By Alex Crowe
Over nine days last month, Judith Jaeckle raced across more than 1000 kilometres of Mongolian countryside on horseback, competing in an event widely touted as the longest and toughest horse race in the world.
Recreating Genghis Khan’s 13th-century messenger trail, the Victorian rode half-tamed horses across dunes and over mountain passes in an attempt to beat 41 other riders from all over the world.
Judith Jaeckle at home in Inverleigh with her horse Lottie.Credit: Justin McManus
“You have to do at least 100 kilometres a day,” she said. “The weather is very unpredictable, there can be heavy, heavy rainstorms. People were losing raincoats, sleeping bags ... horses. Those horses are half-wild horses.”
Originally from Germany, the Inverleigh resident finished third behind Swedish rider Linda Hermann and United States marine Matthew Perrella, adopting a steadfast approach that saw her both bucked off and abandoned by different horses.
Riders stopped at stations about every 35 kilometres along the race to trade horses, and were offered limited opportunities to pass up the most unruly steeds.
Each horse was inspected by vets at the checkpoints. If the beast was dehydrated, or its heart rate too high for too long, the riders were penalised and had to wait two hours before they could ride again.
Jaeckle, an equine manager, finished third in the Mongol Derby.Credit: Kathy Gabriel
Jaeckle said she rode each of the 29 “very, very tough horses” she was assigned, while navigating solo on a route that covered more than 1300 kilometres.
She said her perseverance paid off until day seven, when about 10 kilometres from the next station her horse decided to bolt away while she was resting it. Faced with a long wait for a lift from organisers or the prospect of riding the whole leg again, she took off on foot to the next camp with her saddle and gear in hand.
Jaeckle said it was the Mongol Derby’s unpredictability, coupled with the solitude of the “wide, open grasslands, rivers and wetlands” that made the event so special.
The untamed country and treacherous terrain has appealed to many Australian competitors in its 15-year history, Aussie riders, including Victorian man Adrian Corboy, who won the event in 2018.
Riders were permitted to be on the horse between the hours of 7am and 7pm with penalties for competitors who didn’t comply. Pictured is competitor Omer Hayat Khan.Credit: Shari Thompson
“You’re lucky when you have fast horses, you are unlucky you have a slow horse, or you have a horse that bucks for 35 kilometres – which I had twice,” Jaeckle said.
At US$15,500 to enter, racing across the Mongolian countryside does not come cheap. The derby has raised more than $US1 million for charities since the inaugural event in 2008, with each rider asked to raise funds for different causes.
The objective of the race’s official charity partner, Steppe and Hoof, is to support Mongolian herders and their animals and “save the unique traditions that are part of the Mongolian nomadic lifestyle as it comes under fire from climate change and urbanisation”.
Jaeckle also raised $1000 for Victoria-based Racing Hearts Therapy, which retrains racehorses with the goal of using them as therapy horses.
Having grown up begging her parents for horseriding lessons which led to a career as an equine therapist and then in equine management, Jaeckle said her winning attribute was the ability to establish a “good connection and just make friends” with any horse.
“I’m just made to be on a horse. I always feel more happy if I’m on the horse, even if it’s 1000 kilometres,” she said.
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