This is not your typical adventure race. The Aventurists, a group of Brits “fighting to make the world less boring” is accepting applications for 2010 Mongol Derby, a 620 mile race across the Mongolian Plateau — on ponies. To enter, you need to weigh less than 187 pounds and understand that the ponies are “small and semi-wild, and the terrain is massive and wild.”
Given the 11-pound limit on equipment, the organizers encourage riders to bring only “a spare pair of (reinforced) pants and a lightweight tweed blazer.”
Only 35 applicants will be accepted.
I have some knowledge of the previous race run in Mongolia by the Adventurists. Though this sounds like a blast and a real challenge, I don’t recommend applying.
Conditions for the ponies in last year’s race were not good. Some would say inhumane. Inadequate veterinary care, unqualified riders (don’t let this be you) who pushed the ponies too far, and the extreme danger of the landscape are a few problems associated with this race, in addition to the environmental damage caused.
If you are interested in reading more, see the following:
http://www.enlightenedhorsemanship.net/2009/07/i-need-your-help-and-i-need-it-fast-mongol-derby-animal-welfare-violations/
http://www.enlightenedhorsemanship.net/2009/07/they-said-he-said-the-adventurists-the-mongol-derby-and-vet-net/
http://www.enlightenedhorsemanship.net/2009/07/an-alarming-alliance/
and http://www.enlightenedhorsemanship.net/2009/07/an-alarming-alliance/
I”m all for fun and adventure, but not at the cost of the animals involved, the culture that hosts it and the earth.