Lake Hāwea’s Matthew Gummer completed the 40km course in a time of 3hr 15min but was beaten by Ginny Sutton and her horse, Sass, by four minutes.
Fresh off victory at the Northburn 100 — a 100-mile ultra marathon — just three weeks ago, Gummer, 39, said he had been drawn in by the ‘‘super-cool concept’’.
‘‘Tearing across mountains, chased by a horse — it was all just good fun,’’ he said.
The event, now in its second year, begins with runners setting off first before being chased down by horses which set off 15 minutes later.
This year’s result represented significant progress for humanity, with Gummer’s four-minute defeat a significant improvement on last year, when the horse finished about 30 minutes ahead of the leading runner.
Honourable mention went to Pascal Saker, who took on the near-marathon length course in a crude knight’s costume aboard a hobby horse.
The course begins near the Wedderburn cottages, traversing private farmland, following historic water races and climbing steep ridge lines with sweeping views of the Central Otago landscape.
Event organiser Steve Tripp said animal welfare remained a top priority, with additional vet checks carried out during and after the race.
