Graham Fischer

WELL-KNOWN South Australian horseman Warren Sutton is set to compete in another extreme horse adventure, with this one spanning 10 days and 500 kilometres.
Sutton, who works as a horse break for Angaston racehorse trainers Tony and Calvin McEvoy, loves tackling tough challenges.
In 2017, he finished a close fourth in the Mongol Derby, featured in the Guinness Book of Records as the longest and toughest horse race.
Now he is going to compete in the inaugural Gaucho Derby, a 10-day, 500km multi horse adventure race in Patagonia, South America being held from March 2 to March 14.
The organisers will be monitoring the horses’ welfare at every stage, with vet checks every 40km as well as race marshals, emergency services and roaming vets to ensure that no rider puts their own competitiveness before the welfare of the animals.
Sutton will be one of 20 competitors, from six countries, who will be thundering deep into the wilds of Patagonia on horseback.
The Gaucho Derby is an ultra-endurance horse race designed from the ground up – based on the landscape, culture, history and horses of Patagonia and the Gauchos – in a the test of horsemanship and wilderness skills.
“I will be one of only two Australian riders in the Gaucho Derby,” Sutton said.
“People said I was crazy when I went to ride in the Mongol Derby, and now they are saying this challenge proves it.
“Horse welfare is a primary concern and, despite the gruelling nature of the race, they will be well cared for.
“We are actually using a breed of horse developed for use by the gauchos in South America.”
The Gaucho Derby is broken down into 40km legs, but riders won’t change horses at every section.
The high mountains are a test of skill rather than speed, but the flatter pampas sections will see riders swapping to fresh horses regularly as they turn up the intensity.
In recent years, Sutton has rotated his time between starting young racehorses at Mitchell McEvoy’s property in South Australia and South East Asia.
Thailand’s leading horse feed brand, Maxwin, are Warren’s major sponsor for the race, and in return he uses his expertise to benefit the Thai community.
He oversees various projects, from implementing crowd control techniques for the mounted police in Bangkok, to performing horsemanship behavioural clinics countrywide.
He also delivers horse welfare presentations to veterinary universities and has a busy schedule providing his expertise to private enterprises.