Kilgravin Lodge principal Eion Kemp has successfully completed the 10th Mongol Derby, the longest and toughest horse race in the world.
Riding for charity the Catwalk Trust, which aims to raise funds to support spinal cord injury research to get those affected back on their feet, Kemp traveled 1000km across the Mongolian steppe on Mongol ponies.
The Matamata horseman, who runs a successful breaking, pre-training and breeze-up business completed the course, which recreates the horse messenger system developed by Ghengis Khan in 1224, on Thursday afternoon.
The course changes every year and is kept secret until shortly before the race begins. The terrain will invariably include mountain passes, green open valleys, wooded hills, river crossings, wetland and floodplains, sandy semi-arid dunes, rolling hills, dry riverbeds and of course open steppe.
The entry fee is $13,000, and provides the rider access to 30 Mongolian horses, a support team, pre-race training, and access to the support stations along the way.
Riders must change horses every 36 km at the support stations. Along the way are vet checks to monitor the condition of the horses, and the vets may impose time penalties if the riders push their horses too hard along the trail.
To gain entry as a competitor, each rider must demonstrate that their riding skills are strong enough to endure the harsh terrain of the race. The horses themselves are semi-wild, and may not cooperate with the rider, adding one more level of difficulty to the race.
Riders spend thirteen to fourteen hours a day in the saddle, and the race lasts ten days. To complete the race is an accomplishment in itself, as only half the riders usually finish the race in any given year.
