Amateur eventer Caroline Bridge and her son Thomas have won BBC’s Race Across the World – and the pair are planning their next adventure.
Caroline, 61, and Tom, 21, were seen reaching the end of their epic 14,000km race (8,600 miles) when the series final aired on BBC One on Wednesday (11 June), having beaten four other teams to win the £20,000 prize.
Race Across the World involves pairs travelling by land without the help of smartphones or bank cards – and with a limited budget of just over £1,000 per person. This year’s series started in Huanghuacheng, China, and the teams had to pass seven checkpoints in China, Nepal and India en route to their final destination, Kanyakumari, in the southernmost tip of India.
Caroline, who won the 2024 British Eventing BE80 grassroots league with her 14-year-old gelding Really and finished runner-up at the BE80 national championships at Chillington last month, told H&H the race win “hasn’t sunk in yet” – and she has had to get used to watching herself on television.
Caroline and Thomas finished last in the first leg, but the pair turned things around with determination and their brilliant bond.
“The hardest leg was China and we had a very rough start. I didn’t feel happy there, we couldn’t speak a word of the language and we really struggled,” she said. “You would queue three and half hours to get tickets for trains only to be told they wouldn’t accept cash, or there was the language barrier. I remember running over the bridge to the first checkpoint saying to Thomas ‘every second counts’ only for us to arrive and find out we were two days behind the others; we were absolutely crushed.
“One of the reasons I wanted to do Race was because other than eventing, I’ve never done something for myself in the world. I wanted to feel that I was capable of doing something and I wanted to show Thomas that no matter what you are, you can still nail it – but then in leg one all I’d shown him was that we were massive failures.”
But Caroline and Thomas went from strength to strength, while making some lifetime memories.
“My favourite country was Nepal, it was so beautiful and peaceful. The people are lovely, they have time for you, the food is gorgeous, and it’s just a slow, spiritual way of life,” said Caroline, adding that her race highlight was visiting an elephant sanctuary in India.
“I loved the sanctuary because I was back with animals and I could appreciate what they were doing for them. The sanctuary showed me the veterinary care, and how they rehabilitate the elephants after abuse. To be standing next to these animals, it was like being with a horse where you don’t need to do anything, you just be with them. The sanctuary was our calm in the cacophony of noise that is India.”
Caroline and Thomas had to get used to life without the home comforts of the UK.
“Some hotels didn’t have air conditioning or water – or we would be on a 19-hour bus journey, then had to go straight to a train and couldn’t change our clothes, and the loos in some places were a hole in the ground,” said Caroline.
“We didn’t have a clue what the time or date was, and you don’t know how the other teams are doing. You just keep going as fast as you can, but by the last two legs we were beginning to have an idea of our time and how to nail it, and how not to waste time. But it was often luck, if you get to a bus station there might be a bus leaving in 10 minutes, or sometimes it was four hours. You couldn’t plan your route and sometimes I took it far too seriously, Thomas had to remind me ‘It’s just fun, Mum, enjoy the moment’.”
Caroline said she learned a lot about herself during Race Across the World.
“I’ve always been happier sort of on my own with animals than I am with people because I can be anxious or worried I’ll say the wrong thing. But the thing Race did to me was, because you’re very quickly stripped of your dignity, you have no make-up, you smell, your clothes are dirty, all you have is the smile on your face and hopefully a kind attitude – and people still treated me just the same,” she said.
“You also get used to rejection; before I would not want to be with people in case they rejected me, but in Race you realised it wasn’t personal, people just didn’t speak the language or they couldn’t help. It was a good life lesson, not to fear rejection.”
Caroline and Thomas are planning their next adventure together, a month in Kazakhstan.
“Thomas asked if I would go to Kazakhstan with him and I said ‘Where’s that?’. We’re going to do it with rucksacks and rough it, because we learned if you want to enjoy the country it’s about doing home stays and talking to the locals,” said Caroline.
There is the eventing season to navigate first. Caroline is enjoying another superb season with Really, not finishing out of the top three in their five events so far.
Caroline and Really.
“It’s all down to Really, he is an absolute joy. He’s so trainable and easy-going, he makes my life easy. If I do something wrong, he makes up for it and he’s like ‘I’ve got this, don’t worry’,” said Caroline.
“I really, really want to get to Badminton grassroots next year, so the trip will be around the regional finals, and then as soon as we can we’ll fill a rucksack and take off,” said Caroline.
Summing up Race Across the World, Caroline said it had been “one of the most eye-opening experiences”.
“To be immersed in another country’s culture, and to have to learn to let down all your natural defences. You have to learn to ask for help and learn to embrace other cultures, and it was good to know that I can do that,” she said.
“I’m learning to be more tolerant and to enjoy the simple things in life. I learned that my eyes see the same things as a youngster, but mine have responsibility and worry, and I’m trying to get rid of that and to be a little more carefree like my son is.”
Watch Race Across the World: the reunion at 9pm on Wednesday 18 June on BBC One. Catch up on the whole series on BBC iPlayer.
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