Steppe-by-Steppe: Mongol Derby Riders Cross the Finish Line in World's Longest Horse Race

by Fran Jurga | 8 September 2009 | The Jurga Report at Equisearch.com

A traditional Mongol saddle, as seen in the popular horse trekking/hippotherapy manifesto book and film set largely in Mongolia, The Horse Boy.

It's official: the last horse has crossed the finish line in the world's longest horse race, the Mongol Derby. Set up as a fundraiser for 23 riders representing charities from all over the world, the race drew awe and ire from as many corners of the globe as it drew riders.

The premise was simple: ride across 1000 km of one of the world's last great open spaces--and certainly the largest open space on the globe. Urtuus, or horse camps, were set up at 40 km intervals so that riders had to switch their gear to fresh horses.

The ultimate win was actually a tie between a South African and a native Mongolian. Winning was not just about crossing the finish line first; riders were also scored for their care and welfare concerns of their mounts.

Although the race ended almost a week ago, the first reports and photos are just hitting the Internet now and the riders and international veterinary panel have not been interviewed for their opinions.

I just thought everyone should know that all the riders survived and, as far as I know, there were no catastrophic injuries to humans or horses. There were a few withdrawals, including celebrity British jockey Richard Dunwoody, and some falls that caused withdrawals.

Here's a link you've never followed before!
Click here to read a report on the race in the UB Post, national newspaper of Mongolia.


Click here to read a report based on quotes from one of the New Zealand riders who must have phoned home over the weekend.

I became interested in Mongolia a long time ago, and whetted my curiosity as an advocate for the 2009 hit book and film, The Horse Boy by Rupert Isaacson. The documentary film made of the book's characters real-life, real-time horse trek across Mongolia premieres nationally this month.



Between the publicity for the book, film and now this controversial horse race, this has been the year of Mongolian horses in the press. My guess is that Mongolia will become the next go-to place on the horse world map. It is, after all, where horse culture was born and has never waned. Where eco-tourism is an oxymoron. And where you can still get very, very lost.

And I hope it stays that way. So let's not all go at once. And read Rupert's book, whether you plan to trek across Mongolia on horseback...or from your armchair. It's an adventure you won't forget.

All Eyes Are on Kentucky, But Montana Is Stealing the Real Headlines

by Fran Jurga | 2 May 2009 | The Jurga Report



Didn't we fight the Civil War over this very issue?

States' rights is an amazing aspect of the US legal and legislative system. If you are old enough, you may remember when abortion was legal in some states and not in others. Roe v. Wade made it legal in all states but not everyone wanted to accept the Supreme Court decision. And they still don't. Ditto for any number of legal decisions that are morally or ethically based.

Including horse slaughter.

As celebrities and wealthy patrons of all stripes walk the rose-strewn carpets of Churchill Downs today, the focus might be more on the safety of racing and the tragic losses of Eight Belles and Barbaro than on horse slaughter because many people think that horse slaughter is an issue that has been ruled illegal in the United States. All that is left to do is clear up the nasty detail of shipping horses to Canada and Mexico.

Just a detail, right?

Hardly.

A testing of the waters began in North Dakota, Arkansas, Illinois and other states this winter to see if individual states could foster horse slaughter plants as favored ag industries within their borders. Along with the quiet work of agricultural industry sub-committees was relentless publicity about horse abandonment and neglect in record numbers.

Montana is the first state to technically allow horse "processing" and whether or not a horse plant is built remains to be seen but you have now seen lawmakers and lobbyists getting a job done. It will take a lot of anti-slaughter attorneys and a lot of anti-slaughter money to undo it, if indeed it can be undone.

Or, if the anti-slaughter movement has enough attorneys, enough sympathetic judges and enough money, I suppose it could end up eventually in Washington as some sort of a Supreme Court case.

I still don't believe that there is enough money in horse meat to warrant this action and that this is the larger meatpacking industry preserving its turf from intervention, and have been all along.

Now seems like a great time to start working on a compromise between the two sides to make sure that if slaughter is to be allowed in the USA again, the transport laws will have some teeth and will be enforced, and that the horses that are sent to slaughter are sent there with the knowledge and clear intent of their owners.

I'd love it if someone like Jeanine Edwards on ESPN/NBC today looked straight into the camera and said, "Here I am at Churchill Downs, America's most famous racetrack. Statistics show that a surprisingly large percentage of the horses racing here, as at all racetracks, will end their lives before the age of six, in the chute of a horse slaughter plant."

There just aren't enough roses to cover up the truth. Listen carefully: you will be able to hear the Montana legislators laughing in the distance over the two-minute roar of the Derby crowd.

Kentucky Derby Barbie, Meet Backstretch Barbie: Which Would You Buy?

by Fran Jurga | 3 April 2009 | The Jurga Report

The Louisville's Courier-Journal tells us that the Kentucky Derby Museum's gift shop's shelves are stocked with a special commemorative Kentucky Derby Barbie doll. And I'm still scratching my head.

I guess my initial reaction is surprise. They still make Barbie dolls? People still buy them?

My next reaction was more positive, as in: Wow, Mattel thinks that horse racing is worthy of creating a commemorative doll. Maybe the industry isn't as deep in the gutter as it thinks it is.

But if we lived in a perfect world, which we don’t, how great would it be to give shoppers and collectors a choice of dolls? Yes, you do think of women in hats and fab frocks on Derby Day, because that’s what the media shows us.

But what about the women on the backside of the racetrack--shouldn't they be portrayed in a doll? Little girls could choose either the frock-and-heels Turf Club Barbie or maybe Backstretch Barbie, an exercise rider dressed in black fringed chaps, with some great tattoos, a body protector vest and a jock helmet with cool goggles.

Exercise riders have arms even Michelle Obama would envy...

One of my key memories of last year's Belmont was when exercise rider/assistant trainer Michelle Nevin ran out into the deep track toward Big Brown as he was pulled up at the finish. She was dressed in her in-case-we-get-to-the-winners-circle clothes and looked so different from the athletic figure who'd been photographed in her work clothes a million times in the months running up to that moment. You wouldn't have recognized her on the street.

Every summer, the thought flashes before me that the New York Times is missing a great photo feature for the Style section by not doing a fashion shoot of the exercise riders at Saratoga--male and female. I could see an assemblage of them on the cover of Vanity Fair. Annie Leibovitz, are you reading this?

Maybe flowered-frock Barbie is the image the Derby's marketing department wants to project. But little girls would think that Backstretch Barbie was Way Cool. She's got style, and the attitude and guts to pull it off.

And how about a sunburned Infield Barbie, wearing a tank-top, cutoffs and carrying a Churchill Downs beer cooler?

Thanks to Sarah K. Andrew of Rock and Racehorses equine photography for her use of the photo of Saratoga exercise riders. Sarah writes, "I owned exactly one Barbie, and her only purpose in life was to ride the Barbie Horse."

Kentucky Derby Barbie is for sale online for $47 at the Kentucky Derby Store web site. Maybe, like Michelle Nevin, she comes with a change of clothes.

Barbaro's Feet Won't Touch the Ground in New Memorial Sculpture at Churchill Downs

This 2006 Churchill Downs photo suggests the pose captured by sculptress Alexa King for Barbaro's memorial statue, which will be unveiled this spring at the Louisville, Kentucky racetrack.

The public unveiling of a larger-than-life bronze statue to celebrate the life of 2006 Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro will take place at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky on the morning of Sunday, April 26, as the 2009 Derby Week begins in the city.

Production of the bronze statue is nearing its final stages under the direction of sculptor Alexa King. Her design captures Barbaro and jockey Edgar Prado in mid-flight between strides nearing the finish line, on their way to a dramatic victory in the 2006 Kentucky Derby.

The unique statue will be mounted on a horizontal bronze rail that will support the 1,500-pound artwork, creating the impression that Barbaro and his rider are suspended in air. It is the first time that an equine statue of this size and scope has been presented with all four of the horse’s feet off the ground.

The statue will become the focal point of Barbaro’s official memorial and burial site at Churchill Downs. It will be placed outside Churchill Downs’ Gate 1 and near the entrance to the Kentucky Derby Museum along with Barbaro’s ashes, which will be interred beneath the bronze. Currently, a bronze marker, featuring Barbaro’s likeness, marks the location of the future memorial site beneath a large magnolia tree.

The 135th running of the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands is scheduled for Saturday, May 2.