Help Kudaguru do the Mongol Derby
Donation protected
Someone once told me, never ride faster than your guardian angel can fly. This was while I was still doing three-day eventing, and I do think most of the time my guardian angel must be standing in the corner, head in her hands thinking, why, why did I have to end up with this one? So far, she has managed to keep up on cross country courses, track work on Thoroughbreds, Zip lining, tree top walking, camel riding, scuba diving, jet ski riding, indoor skydiving, rock climbing and up and over the top of Mt Kilimanjaro. Now, we start her biggest challenge to date – will she keep up?
I have had the absolute honour of being invited to a race, in August 2018. This race, the world famous Mongolian Derby is an adventure of note, racing across 1,000km of wild ground, including grasslands, scrub, river crossing, salt pans and and and… To be honest, the scariest part is that it is self-guided – the chances of me finding my self at the Great Wall of China cannot be ignored… Oh my, me, on a pony, with a GPS…
I have met a few people who have done this race, and their descriptions all seem to start with – it was the greatest experience of my life, it was hell for 10 days, and the toughest thing that I have ever done… I loved it, I dreaded each day… If you can survive this race, you can truly survive anything. And another slightly scary thing is, most people who I tell about it, have the same response – Oh, you’ll love it, right up your street – just how bad is my reputation of insanity???
Another thing that I love about this challenge (apart from ponies, wilderness, adventure, what not to love???), is that it again includes some charity along the way. 700 local Mongolian’s are employed in this venture, providing much needed income, advertising and tourism to a place that is underfunded and battles with harsh climates and poverty. The Adventurists (who organise the race) also fund raise for Cool Earth.
Now, I have two issues to attack to get there (well, three really, if you count avoiding ending up at the Great Wall). That is beg and borrow enough horses along my nomadic existence to make sure I am fully riding fit, and raise a small amount of cash – US $13,000 to be exact – small change I am sure! I count myself rich in very many ways – friends, family, lifestyle, work colleagues, adventures, challenges, but sadly the $$$ rich is seriously lacking if I am going to undertake this expedition… This US $13,000 doesn’t include a $1,000 donation to Cool Earth, or all the technical kits, training and survival skills that I need to invest in, so you can see, I desperately need your help. You can find out more about me and what I do on the Kudaguru website.
I have had the absolute honour of being invited to a race, in August 2018. This race, the world famous Mongolian Derby is an adventure of note, racing across 1,000km of wild ground, including grasslands, scrub, river crossing, salt pans and and and… To be honest, the scariest part is that it is self-guided – the chances of me finding my self at the Great Wall of China cannot be ignored… Oh my, me, on a pony, with a GPS…
I have met a few people who have done this race, and their descriptions all seem to start with – it was the greatest experience of my life, it was hell for 10 days, and the toughest thing that I have ever done… I loved it, I dreaded each day… If you can survive this race, you can truly survive anything. And another slightly scary thing is, most people who I tell about it, have the same response – Oh, you’ll love it, right up your street – just how bad is my reputation of insanity???
Another thing that I love about this challenge (apart from ponies, wilderness, adventure, what not to love???), is that it again includes some charity along the way. 700 local Mongolian’s are employed in this venture, providing much needed income, advertising and tourism to a place that is underfunded and battles with harsh climates and poverty. The Adventurists (who organise the race) also fund raise for Cool Earth.
Now, I have two issues to attack to get there (well, three really, if you count avoiding ending up at the Great Wall). That is beg and borrow enough horses along my nomadic existence to make sure I am fully riding fit, and raise a small amount of cash – US $13,000 to be exact – small change I am sure! I count myself rich in very many ways – friends, family, lifestyle, work colleagues, adventures, challenges, but sadly the $$$ rich is seriously lacking if I am going to undertake this expedition… This US $13,000 doesn’t include a $1,000 donation to Cool Earth, or all the technical kits, training and survival skills that I need to invest in, so you can see, I desperately need your help. You can find out more about me and what I do on the Kudaguru website.
Organizer
Ashleigh Sanderson
Organizer
