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 A typical child jockey shows how small the horses are, even with a seven year old child aboard. © Bonnie Folkins |
Basha O'Reilly is another guild member who has suffered in the saddle in Mongolia.
She began her exploration career as a Russian interpreter for a mounted scientific expedition in the Mongolian mountains.
"There is a saying in the Long Riders' Guild - it is not the kilometres that kill a horse but the kilograms," she said. "I learned how accurate that was when I was riding through the High Altai mountains.
"At 110 pounds my weight taxed my small Mongolian horse. Other horses were not so lucky. Being burdened by heavy foreign male riders, it caused me great distress to see these little native horses get so desperate they would lie down under the saddle.
"So my heart goes out to any horse which is expected to carry a heavy rider for 40km across that barren land - at speed!"
New Zealand long rider Ian Robinson, who survived perilous solo journeys across Afghanistan, Tibet and Mongolia, was likewise skeptical about the proposed endurance event.
"In regards to this Mongol race, it sounds like a great idea, on paper, but it's a disaster waiting to happen."
He pointed out that 625 horses would be needed to carry all 25 riders in 40km legs to the finish line. "Good luck finding them. I had trouble finding one or two!
"But my main worry is the horses," he continued. He said he feared local herdsmen would not offer their fittest, healthiest and best-conditioned horses for the event.
Bonnie Folkins, from Canada, has visited Mongolia many times in preparation for her upcoming 1000 mile ride across that country.
Because of the dangers and hardships involved, she intends riding with two hardened Mongolian nomads. Having scouted the route, ridden the horses and met the people, she expressed concern over the potential consequences of the race.
 Mongolian rider Edayot, who is 5'5" tall, with his horse.
Edayot's son with the same horse. The horse is a typical size in Mongolia. © Bonnie Folkins
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O'Reilly wrote of his concern over the small size of Mongolian horses and their ability to carry heavy foreigners. "Unlike most Western horses, Mongolian horses are undersized and often ridden under aged. That is why the famous yearly horse race known as Nadaam employs child jockeys under 10 years old."
He said he feared the riders could be headed into a "storm of potential trouble".
He offered the words of the website by way of illustration: "Having thundered out over the start line, a crotch-pounding 1000km will stand between you and glorious victory.
"You will have to navigate your way from one station to the next single-handedly; there's no marked course and there will be huge stretches with no paths or tracks at all.
"In fact even when there are tracks there is little chance they will be going in the right direction. You will be facing the wilderness, alone ..."
O'Reilly said none of the 25 riders signed up for the event appeared to have any previous endurance riding experience.
"The few with equestrian experience participated in mild dressage, jumping and part-time polo. One rider admitted he had only ridden 'ten times since the age of 13', and another revealed how he's rubbing his tender posterior with surgical spirits. "Apparently this toughens the skin," he said hopefully.
The Mongol Derby website explains that 25 Mongolian herder families will be helping at 25 horse stations positioned every 40km or so.
O"Reilly said he had been unable to find out how the families would be reimbursed (the website promoting the event says the organisers will be "rewarding them handsomely"), and how they would be compensated if their horses were injured or killed by the riders, except that it would be a "fair amount".
O'Reilly also wrote of his concern about the plan to have the route unmarked, and wondered how water could safely be provided at suitable and timely intervals under such circumstances.
 The desolate Mongolian steppe demonstrates the danger of the proposed course. © Pichugin Dmitry |
The president of the American Endurance Ride Conference, Connie Caudill, told O'Reilly that she feared the race would damage the sport of endurance.
She said the event had the potential to set endurance racing back 50 years. "This isn't an endurance race, it's entertainment that will undermine endurance racing all over the world."
The Mongol Derby website, in discussing the welfare of the horses, said an extensive veterinary and feeding programme would be in place in the months leading up to the race, scheduled to start on August 22, and staff would ensure "the right horses are picked".
"These will be some of the fittest horses in Mongolia," it said.
Competitors will carry emergency beacons to enable vets to locate each of the riders and their horse.
However, the website also spelt out the dangers of the undertaking:
"Before you even consider applying for this race we want to point out how dangerous the Mongol Derby is, and how dangerous the sport of horse riding is," it told would-be competitors.
"And when we talk about horse riding, we just mean getting on a horse you are familiar with at home, let alone riding a series of unfamiliar horses across wild Mongolian terrain.
"By taking part in this race you are greatly increasing your risk of severe physical damage. You could break limbs, suffer internal injuries, become paralysed or even die."
O'Reilly, who has completed lengthy trips by horseback across Afghanistan and Pakistan, and was made a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, quoted an admonition from the mighty mongol warrier Genghis Khan in the book, the Mongolyn Nuuts Tovchoo.
"Take care of the horses before they lose condition. For once they have lost it, you may spare them as much as you will, they will never recover it on the march. Don't overload the riding horses, and no horse on the march is to use a bit. If these orders are disobeyed commanders are authorised to behead offenders on the spot, so as to protect the welfare of the horses."
"Is that what the immortal Mongol would have allowed?" O'Reilly asked of the planned 1000km race.
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