Learn About the Mongol Derby
What Is the Mongol Derby?
The Mongol Derby is a 1,000-kilometer equestrian endurance adventure across the Mongolian steppe. Inspired by the ancient horse-messenger system established during the Mongol Empire, today's Derby recreates the concept as a relay: riders travel from horse station to horse station, changing horses approximately every 35 kilometers.
There is no marked trail to follow. Riders navigate across open country using GPS, carrying only a limited amount of gear and making decisions about pace, route, weather, terrain, horse management, food, rest and where they will spend the night.
The result is something that's difficult to describe simply as a horse race.
It's an extraordinary test of horsemanship, endurance, judgment, adaptability and respect for the horse beneath you.
The Horses
The stars of the Mongol Derby are, unquestionably, the Mongolian horses and the families who raise them.
These are not horses brought into Mongolia specifically for the event. They belong to local herding families and live largely free-ranging lives on the steppe. It is extremely important to have the utmost respect for the Mongolian horses and the incredible herders that allow riders to utilize their prized animals.
Mongolian horses have evolved and been selectively bred within an environment that can be extraordinarily demanding. They are generally smaller than the horses many Western riders are accustomed to, but they are renowned for their hardiness, independence and ability to travel across difficult terrain.
And riders don't simply choose their favorite horse at each station. Horses are allocated through a draw. That means one of the greatest challenges of the Derby is quickly learning to understand an unfamiliar horse.
Over the course of the race, a rider may partner with nearly 30 different horses.
Some may be forward.
Some may be cautious.
Some may be incredibly athletic.
Some may have very strong opinions about where they think you're going.
The rider's responsibility is to listen, adapt and make decisions based on the individual horse underneath them.
Ethical Considerations
This was one of the most important questions for me before deciding to pursue the Mongol Derby.
I believe that participating in equestrian sport comes with a responsibility to ask difficult questions about horse welfare—not simply assume that something is acceptable because it has always been done.
The horses don't choose to enter a competition.
We do.
That means their welfare has to take priority over our competitive goals.
One of the things that gave me confidence in pursuing the Derby is the structure designed around that principle.
Unlike a traditional endurance competition in which one horse may carry a rider throughout a long-distance event, the Mongol Derby operates as a multi-horse relay.
A horse carries a Derby rider for approximately one 35-kilometer leg and, according to the organizers, does not run another leg during that year's race.
That means the human is being asked to endure 1,000 kilometers.
No individual horse is.
Veterinary Checks Are Part of the Race
Horse welfare isn't simply something discussed before the Derby. Veterinary oversight is incorporated into the competition itself.
International and Mongolian veterinarians work throughout the event, and horses are evaluated before and after their Derby legs.
At the horse stations, veterinary assessments can include:
Heart rate
A horse must recover to the required heart-rate threshold within the specified recovery period.
Soundness
Horses are evaluated for lameness or discomfort.
Hydration
Veterinarians assess whether the horse is adequately hydrated.
Gut sounds
These can provide important information about how the horse is coping metabolically.
Rubs, soreness and injuries
Tack-related issues and other physical concerns are evaluated.
Recent Derby veterinary guidance has required horses to pass a trot-up and hydration assessment, have no fresh rubs or sores, and recover to a heart rate of 56 beats per minute or lower within 30 minutes of arriving at the veterinary check.
Failing a veterinary check doesn't just affect the horse.
It affects the rider's race.
Consequences for Poor Horsemanship
This is something I particularly appreciate about the Derby.
If a horse doesn't meet veterinary parameters after a leg, the rider can receive a time penalty.
Repeated problems can result in increasingly serious consequences, and violations of horse-welfare rules can ultimately result in disqualification.
That fundamentally changes the strategy of the race.
The goal isn't simply:
How fast can I get this horse to the next station?
The better question is:
How efficiently can I travel while returning this horse in excellent condition?
A rider may gain time by pushing harder, but if that decision compromises the horse's recovery, the veterinary system is designed to make that choice costly.
Winning therefore requires more than courage and speed.
It requires horsemanship and judgment.
Sometimes the Right Decision is to Stop
Perhaps the most important responsibility belongs to the rider before a veterinarian ever sees the horse.
A rider has to recognize when something isn't right.
Is the horse tiring?
Is something changing in its gait?
Is it drinking?
Does the tack need adjusting?
Is the terrain demanding a slower pace?
Is today's horse simply telling you that today isn't its day?
The Derby's veterinary team explicitly instructs riders that protecting their horse may mean slowing down, stopping or sacrificing their competitive position.
That's exactly how I believe it should be.
No placing is worth compromising a horse.
Respecting Mongolian Horsemanship
There's another ethical component of this experience that matters deeply to me: respect for the people and culture that make it possible.
The Mongol Derby isn't simply a Western sporting event dropped onto the Mongolian landscape.
The race depends on partnerships with Mongolian herding families, their horses and generations of horsemanship knowledge.
Horse stations, known as urtuus, are hosted along the route, and riders interact closely with the families whose horses they have been entrusted to ride.
Part of my goal isn't merely to race across Mongolia. It's to listen and learn.
Western equestrian culture does not have a monopoly on good horsemanship. Mongolia has one of the richest living horse cultures in the world, and I want to approach this experience with curiosity and respect rather than assuming that the way I'm accustomed to doing something is automatically the only—or best—way.
The Human Challenge
While each horse completes only a relatively short portion of the route, the rider keeps going.
Day after day, fatigue, equipment failures and injuries continue. Intensive physical fitness is a necessity to successfully complete this race.
Approximately 1,000 kilometers in the saddle over 9-10 days means extreme rubs, blisters and exhaustion. In addition to time in the saddle, accommodations range from sleeping under the stars on the open steppe to staying in accommodating families' gers on the floor.
Riders are permitted to ride during designated daytime hours and must navigate between horse stations across terrain that can include open grassland, mountains, river crossings, wetlands and other challenging conditions.
There is no groom waiting beside the arena.
No perfectly prepared horse you've ridden for years.
No marked course showing you exactly where to go.
You have limited equipment, an unfamiliar horse, enormous country ahead of you and a responsibility to make good decisions for both of you.
That's what makes this challenge so compelling to me. This is the ultimate test of horsemanship.
Why I'm Doing It
I don't want to complete the Mongol Derby simply so I can say that I did it.
I want to learn from it.
I want to become a better horsewoman.
I want to challenge myself physically and mentally.
I want to learn from Mongolian horsemen and women.
I want to share a culture in which horses have played an extraordinary role for centuries.
And I want to bring all of you along for the journey.
This isn't about collecting accomplishments.
It's about asking what an experience teaches us—and what we do differently because of it.
My goal is to arrive in Mongolia prepared to listen, learn, respect the horses entrusted to me and take on one of the greatest equestrian challenges in the world.
And hopefully, I'll come home a little better than I left.
That's the real finish line.