Day 5
“Hump Day! Giddy up” says Vance’s note. Ive been looking forward to this morning and I know we’ll hit station 15 today, and out of 30 that we’ll be half way. As I express my joy to Willemien she informs me there’s in fact only 29 stations! Mentally I’m catapulted forward one. It’s like a Christmas gift! Vance is also getting on a plane today in WY and knowing he’s on his way gives me an incredible boost. We’re traveling towards one another now, inevitably meeting at the finish line. Just gotta get there. Leg by leg. Just race your own race.
It’s hard to describe the pace of the days on the race. They seem to grind on, but before you realize it, you’re on the afternoon slog and almost done with the day. Then the legs stack up and what seemed inconceivably far away on Day 1 is flying under your hooves. We’re focused on riding each horse and navigating each leg and they truly fly by in a way that is hard to describe unless you’ve been there. I liken it to parenting, where the days can feel slow, but then they’re over and you look back and have a hard time recalling how they went so fast. We settle into a great rhythm and each day seems easier as we go. Maybe that happens when you start with the worst day first , or maybe I’m a glutton for punishment. Both I think.
Sean, Willemien and I wake up and let our horses out to graze. We’ve had an uneventful night in the ger and slept quite well. We’re mounted at 7am and off like a shot knowing that the group of riders we passed at HS 12 are only 25 minutes behind us on fresh horses. We have a great cool morning ride to HS 13 and as we sign in, a glance at the sheet shows we’re only 30 mins behind Chris and Patrick. We don’t even bother with food or water and set to picking new horses.
The herder drags me to the middle of 3 horse lines and points at a buckskin. He’s one of the best horses I rode the whole race. Willemien gets a dun that has some issues either saddling or mounting. Either way, after a few short minutes we’re off as a herder tries to saddle Sean’s selection for a 3rd time. He gives it up and is selecting another horse as we depart at top speed. Such is the Mongol Derby. We know we’ll see him flying up behind us shortly. They are both off like an absolute rockets and we gallop for at least the first 15km without them offering to slow down. Riding these horses is an exercise in trust. There’s no stopping them, and all you get by trying is sore arms and blisters on your hands, so you have to lean into the lack of control, purely give it away, and fly with them. This horse was one that if I could have brought home I would have. I don’t have a photo but whenever we get the professional ones back, I’m sure I’ll see him there. I finally saw the photographer for the first time yesterday, which only made me realize I hadn’t seen her since the start line. This then makes me realize that we really are at the front of the pack. Another jump in my stomach.
The route is still in the river valley but we encounter bogs, sand, tall grass and hills. It’s an absolutely lovely leg on incredible steeds. One of the things I love most about riding with Willemien is that it doesn’t take but the slightest thing for us to comment how grateful we are, but I truly believe it would take a serious disaster to dampen our spirits.
At HS 14 they disinfect our boots and stirrups for hoof and mouth, where there had been a possible case earlier in the race. They take animal welfare very seriously and they’re taking great precautions to prevent the spread - even spraying the vehicle’s tires. Here we stop for a quick bite and I eat 2 bowls of rice with mutton and drink a quick cup of seriously sweetened instant coffee. It’s decadent. It’s the first and last time we see vet Cozy Campbell and we always get a great laugh at the stream of crass jokes. It’s amazing how quickly the derby riders, vets, and crew immediately feel like family. Willemien selects her horse and the herders try to give me a little fat bay resembling that of infamous HS 11 horse. No way. She helps me select a dun and we saddle up and head off. Other riders are coming in behind us but now we know our pace is fast enough to keep us in the front pack.
It’s the afternoon slog. See how fast that creeps up? The days fly by. This leg goes over one small hill off the bat then straight along a valley. the. whole. way. Slog. We settle into our usual riding, mostly trotting with some loping to switch it up and talking every so often, but happy in our own silence. “Hey girls!” Startles us. We turn back to see Tiffany coming up quickly behind us. As she settles into riding with us she says she could see us leaving the last station and chased us down.
I notice my saddle pad needs fixed, it has bunched up. As my first foot hits the ground my horse shoots sideways and tries to get away. Apparently I’m much scarier on the ground than on top. My heart stops as he hits the end of my lead rein. Luckily I keep a hold of him, fix his saddle pad, and remount without as much fuss. It happens again but less dramatically as I get off to walk into HS 15. We’re over half way!!
It’s 4pm and we have 3 hrs to get to HS 16 with potential of hitting the time right to stay at a horse station. We’ll have to push, so we run for water, don’t get food and ask for 3 fast horses who will travel well together. I realize I’ve lost my hobbles off my saddle somewhere between 13-14. I try to barter for another set for when we have to camp out. I have Marlboro Reds and through the translator I offer them to the herder in exchange for a set of his hobbles. He does smoke he says…the only herder yet I’ve met. Good for him and his health. Bad for me - they’re all I’ve got to give. Maggie laughs and retrieves an extra set from her vehicle for me. Another of many acts of kindness from Maggie.
We’re all mounted but Willemien has ended up mounting inside a circle of people. Her horse feels trapped and begins bucking which she sticks expertly. I head in to retrieve her and we’re off with a sense of urgency to get to the station. We decide on the straight route over some hills to make the fastest time. This area looks like something out of Jurassic Park. One wouldn’t be surprised to see dinosaurs roaming. Huge rock outcroppings appear straight out of the earth in bands like rock fences. It’s the most beautiful leg of the race.
We push our ponies faster than we’d like to across this incredible landscape. There’s a learning curve to riding with new people. Willemien and I have unspokenly established our own pace during our days, and adding Tiffany to the group changes the dynamic. It will take some riding together to get used to each other. We have so much fun on this leg marveling at the landscape and freedom of galloping across it. As we approach a water well we know is close to HS 16, we see animals standing around. No water. There’s a generator and I immediately hop off and ask Tiffany to hold my horse. Willemien asks if to know how to use that? All the symbols are the same. Choke it, switch it on and give it a yank. First pull it fires up. I’m feeling quite chuffed. I say a quick thanks for all the pieces of equipment I’ve had to use in the past. Fresh water flows into the tank and our horses drink deep. We have 40 mins till 7 and we walk from there to the station. As we walk in we see Patrick and Chris getting on and flying out with just 20 mins to go. Later we’ll learn they were settled in to stay for the night and as they saw us coming, decided they had to ride off. Got ‘em
My horse takes an agonizing full 30 mins to pulse down. He is BARELY down at the last check and it’s given us all a bit of a heart attack. But we’re in the most beautiful horse station and set for a night of luxury.
We have a wonderful time with the herder and his family drinking some of Tiffany’s Jack Daniel’s. There’s a little girl with Frozen pants on and when I hand her a sheet of Frozen stickers her eyes light up with amazement. We can connect with no common language. Tyler, Sam, Sean and Howy have shown up as well and it’s fun to catch up. Tyler gives us a hard time for looking too fresh and being too difficult to catch.
Before they turn out the horses for the evening Willemien and I scope them out. Every single one looks exceptional. This moment each evening is reminiscent of pack trips from home. Another thing that’s the same a world away, and that I’m grateful to be so familiar with. Turning horses out at sundown to graze for the evening & coming back to a quiet camp. Its just like home. As I crawl into a luxuriously quiet ger it begins to rain. It rains all night. I’m perfectly cozy and grateful.
