A former Surrey resident has qualified to ride in the 2027 Mongol Derby, described as the longest and toughest horse race in the world.
Langley-raised Michelle Van Baalen, now an equestrian instructor and horse trainer in Penticton, was told that she’s the only Canadian entered in next year’s 1,000-kilometre derby through the Mongolia wilderness.
Recreating Genghis Khan’s 13th-century postal system, riders travel 12 hours a day for 10 days, changing semi-wild horses every 35 kilometres to avoid exhausting them.
It’s the “greatest equine adventure in the world” involving 1,500 horses vetted and trained for the event, according to an online fundraiser to help pay Van Baalen’s $28,000 entry fee, training and travel costs.
Mongol Derby has 25 international riders competing in 2027, and another 20 in an “adventure class,” Van Baalen told the Now-Leader.
“I’m pretty excited to give the derby a whirl,” said the former Southridge School student in Surrey. “I have not done it, but folks who have are mentoring me, and I feel like I will be prepared.
“There is no trail mapped out for you,” she added. “Riders are given a map two days before the race, then decide what route they want to take, so it takes navigational and surivival skills.”
No stranger to endurance horse racing, Van Baalen needs community support to meet the financial obligations of this “once-in-a-lifetime challenge,” said her mother Marlene Best, who lives in Surrey. “She’s an incredible athlete,” Best noted.
Mongol Derby horses are from local stock and are only 12 to 14 hands, but known to be “grass-fed power houses, diminutive, sturdy, fearless and tough,” says the Gofundme page (Michelle Rides the Mongol Derby 2027).
“Racers stay with local nomadic people in yurts, and professionals are available to ensure the continued safety and health of the horses and riders. The race and ride is as much about team work and survival than it is a race.”