The Mongol Derby is the longest, toughest horse race in the world. The 1000km course recreates Chinggis Khaan's legendary empire-busting postal system, with riders changing horse every 40km and living with herders or camping under the stars.
Each year around 30 professional, semi-professional and enthusiastic amateur riders compete against each other for the derby crown. To stand a chance of finishing riders must balance survival skills and horsemanship and to stand a chance of winning a extra level of determination and no small amount of luck is required.
Enduring the elements, semi-wild horses as well as unfamiliar food and terrain, completing the derby is an achievement few can boast.
The Un-Route
This is no guided tour, or pony trek. There is no marked
course, no packed lunches, no shower block, no stabling. That’s the whole
point. It's just you, your team of horses and a thousand kilometres of
Mongolian wilderness. And possibly a
GPS. The course consists of 25 Urtuus,
or horse-stations where I will swap horse and refuel. I will have to change horses at
every station and deliver my mounts to their destination in mint condition. But how I navigate between them is where the adventure begins.
The Adventurists spend many months designing and testing the Mongol Derby
un-route, making sure there is enough water available for the horses, enough
goosebumps for the riders and that it will deliver the greatest equine
adventure in the world.
While the exact course changes each year, it is likely to
encompass the following variety of terrain: high passes, green open valleys,
wooded hills, river crossings, wetland and floodplains, sandy semi-arid dunes,
rolling hills, dry riverbeds and of course open steppe.
The Horse Stations
In 1224, Chinggis Khaan set up the world's first long-distance postal transmission
system. Using a massive network of horse stations - morin urtuus -
his messengers could gallop from Kharkhorin to the Caspian sea in a
number of days.
For ten days each August, the
Mongol Derby recreates this system, building a network of urtuus at
40km intervals along the entire 1000km course.
Each urtuu will consist of a
small collection of gers (canvas and felt tents which the nomads live in), a
supply of fresh horses, a vet team and the owners. While I won't by any
means have to stay at the urtuus each night, this is a chance, should I want
to take it, to get some rest, hang out with the nomadic owners, imbibe some airag
(mare's milk) and eat an awful lot of mutton.
If, on the other hand, I decide to streak ahead and
sleep wherever I find myself at moonrise, then the steppe is will be my oyster
and I and my horse will be able to enjoy a romantic night out under the diamond-studded
vault.
The Horses
Mongolian horses were the intercontinental ballistic missiles of the thirteenth century. These indefatigable
steeds once carried the all-conquering Mongol warriors across half the world. Diminutive, sturdy, fearless, wild and unbelievably tough, they're rightly
revered in Mongolian culture and have
changed very little over the centuries, free as they are from human
interference.
These are small horses, so I’ll
need to travel light - just 5 kgs of essential survival kit. The Adventurists (the organisers of the race) won’t
accept anyone who weighs more than 85 kgs dressed to ride.
In the months prior to the event
the Adventurists select around 1000 of these feisty little beasts and they all undergo a
Derby training program of regular ridden work to prepare for their Derby dash. They belong to local nomadic herding families and breeders along the 1000 km
route. Horse welfare is the organisers' primary concern and all of the rules put in
place are designed with the horses in mind.
Veterinary Support
All being well, you really are on
your own, and the riders will be oblivious to the miracle of back-up and logistical
support going on around them.
What the riders will be aware of
however, is the Derby's sophisticated web of veterinary support. Each rider will carry a
vet card and every single horse that takes part is rigorously checked before
and after they take part. Any riders deemed not to be taking proper care of
their horses will be penalised.
The Adventurists give each rider a satellite tracker
and emergency beacon which allows Derby HQ to see where you are at all times
and to dispatch veterinary assistance if required. It also means they can can keep vet support at the optimum distance to all riders and horses to ensure
a rapid response.
The Adventurists' fabulous team of Mongolian
and international vets was led in 2012 and 2013 by Harry McKercher MRCVS. Harry has run a veterinary practice for 35 years and has been qualified for
over 40 years.
Medical Support
Since this is a very dangerous event
the Mongol Derby does have a degree of medical back-up. This is provided by the
marvelous people at Prometheus Medical who are ready to deal with all manner of
medical mishap. Their two mobile medical units are not just packed to the
rafters with medical gubbins and supremely qualified medics, they also have
satellite phones and trackers galore so the Adventurists can get them in the right place as
fast as the steppe will allow.
As a rider I'll get a satellite
tracking device and emergency beacon which shows DerbyHQ where I am at all times (even if I haven't got a clue). The data from the trackers is monitored by
DerbyHQ so they can keep the emergency support vehicles in the right area.
Should I find myself in a medical emergency I will press a button on the tracker
and the nearest team will be sent to my aid.
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