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[RC] Mongol update. Swedish rider out. Van Wyck in the lead - Melissa Margetts(Little piece of trivia for the day, all of the Mongolian stallions manes are left long and all geldings manes are cut.) MONGOL DERBY UPDATE: All horses doing well as far as the Mongol derby website reports go. Ride mentor Richard Dunwoody, pulled from the race to return to the UK on urgent business. 2 riders, Martin Asplund of Sweden and Bartolome XX of Spain, (NOT Juan Pepa as originally reports indicated but more likely Tomeu Mestru) dropped out of the race on the 2nd day of the Derby due to falls. "Bartolome"( Tomeu Mestru) with spinal cord injuries. Another, Carina Oliver, stayed in after recovering from a fall on the first day. The Mongol derby website says: "David Murray, whose training regime consisting of 10km of riding followed by 10km of running each day in the run up to the event, was one of the strictest, said upon reaching the end of the 5th leg that though he knew this was the longest and toughest horse race in the world, the end of only the 2nd day was already taking its toll on his mental and physical state." "Despite the falls, tensions, pains and challenges they are facing, the remaining riders are pushing on admirably. 4 riders are ahead of the race, with Charles van Wyck leading, followed closely by Mathilda Branson, Galbadrakh xx and Sabrina Verjee. Ahead since the start, they have by the 3rd day only, completed the 6h leg of the race and are continuing onto the 7th at a good pace. Despite their speed, all 4 reached the end of each leg with healthy horses, who have passed all checks implemented by the Mongol Derby veterinarians stationed at each Urtuu. Martin Kaan is bringing up the rear of the race." The Barefoot saddles provided by South Africa looked very comfy in the starting pics, especially in comparison to the hard wooden saddles that the ponies are used to. I'm a little confused as the names of some of the riders that the Mongol Derby site is reporting on don't actually match the names of the 25 riders listed on their ride list. Martin Asplund of Sweden is not listed as being one of the riders, yet they reported that he was pulled due to injuries from a fall on day two. Bartolome XX of Spain was listed as also being pulled due to spinal injuries in a fall too, but no rider is listed by that name. The only rider from Spain is listed as Tomeu Mestru. There are a few riders using generic mystery names like "Last But Not Least Team" (John Munro from Denmark/Scotland, Johns audio Blog is very interesting) The "CamRacers" (UK ) Shiravdamboo Gabadrakh xx (? can't recognize the flag but is this perhaps the Ben Fogle who was supposed to be the adventurer/journalist who was supposed to ride?) The Mongol Derby tracking map has Matilda Branson in second from last place, yet the Derby update says she's a close second to the front runner van Wyck. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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