The Mongol Derby….I honestly don’t know where to begin.
Going into the Derby I had never thought of it as something which was missing in my life, I’d entered because it looked fun and instead of investing my cash sensibly in a house deposit, I’d enjoy it instead. It is fair to say that completing it hasn’t changed my life dramatically, however, it has given me experiences beyond anything I could have ever comprehended, opened my eyes up to the world as it once was and I have ended up meeting and making lifelong friends with some of the most remarkable people.
We were warned by previous riders that the MD would be the best and worst thing you’d ever do, and they were partially right. In truth, I had the best time out there, it was tough but when you are surrounded by great people it is difficult not to have fun. Even when it was freezing cold, had been raining all day so everything was soaked and your horse refused to break out of trot for 40km, there were still tiny treasures out there to brighten it all up. First up were the horses, they were just truly incredible. They must be some of the toughest animals on the planet, their roaming lifestyle makes them incredibly nimble on their feet, able to spot the dreaded marmot hole in a split second from a gallop and their balance when travelling unshod across the ever varying terrain is phenomenal. Our horses wouldn’t last five minutes. They are also remarkably fit and strong, some had the ability to gallop flat out for 20km before they even showed signs of easing up. They had no problem expressing their characters, with some people’s horses deciding to lay down if they thought they’d had enough and others point blank refused to move, they certainly had personality!
Next were the Mongolians. These guys are so incredibly resilient, they endure temperatures of -40 degrees Celsius in the winter, and on the day we started the race it was 35 degrees, some difference. The way of life for the herders revolves around looking after their herds of goats, yaks, cows, sheep or horses and living off of their produce. It is an incredibly beautiful and simple way of life and yet very tough at the same time as they are reliant on these animals to stay alive. For people with not a huge amount to spare, their hospitality is extraordinary. On the first night of the race, myself and two other riders got caught out and didn’t make it to the third horse station in time. This meant we either had to find a local family to stay with, of which there were none in the vicinity which we could see, or camp out. We decided on the latter, found some old goat sheds, grazed and hobbled our horses and put our heads down for the night in a very breezy shed at about 11pm. It started to rain fairly heavily soon after and at about 11.30pm a truck rolled up outside the horses corral. Out hopped a young herder, his wife and two children. Somehow they had known that we were here and when it started to rain had become concerned that we would get cold and wet and wanted us to go back with them to their Ger to stay. Naturally we welcomed the opportunity to get out of the no semi flooded shed only to be greeted by a lovely warm Ger where our hosts insisted on cooking us fresh hot food and giving us cosy beds to stay on. The whole experience pulled a little at your heart strings, these people had no affinity to us and we couldn’t even speak their language and yet they’d gone above and beyond to help us.
I cannot write the diary of a derriere without mentioning the FANTASTIC derrieres in which I rode. I can proudly announce that after riding non-stop for 13.5 hours a day, for 8 days I had zero saddle sores. Nope not even a single one. They were definitely put to the test, our 5kg luggage allowance meant minimal change of clothes could be packed and it would be foolish to think a fresh pair were donned each day! I suffered from slight heat rash and bruising on my legs in the first few days due to the heat and unnaturally long hours in the saddle, however, my backside was remarkably fine. As time went on the initial crippling stiffness that everyone endures around days 2/3/4 subsides and you suddenly find yourself feeling incredibly strong and getting up and riding all day just becomes what you do. However, as your body recovers your equipment begins to fail. My joddies ended up with no knee pads, leather gaitors were ripped to shreds and we won’t mention the ‘second layer’ of M&S tights, unsurprisingly they are not made to last such endeavours. Thankfully my Derrières lasted the duration, showing no signs of wear and tear which in turn reflected on the state of my seat.
There are so many memories which I will carry with me forever and it seems like it was only yesterday that myself and riding companions Shannon, David and Lex were cantering across the Steppe. We rode for 1,000km, the equivalent distance from John O’Groats to Lands End, and at no point did we encounter a fence. I think it is fair to say that everyone competing got more out of the experience than they had ever expected. Whether it was enriching their lives having experienced the generosity of others, the freedom of travelling nonstop across such a vast landscape, the thrill of riding a Nadaam pony or the simple reality of getting away from their hectic daily lives, the Mongol Derby has something to offer everyone. THANK YOU to Derriere Equestrian for making my adventure so incredibly enjoyable and to anyone thinking of entering the Derby – go for it and get yourself some Derrieres‼
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