them out early.
“We always start off slow
and try to progress to
get faster each loop.”
Seven-year-old stallion Razorback Kelly’s Fire cooling off post-race. Image by Rebekah Bianca Studio.
Emma and Kelly’s Tom Quilty win was a team effort. Image by Rebekah Bianca Studio.
‘SLOW AND STEADY’
“Endurance, to be successful, you just have to be consistent,” Emma says. “You never have to put your foot down if you are consistent. Consistency is key, and slow and steady wins the race. We never start the race off fast, we always start off slow and try to progress to get faster each loop.”
They eventually caught the front-runners and their horses were powering while the others weakened. Unfortunately, Ashley’s Quilty dream ended after the third leg, but Emma and Kelly powered on. They finished 14 minutes in front of Tasmania’s Naomi McGaffin and Kelkette Park Faris to hoist that prestigious Gold Cup.
The victory is still settling in for the young horsewoman. “It was very, very surreal,” says Emma. “The support I have, I am very, very, blessed. It is an incredible achievement.”
It’s an achievement she didn’t do alone. Firstly, she was so thankful of that partnership she has with such a special horse. “We have a very special connection, it is incredible. Completely, he is the love of my life. I love him like no other. He does whatever is asked of him at any time. The reason we have such a great connection is because I know he is wild and at any point he could do whatever he wanted to, but he chooses to protect me.”
Then there’s the team behind her. Strappers Louis Ryan and Sarah Parker, mum Jolene Cole and Kelly’s breeder, Matthew Walker. And of course, Pop was there the whole way, sending his wishes down. And, although she’s stood on top of the podium in Australia’s biggest event, Emma isn’t done yet. She wants to continue conquering the sport, and at world level. “Let’s win more Quiltys and win a World Championship title,” she says. “Whatever you put your mind to, you can do.” EQ
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