A LYDFORD woman has won a national riding event after a gruelling 26-mile marathon. Endurance rider Jo Chisholm and her pure Arab gelding Khanspur were victorious in the Arab Horse Society?s 31st marathon run from Larkhill Racecourse on Salisbury Plain. Jo has been training with Khanspur for more than two years. The 32-strong field consisted of a mixture of endurance riders and race jockeys, spread out along the 13-mile route over the undulating downs, returning to the racecourse for a compulsory veterinary check to ensure the horses? welfare. The time it takes to present your horse to the vet, ie, how quickly it recovers, is part of the race itself, with only the fittest horses allowed to carry on. Jo managed to gain a valuable four minutes lead here, with her very experienced crew using every second to the full. As the second loop of the course came around Jo was in the lead, until she had to stop briefly to check Khanspur?s legs as blood had appeared on his front feet. The injury proved to be a graze, but Jo had to push on to cross the line in a racing finish to win the £1000 first prize in a time of 1hr 30 mins 40sec. When she won she said: ?I felt amazing. It was really incredible and lovely for my family who always have to come along with me to all the events.? She expressed thanks to blacksmith Ben Chamberlain: ?He?s really helped me and went out of his way to help me with Khanspur?s feet.? Khanspur trains in endurance all year round on the Lydford part of Dartmoor. The Arab Horse Society?s marathon run was originally the concept of Sonia and Patricia Lindsay from Hatherleigh, to prove the stamina and speed of the Arab horse.