WILDER MIND

Mongol Derby: the world's longest and toughest horse race

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THE CHALLENGE

The Mongol Derby

I have secured one of just 45 spaces on this wild ride. This is no pony trek or guided tour. There’s no marked course, no packed lunches, no beds to sleep in. That’s the whole point. It’s just you, your team of semi-wild horses and a thousand kilometers of Mongolian wilderness.

This is the world's longest, toughest horse race

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ABOUT ME

When asked, friends and family use many different words to describe me. These range from complimentary terms such as driven, bubbly, fierce; to more questionable choices such as ‘a hurricane’, impulsive, naughty, chaotic. Recently, a close friend of mine replied “loves bad decisions” to sum me up in three words. This may well turn out to be rather apt!

One of four children, with parents that refused to believe, despite their own hardships, that anything was out of reach to us; I have grown up surrounded by strong, curious and big personalities. Meek and timid would not have survived in our family! Going back to my Romany gypsy roots, my mum has always said it’s not surprising horses and adventure have been two of my great loves. It’s in my blood.

I’ve led a very fortunate life, spending my childhood and early teens racing ponies around the rolling countryside and sprawling beaches of Devon. Since then life has taken me to around 45 countries, spanning six of the seven continents. I’ve sky dived, scuba-dived, abseiled off the top of Table Mountain, mountain biked down death road in Bolivia, zip wired without breaks through the jungles of Peru, motor biked from the north to the south of Vietnam and dodged many near death experiences on various modes of transport along the way. If I should find myself an old lady one day, I want to be able to smile and quote old Forest Gump “… at least I didn’t lead no hum-drum life.”

This is perhaps what led me to apply to take part in the world’s longest, toughest horse race; with no endurance or professional riding experience. The first step may have been somewhat of an impulse, but once I had actually been offered a space, once it had become an obsession of mine, I knew that because of everything I am, there was no way I could turn it down.

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THE CHARITIES

Seeing as this is a pretty hardcore challenge, I thought I'd use it as an opportunity to raise some money for three inspiring charities. I'm based in Singapore but from the UK, therefore wanted to contribute to causes that benefit both of these countries, in addition to the charity chosen by The Adventurists.

1) UK based: Strength and Learning through horses

Through the use of equine therapy S&L exclusively serves vulnerable or disadvantaged young people and adults.

2) Singapore based: Equal-Ark

Equal-Ark rehabilitates at-risk youths, persons with special needs, the elderly, and foster families with therapy horses

3) UK based: Cool Earth

International NGO that protects endangered rainforest in order to combat global warming, protect ecosystems and to provide employment for local people.

Please go to the charity page for more information on each charity.

Donate here.

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liannemason28

Nov 6, 20193 min read

To race or not to race...

“You have such a nice life Lianne, travelling, parties, fitness - why are you going to do something that could so easily take all that away from you?” Good question dad and well asked.

In fact, this very question actually spooked me quite a lot and almost made me reconsider taking part in the Mongol Derby. You see, this is the warning sign that The Adventurists - the organisation behind these crazy challenges - issue very clearly (albeit at the end) for those considering taking part in any:

These are genuinely dangerous things to do. The website is written in a light-hearted fashion but you cannot overestimate the risks involved in taking part in this adventure.

Your chances of being seriously injured or dying as a result of taking part are high. Individuals who have taken part in past Adventurists' adventures have been permanently disfigured, seriously disabled and even lost their life.

This is not a glorified holiday, it's an unsupported adventure and so by its very nature extremely risky. You really are on your own and you really are putting both your health and life at risk. This is what makes them adventures.

Note, I did read this but much like the approach I have to many other aspects of life, I tend to ignore the warning signs!

Anyway, back to the discussion with my dad. Once it had ended and he had expressed quite clearly his disdain for this challenge I spent a good while, for me at least, mulling over his points. For the first time since considering the Mongol Derby challenge, I fully contemplated the consequence of a life changing injury.

Last year’s derby saw just 27 of the 44 riders finish, and at 61% that was the highest completion rate since the race began 10 years ago. Each year, broken collarbones, ribs and wrists are a given, as is severe cases of hypothermia and food poisoning - but to me, the broken back incident is the one that really played on my mind. Who knew, the thought of being paralysed is really terrifying. Being chased by wild dogs and amputations also didn’t fill me with joy, but at least I noted and was sure to stress to my parents, there haven’t been any deaths; to which my mum replied “there’s always a first.” Let’s hope not ey!

Fast forward a few restless nights and my decision had been made. I’m not really the cautious kind of person, so when I replayed and replayed to myself dad’s original question, I concluded quite simply: I do questionable shit all the time and I like it that way. Seldom are my ideas met with “oh yes Lianne, great, definitely do it.” If I were to worry about causing myself serious harm, I would have to overhaul my entire life and become someone who I’m just not. And this isn’t because I’m reckless - my mum was so pissed at me when I told her about this race, she claimed I don’t value my life. It’s quite the opposite mum, it really is. I value my life so much that I love to feel alive every second I can. I love to push my boundaries and surprise myself. I don’t want to waste a second and I try my utmost to not be restricted by fear. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not entirely impetuous. I’ve certainly considered all the risks of this race and how to mitigate them and I’ve researched it a lot - for me!

However, In the end, it comes down to this - the wise old words of Gandalf (shout out to my little sister) “...All you have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to you.” For me, that is to have as many adventures as my heart desires, my wallet allows and my body can handle!

Disclaimer: My family loves a good quote, you’ll probably find I use one in every blog post.