Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

Stupid me, I can't figure out how to create the link to this blog so the 
following ridecamp post is a blog that Australian rider Katy Willings 
just posted, now that the ride is over and everyone is resting up in 
Ulaan Batuur. Out of the 25 riders, (all of which had blog sites on the 
Adventurists website) only a couple of them were able to post. Now that 
it is over and when they are rested up, there should be more updates and 
tales of their adventures. I can't wait to read more from all of these 
riders. There has not been one whisper from, or on, the whereabouts or 
experience of American rider Tara Reddy yet.
   I was one of those who opposed this ride and had been very worried 
about the care of all these horses and the equine experience of the 
racers. We will probably never REALLY know if, or how many, horses were 
injured, lamed or possibly died after they were left at the urtus and 
another one was taken back on the trail, but the few reports so far are 
GOOD. It will only be from the mouths of the riders themselves that the 
actual story will be told and we ALL hope their reports on the horses 
and their care will be nothing but glowing. The Adventurists refused to 
share any route, map or urtu locations to any outside  media group or 
journalists.The locations of the urtu horse stations, the route and GPS 
coordinates were kept a complete secret to all except the riders, vets 
and the Adventurist support teams both before and throughout the ride. 
The LongRiders, and other concerned horse groups from around the world 
certainly TRIED to gain access in order to cover or document the ride to 
no avail especially with the inherent remoteness of the location. The 
Adventurists were adamant about not wanting ANYONE covering this ride 
except their own writers and film crew. Certainly the few riders who 
were able to blog on day three, talked about how many times their horses 
went down, tripped and fell into marmot holes. (in this blog Katy talks 
about one of her horses going down and being pinned under him and 
another being so spent he would only walk with her leading him into the 
night.) Trips and hazards and being tired on the trail are one thing, 
running a horse into the ground is another and that was MY main concern. 
For what has been reported, so far as we know, NONE of the riders did 
that. It WAS reported by the Adventurists that the front runners had 
indeed ridden much faster than ever expected on certain legs of the 
ride. It is THOSE ponies, that I am hoping came out all right and am 
hoping the riders stories themselves will confirm that. All the riders 
agree that these are amazing and hardy little horses. This was an 
adventure of a lifetime for them all, both good and bad. From exploding 
diarrhea to near fatal falls, awe inspiring landscapes, rich culture, 
welcoming Mongolians and new found friends, no doubt it was amazing. 
(I'm sure none of them will want to eat cheese curds or lamb for a 
while, and it DOES sound like they found out that they should have left 
the tanning cream at home and brought the Imodium instead) Lets hope 
that the ponies are all well and are making their way home to share 
their own adventures with their buddies too. I will be anxiously waiting 
to read more from the riders themselves and try and get a full picture 
of how well it all went. It was always the welfare of the horses that 
counted. The "crow" I may eat is not in the oven yet, but I would be 
VERY happy to do so and will wash my words down with a cup of airag 
mares milk and cheers to all for  a well organized yet challenging event.
Melissa Margetts
"If you're not livin on the edge, yur takin up too much space!"

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