South Warwickshire woman taking on the longest horse race in the world
TACKLING the longest and toughest horse race in the world has always been on the radar of Meredith Jarman.
And now the 35-year-old self-employed relief worker from Claverdon finally gets to tick the Mongol Derby off her bucket list.
In 1224, Genghis Khan set up the world’s first long-distance postal transmission system. Using a massive network of horse stations – ‘morin urtuus’ in Mongolian – his hardy messengers could gallop from Kharkhorin to the Caspian Sea in a number of days.
For ten days each August, the Mongol Derby recreates this legendary system, building a network of urtuus at 40km intervals along the entire 1,000km course.
And the former Stratford Girls’ Grammar School student is one of around 40 lucky riders selected to take part in this year’s race which started yesterday (Wednesday) and finishes on Saturday, 20th August.
Armed with just a GPS tracker and a “70 per cent accurate” map, she is taking on this great challenge in aid of Mongolia-based charity Steppe and Hoof which supports herders and their animals.
Meredith, who has been riding horses since the age of five, told the Herald: “The Mongol Derby is something that has always been on my radar. I remember reading about it when it was in its infancy and thinking it was an absolutely mental and extreme challenge.
“The application process is really competitive so I’m pretty lucky to be able to take part in the Mongol Derby.
“There are checkpoints every 40km and this is where you change horses. You have to self-navigate to these with just GPS and a map that’s about 70 per cent accurate.”
She added: “Every year only around half of the people that take part in the Mongol Derby go on to complete it, it’s that challenging because you’re only allowed 5kg of gear to survive the 1,000km.
“Regardless of where you actually finish, just being able to complete it is a huge achievement in itself.”
So far Meredith has raised £900 on her Global Giving page and anyone who wishes to donate can do so at www.globalgiving.org/fundraisers/merediths-mongol-derby-1/.
As all the riders have GPS, you can track Meredith’s progress across the steppe by visiting https://equestrianists.com/live/.