2013 Mongol Derby RACE REPORT: Day 4

L to R, Natacha Lazareff, Hannah Bronwin, Barbara Seele, Anthony Ward-Thomas and Inge Rall-Behm ride down to Ogii Nuur on leg 9, 7th Aug 2013 Mongolderbyblog - Full Report

7 August 2013

• Devan Horn’s lead cut to just 10km by chasing Brit Lara Prior-Palmer
• Another 3 riders just one leg (40km) off the lead
• Female dominance at the top of the leaderboard continues
• Riders start taking more tumbles from the semi-wild Mongolian horses but no serious injuries
• Physical strain starting to show across the pack after 4 days of racing

Race Summary

There are 15 riders bringing up the rear of the leaderboard en masse tonight all staying at Horse Station 9; probably the most picturesque of all the stations next to a stunning lake. Tomorrow they’ll enjoy a striking ride around that lake and we’ll see if this large group splits up again...

Read full recap here:
http://mongolderbyblog.theadventurists.com/2013/08/07/race-report-day-4-wednesday-7th-august/

2013 Mongol Derby RACE REPORT: Day 3

Leader Devan Horn’s mount kicks up the dirt leaving horse station 7, 6th Aug 2013 Mongolderbyblog - Full Report

Today’s Headlines:

• Devan Horn still out in front but lead reduced – at one point down to just one hour
• Chasing pack of 4 have cut Devan’s lead
• Top 6 on the leaderboard all female riders
• Trailing group from Day 1 now up with a pack of 15 riders in remarkable recovery

Race Commentary

Katy Willings, Mongol Derby Race Chief:

“Up front we have Devan Horn who is camped out between Horse Stations 9 and 10, so she has passed through the first penalty station (9) and hasn’t incurred single penalty, everything she’s done has been perfect...

Read full report here:
http://mongolderbyblog.theadventurists.com/2013/08/07/race-report-day-3-tuesday-7th-august/

2013 Mongol Derby RACE REPORT: Day 2

Ivo Marloh and his mount leave horse station 3, 5th Aug 2013 Mongolderbyblog - Full Article

August 5 2013

After a relatively quiet day 1, day 2 of the Mongol Derby is back to its spicy self. Following an extremely hot day 1, day 2 was cold, wet and windy. A perfect test for the riders we think. We caught up with Derby chief Katy for her run-down on the day’s activity.

Headlines:

• Top 6 riders are all ladies 70km ahead of the main pack
• Devan Horne’s lead diminshes through the afternoon
• First retirement German rider Matthias Lochthofen
• Tom Burk soldiers on with his pre-race injuries
• First penalties metered out for late riding

Read the full recap here!:
http://mongolderbyblog.theadventurists.com/2013/08/05/race-report-day-2-monday-5th-august/

2013 Mongol Derby RACE REPORT: Day 1

Left to right: Katie Vincent, Tamara Huddleston and Lydia Wood enjoy the first leg of the Mongol Derby, 4th August 2013
Mongolderbyblog - Full Article

Sunday August 4 2013
A round up of the first day of the world’s toughest horse race.

HEADLINES:
• 21 year old Texan Devan Horne the only rider to reach Horse Station 3, finishing Day 1 a full leg ahead of the chasing pack
• 25 out of 30 riders make it to Horse Station 2
• First day remarkably uneventful – no serious injuries or major falls; a huge change from last year’s race start when two riders retired through injury on Day 1
• Matthias Lochthofen from Germany passes out on the start line but bounces back and starts the Derby just one hour later
• 23 year old American Tom Burk suffers wrestling injury at launch party but bravely battles on to reach Horse Station 2
• The weather ranges from incredibly hot and clear to a rainstorm and plummeting temperatures by early evening

Full Day's Report!:
http://mongolderbyblog.theadventurists.com/2013/08/04/race-report-day-1-sunday-4th-august/

Extreme Ride: The Mongol Derby

Magazine.fourseasons.com - Full Article

Jul 24, 2013
By: Michaela McGuire

“Only you know exactly how far you can push yourself,” says Erik Cooper, a 29-year-old New York–based bartender and furniture designer. He’s talking specifically about the Mongol Derby, the longest, most extreme horse race in the world, where last year he spent nine days racing semi-wild horses across the desert. Cooper was one of 30 or so riders from every corner of the globe that gather each August in rural Mongolia to compete in the derby, raising money for charity.

The Mongol Derby was initiated in 2009, organized by a company called The Adventurists, which offers extreme adventure experiences for the jaded, the driven and the curious. The riders who assemble at the derby’s starting line each year have one thing in common: Until that moment, they have harboured a dormant desire to prove themselves in a battle not only against each other and against nature, but against themselves. Riders have to be physically fit before embarking on the ride, but mental strength is equally paramount. “The ride does seem endless,” says Richard Allen, a writer, musician and horse trainer from Hertfordshire, England, who at 51 was one of the older competitors in the 2011 race. “You get up at dawn and get on a horse that could kill you, and you carry on doing that until it gets dark. Then you get up the next day and do it again...”

Read more here:
http://magazine.fourseasons.com/travel-food-style/things-to-do/experiences/horse-racing-in-mongolia

Australia: Tough Ride

Colliemail.com.au - Full Article

July 31, 2013, 10 p.m.

ABOUT 100 horses and their riders took part in the Collie Classic Endurance Ride on Saturday morning.

The ride started and finished at the Collie Race Track and travelled over cross country courses that included bush tracks and firebreaks through the picturesque Collie country side.

The event covered distances from 15 kilometres for beginners and social riders to 100km for the experienced.

The Collie Classic is a horse race with a difference, where completion is more important than speed and friendship more important that competition.

Deb Ryan, riding Forest Dew Charisma won the Collie-Preston MLA Mick Murray Trophy for best performance by a local horse and rider...

Read more here:
http://www.colliemail.com.au/story/1675496/tough-ride/?cs=2073

Action Hero, Devan Horn, attempts the Toughest Horse Race on Earth, the Mongol Derby

Horsereporter.com - Full Article

July 31, 2013
By Pamela@horsereporter

July 30, 2013, Texas ~ It has been said that there are no new ideas. Genghis Khan is credited with the first messenger system or Yam, using tough Mongolian horses. In the days before the internet, this was done by exchanging new ponies at relay stations (known as Ger) every 25 miles (40 km). Six centuries later, starting in the early 1800’s, the USA used this idea and called it the Pony Express.

On August 4, Devan Horn, a 20-year-old senior Criminal Justice major at Sam Houston State, will compete in what is known as the toughest horse race on earth, the 650 mile (1,000km), race across Mongolia, wherein each racer gets a new pony every 25 miles, and using a map and a GPS, endeavors to reach the finish line first. There is no set race route, no spectators, and no help allowed outside of other Derby contestants...

Read more here:
http://www.horsereporter.com/?p=7548