The world's longest and toughest horse race 1000km across the Mongolian steppe on semi wild Mongolian horses The Mongol Derby is the longest, toughest horse race in the world. It's the Khaan's mother of equine adventures, a 1000 km multi-horse race across the epic wilderness of the Mongolian steppe. Its mammoth network of horse stations is a recreation of Chinggis Khaan's legendary empire-busting postal system. Mongolian horses were the Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles of the thriteenth century. These indefatigable steeds once carried the all-conquering Mongol warriors across half the world. Diminutive, sturdy, fearless, wild and unbelievably tough, they're rightly revered in Mongolian culture, and have changed very little over the centuries, free as they are from human interference. These are small horses, so youll need to travel light - just 5 kgs of essential survival kit. And we wont accept anyone who weighs more than 85 kgs dressed to ride. This is no guided tour, or pony club trek. There is no marked course, no packed lunches, no shower block, no stabling. Thats the whole point. It's just you, your team of horses and a thousand kilometres of Mongolian wilderness. We don't make a strict marked course but we do build a string of horse stations - urtuus - about 40 km apart, which snake through the hills and steppe. Each one carefully chosen to make the Mongol Derby the toughest ride in the world. You must change horses at every station and deliver your mounts to their destination in mint condition. But how you navigate between them is where your adventure begins. We spend many months designing and testing the Mongol Derby un-route, making sure there is enough water available for the horses, enough goosebumps for the riders, and that it will deliver the greatest equine adventure in the world. Mongolia does scenery on a massive scale and the Derby is, quite frankly, hyperbole defying. Next Adventure: August 2013.
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