Monday June 29 2009

Take note of this upcoming 'Mongol Derby' in August - billed as 'The Longest Horse Race in the World'.

Racing1000 km across 'wild Mongolian terrain' - 25 international 'riders' onhundreds of native horses (i.e. the little Mongolian ponies), willchange mounts every 40 km "so the horses will be fresh" (read: notinjured or dead), over no marked course, with no confirmed water stops- "They're going to give us GPS locations to the wells, where we'll beable to get water, and they don't guarantee that the wells will havewater," says one of the participants.

And, there's the bigquestion about veterinary control. "Hopefully we won't get any horseinjuries because the nature of the Mongol Derby means it is the riderunder stress not the horse," says the website. (Horses, with presumablyno conditioning programs, carrying heavy riders with various or nodegrees of endurance or racing experience, racing 40 km, not stressed?)

"12-14 hand" ponies (weight limit for riders is 187 pounds - !) will be "semi-wild" andunshod. "if your horse sustains even a minor injury you will need toget off and walk it to the next Urtuu. (No word on how, if the horsebreaks a leg, or crashes metabolically, one would be able to do this.)You will receive training on how to spot injuries and assess theirseverity before the race in Mongolia."

The website says therewill be 'veterinary backup to come to its rescue', but the overallwelfare of the horses has yet to adequately documented. Noveterinarians have been named to oversee the horse’s medical needs. Andhow would one do this for 1000 km, when the participants may take up to3 weeks to finish, where there is no marked course? "They're providingus with these yellow brick trackers, so we can activate the emergencybeacon if our horse is injured and we can't walk it in," a rider said.

Whenasked if V.E.T. Net, a Mercy Corps program which trains Mongolians,would address this critical issue, the charity spokes people did notrespond.

And speaking of charities, to further twist things thewrong way, the world-wide charity Mercy Corps has accepted £25,000 inexchange for helping the English travel company to organize this event.

“MercyCorps are delighted to be a part of the first ever Mongol Derby,” saidJennifer Adams, Mercy Corps Event Development Coordinator in Scotland.No word from Jennifer on how, or if, any of that £25,000 'donation'will be spread to the Mongolian nomads who sell or lend (or, perhaps,are told to do so? Makes you wonder) their horses to this 'race', orhow, or if they will be reimbursed if their horses are injured or die.

"Bleedingkidneys, broken limbs, open sores, moon stroke and a list of dangerslonger than your arm stand between you and victory,” warns the officialrace website, to entice adventurers and adrenaline junkies.

Hey,I'm all for fun and adventure, and adrenaline junkets; and personally Idon't care if people want to put their lives in danger, that's theirbusiness. But if it's all about the pain and danger to, and stress on,the humans, why not have them walk, or run, or drive? Why endangerhundreds of horses that nomadic Mongolians depend upon for their way oflife? Why should even one horse be made to risk its life for this bitof 'fun' by foreigners?

If you want to ride endurance, come ridein the Tevis Cup or some of our 5-day rides, or the Tom Quilty or the5-day Shahzada in Australia. If you want to horse tour around Mongolia,take an organized tour with someone who has been there before (TheAdventurists, putting in this 'race', have not. Ever.) You can even gowith endurance riders, Christoph Shork and Dian Woodward of Global Endurance Training,who lead organized tours over there in conjunction with BoojumExpeditions, a REAL expedition and adventure travel company. You canride 8 hours a day and learn something about the Mongolian people andculture, not exploit them.

This Mongol Derby is not a sportingevent. This is not endurance riding. This travesty of a 'race' is adisgrace to the horse world and an insult to responsible riders andcompetitors and horse organizations around the world. If you areparticipating in it, I would really like to know your reasons. Pleasefeel free to comment or email me if you are one.

There will be more to come in my blogs as things develop with this. For now, you can read an Article by the Long Rider's Guild, "Racing into Trouble". You can also read much more on the Mongolia page on The Long Rider's Guild.

And if you care, you can sign a petition to stop this HERE on the Voices for Horses page.

If you'd like more on this "Official Charity" Mercy Corp who is accepting money for helping with this, click here and form your own opinions.

More to come.

 

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