Frequently Asked Questions

This is the toughest horse adventure in the world and you will need to be physically fit, in good health and have an excellent level of riding ability to take part. This does not mean that you once went on a half-day pony trek when you were twelve. It means you are confident in your knowledge of horses and your ability to ride long distances across difficult terrain, you have ridden regularly to a high standard. You will need a good understanding of horse welfare as you will be responsible for each horse you ride. We will have vets on hand throughout the race to deal with any incidents who will be checking each horse thoroughly before the Derby as well as before and after each horse is ridden. If it's felt by the vets that your riding ability or understanding of welfare is putting horses at risk you will be removed from the Derby.

It is vital that you understand the risks involved in taking on such a huge adventure.

If at the pre-race training session in Mongolia it becomes apparent that your riding ability is not as stated in your application, the organisers reserve the right to withdraw you from the Mongol Derby without notice, for your own safety and that of the horses.

Yes there is a strict weight limit to help protect the horses. We will not accept anyone who weighs more than 85 kg and we will be weighing people in at the race start.

There is a 5kg weight limit on equipment, so you'll have to travel light. This may sound like very little but in 2009 the weight limit was 10 kg and riders soon discovered they needed far less than they had brought with them.

In the build up to the race we will be providing advice on how best to prepare and give yourself the slightest chance of being able to walk at the other end. It goes without saying though that the more time you can get in the saddle the better.

Veterinary back-up
The Mongol Derby is a completely new type of event so keeping the horses safe has been at the forefront of all our planning. We have designed a massive horse welfare program to monitor the health of the animals throughout the event. With pre-event vet checks as well as vet checks before and after each horse is ridden the horses receive close monitoring throughout. With mobile emergency vet units patrolling the course and tracking the riders with GPS they will be ready to respond quickly with excellent veterinary care.
Find out more about the vet support.

Medical back-up
So the horses are well catered for, but what about the riders? With the same GPS tracking system and emergency call buttons the riders can alert the Prometheus medical team, who will immediately spring into action. Remember this is a tough event and anyone considering entering needs to be fully aware of the risks.
Find out more about the medical support.

Responsible riding, a sound knowledge of horse welfare, the pre-race training and multiple vet checks will dramatically reduce the risk of injury for horses. However, if your horse sustains a very minor injury you will need to get off and walk it to the next Urtuu where it will be met by our vets. You will receive training on how to spot injuries and assess their severity at the pre-race training session. If your horse gets seriously injured there will be veterinary backup to come to its rescue. You will have an emergency beacon that will enable our vets to locate you and the horse.
Find out more about the vet support.

If it is possible for you to carry on, you should continue to the next Urtuu (horse-station). However, in the event of an emergency, you should activate your personal emergency beacon, which will be issued to every rider before the start of the race. The Mongol Derby team will respond to your alert as fast as possible. More information about the emergency response plan will be given to the selected riders.
Find out more about the medical support.

If you get to 453 km and decide enough is enough then you can drop out of the Derby. You are responsible for getting the horse you are on to the next Urtuu for it's final vet check and then arrange your own transport to the finish line, or back to Ulaanbaatar.

It is the Mongolian word for a horse-station. They will be situated along the 1000 km route of the Mongol Derby and allow you to rest, refuel, change your steed and hand your horse over to the vet. To find out more read the Morin Urtuus section.

It is the traditional Mongolian nomadic home. A sort of felt and canvas tent.

At each Urtuu you will find a few gers, a load of horses, a vet and a nomadic herding family. The Urtuus will have local food for you and possibly a floor to sleep on should your tent not feel like luxury enough. They will also obviously have grazing and water for the horses. There are no showers or loos. Wash in rivers if you are such a ninny that you need to be clean. To find out more read the Morin Urtuus section.

You will be given a map and GPS points with the locations of each Urtuu and all the water points. Each Urtuu will be a maximum of 40 km apart and will be easily recognisable.

Yes you have to stop at each one to change horse. This is to ensure the horses don't end up travelling too far. If you miss out an Urtuu you will be disqualified from the Derby.

You will be able to sleep inside the gers at the Urtuus or camp near them. This is a great oportunity to hang out with the nomadic families. It is possible for you to camp out in between the stations but you will be given instructions on how to do this within the race rules.

Maggie Pattinson is a British endurance trainer who has been Chef D'Equipe of the British Home International Endurance Team since 2007. Maggie has more feathers in her endurance bow than you could shake robin hood at. She has trained, ridden and crewed at International Level and as well as her esteemed position as Chef d'Equipe she runs her own endurance training company, On the Hoof, and trains a number of high profile individuals. One of her protégé, Chris Baker, became the highest placed British rider ever in the 2009 Tevis Cup. With On the Hoof Maggie trains all levels of riders in every aspect of the sport from pacing to fitness and map reading. As well as training the Mongol Derby riders at our pre-race training session, she'll also be on hand in the months leading up to the race to dish out invaluable endurance tips to the chosen few.

"My aim for you, the Derbyists, is to give you all the information and support you may need to be the most prepared you’ve ever been to undertake the challenge. Step one is to understand what you are asking of yourselves and your horses, and the final step is ultimately to “enjoy” those 1000kms. In between those steps, each km has be trained for Whilst the Derby is not an endurance race for the horses you will be riding, the principles of pacing and horse management over long distances will be critical to your and your horses’ enjoyment of this adventure."

Maggie is going to be giving pre-race advice to the riders as well as taking the three day pre-race training session in Mongolia prior to the off. You couldn't wish to be in better hands and we're cock-a-hoop to have such an endurance luminary involved in the Derby. See the Training with Maggie Pattinson section for more.

You will be riding traditional Mongolian horses, an extremely tough breed that has changed little since the Mongol Hordes swept across Asia on their backs in the early thirteenth century. They range in size from 12 to 14 hands high and are famously tough, living out on the steppes all year round. Despite their small size they are most definitely horses, not ponies. See the Horses section for more.

We are working with some of Mongolia's best horse breeders to coordinate the provision of the horses. By working with a huge network of other horse breeders, herders horse racing associations and regional government we have access to a massive selection of top Mongol Horses.

No. The Derby will be run across the steppe, not on roads, and the horses will remain unshod, as they normally are.

Top vets will monitor the horses before, during and after the Derby. Horse trainers will train the horses for the challenge ahead in the weeks leading up to the event. Trainers and vets will be further monitoring the horses that are taking part and ensuring they are well fed and prepared for the event.

No. You will only be able to select the horse you are riding in the next stage once you reach that particular Urtuu.

We will provide you with a saddle, girth and bridle but you will need to bring your own stirrups and any extra equipment you might want such as breastplates. You'll responsible for untacking and tacking your own horse.

What you bring on the race is very much up to you, as long as it meets the weight restriction for kit. Advice will be given to the chosen riders on the Derby in the lead up to the race. You will definitely need a proper riding hat that complies with current safety regulations.

It's likely you'll be flying in and out of Mongolia's capital Ulaanbaatar so where you stay in the city is your choice. We'll be putting you all up in a start camp for the pre-race training and also for a few nights around the finish party.

There will be food and drink provided at the start and finish. If you decide to stay at an Urtuu you will be able to eat with the herding family. It will be local food and the same as they are eating, so usually mutton with a side order of mutton. As for something to drink, the course has been designed so that you are never more than 10km away from water.

The horses will be grazed and watered at each Urtuu. The course has been designed around the provision of water and it is never more than 10 km between water stops.

The world's second Mongol Derby will set forth on Saturday 7 August 2010. However there will be pre-race training before this date, on 4-6 August 2010.

We're setting a ten day time limit for the Mongol Derby. We will be throwing the official finish party at the end on Wednesday August 18 2010.

In 2009 riders averaged two Urtuus per day and the first riders finished in seven days. The last riders finished the course in ten days. In 2010 the Urtuus will be in place for ten days to allow time for the very slowest of riders.

The Mongol Derby is first and foremost an adventure and a multi-horse race second. Whether you try and complete the Derby quickly or whether you want to take it slower and admire the view, is up to you.

The Mongol Derby covers 1000 km of Mongolian steppe so you'll be riding over open grassland, hills and rivers.

During the day the temperatures can range from 15 to 35 degrees centigrade. However, at night the thermometer drops significantly, to below 10.

Yes of course it is. This is not a horse-trekking holiday. You'll be riding on your own for days on end across miles of rough, sparsely inhabited terrain. Your thighs will ache. If you have even the slightest inclination to take part, you need to read the The Warning section.

As a rider you'll be outside, exposed to the elements, dehydration and heatstroke are very real dangers. It is essential that you familiarise yourself with the symptoms and treatment of both and take necessary precautions to avoid getting ill.

The horses will be mollycoddled with expert veterinary care but as a rider you will not (not to mention the fact that each horse only travels a maximum of 40km but riders cover the whole course).

The Mongol Derby, is not only about getting stuck into an amazing adventure but also about raising vast amounts of cash for charity. So you will need to raise £1000 for the official Mongol Derby charity. This is not too hard to do; pester your friends, get local companies to sponsor you or organise fundraising events. Once you get into the swing of it a bit gathering the pennies can be pretty rewarding. Riders will be given advice on fundraising, how to collect the money and sponsorship guidelines.

The official charity for the 2010 Mongol Derby will be announced in the New Year.

The £1000 minimum donation per team must go the official charity. Any money you raise over the £1000 minimum can be donated to a registered charity of your choice. The most anyone has ever raised on one of our adventures was a team on the Mongol Rally 2009 who raised a choke-on-your-drink £45,000. Anyone who beats that gets a Nobel Peace Prize.

You will need to set up an online donation page for the official charity on Justgiving.com or Firstgiving.com (contact us for other donation methods for non UK/USA residents). This page can then be linked-to from the rider homepage so the whole world can make a donation.

From an administration and accounting point of view it is much better for the charities if all the money comes in from one place. If each rider were to send money directly to the charities the administration costs involved (including sorting out all the gift aid) would add up to considerably more than the 5% commission taken by JustGiving.

Once signed up you will have access to the Mongol Derby Riders' Handbook which contains fundraising advice and other links to useful information. With a little bit of effort you should have no trouble bagging the spondoolies.

Yes absolutely (this is referring to companies giving you cash or goods in return for some free space to advertise). You will have a riders' section of the website where you can upload your sponsors' logos and information, you will be able to sell logo space on your official riders' silks (more details once you sign up) and we will be running a scheme for you to help cover your costs through official sponsors of the whole event.

You can use the sponsorship money from companies to meet the £1000 minimum charity donation, but you must be very clear about whether the money is intended for the charity pot or your own reasonable costs, before accepting it!

Yes pretty much. See below.

If you have a potential sponsor that might be controversial or potentially conflict with the main race sponsors you need to get in touch with us to clear it first. Whether you are allowed to go ahead with your potential sponsor will then be subject to our approval, which we won't withhold unreasonably.

You can offer your sponsors the chance to be mentioned in your press coverage, you can slap their logo on your clothes and you can put them all over your page on the Mongol Derby website. Tattoo their logos on your face if you like.

You also need to run it past Mongol Derby HQ if your sponsor wants to use your participation in the race as part of a marketing campaign or product test, to make sure there are no big conflicts with main race sponsors and that the official charity is happy with what's going on.

The Mongol Derby is being organised by a UK - Mongolian joint venture. Headed up by the Adventurists, a UK based company working in close partnership with Tengri Group a Mongolian company.

We are working with a huge range of consultants and advisers from all over the world to organise Derby. They bring their incredible wealth of knowledge about horses, Mongolia, veterinary care and medical back up to the Derby to ensure it is a success and help maintain our excellent animal welfare program.