Earlier in the day things had been
going well. Sarah and I had galloped
away from camp on day four of The
Mongol Derby, officially the longest and
almost certainly the toughest horse race
in the world, traversing 1000km through
Mongolia. The horses we’d been given
for the leg were incredible, not only were
they breathtakingly fast, but the way they
placed their feet amongst rocks, hillocks
and Marmot holes was beyond belief.
We even let the thought that, on steeds
this fast, we might be able to regain
some of the ground we had lost on Day
Two, when Sarah’s horse had decided it
wanted to walk the entire 25 mile stage,
enter our minds.
But once we’d slowed down, and
joined two other riders, I made a major
mistake, I forgot for a moment that the
horses we were riding were still semiwild. As we stopped briefly to graze the
animals, I causally shifted my foot so
Sarah could check whether my girth
was tight enough. The moment my boot
touched the horse’s side it did a huge
bronc, catching me totally off guard and
sending me flying over its head. As I hit
the floor I had a split second to decide
whether to hold on to horse’s lead rein
and risk serious injury or let go and
potentially lose the horse. I decided
the latter, but instantly regretted it as I
watched in disbelieve as, complete with
all my gear, the horse span on a six pence
and galloped back the way we’d come.
Without a seconds thought Sarah asked
‘should I go after it’ and still slightly
in shock I said ‘yes’ and watched her
Image: Sarah. Image credit Saskia Marloh www.saskiamarloh.com
disappear in a cloud of dust.
Twenty minutes later and there was
no sign of Sarah, or either of the two
horses, and I was starting to get worried.
At the breakneck speeds Sarah had shot
off at, a broken leg would probably be a
'best case scenario’ if she fell and my only
connection with the outside world was
an emergency button on my tracking
device, which all racers where obliged
to carry. A few minutes later though,
which felt like hours, Sarah appeared
on her steed. She explained she’d nearly
caught my horse, but after the chase
entered a forest, and a close call with a
low hanging branch, she’d decided things
had got too dangerous. I couldn’t bring
myself to call for help though and we
decided to walk back for a bit and hope
my horse had stopped to graze, offering
a potential chance for me to remount.
We spotted the horse on a sm