My second interview with riders who have completed the Mongol Derby features Sophia McKee. She agreed to talk with me way back in December, but we’ve both been busy. Sophia’s story was more than worth the wait! As I read her written account, I realized to my delight that Sophia is a talented storyteller. Not only that, but we have more in common than just the goal of riding the Mongol Derby. I couldn’t wait to ask her follow-up questions!
(Read my first interview in this series: Smiling through the pain: Grace Netter’s Mongol Derby experience.)
Above: Sophia’s NBC interview. You can find her videos about preparing for and riding the Mongol Derby on her YouTube channel.
The basics
Sophia completed the third Mongol Derby in 2011. Twenty-four riders entered the race, but one broke their arm during the pre-ride. In the end, twenty-three started and 13 finished.
Q: Did you finish, and if so, where did you place? How long did it take you?
I did finish! I placed 10th of 13 finishers. The remainder of the field was taken out by a variety of maladies; broken arm, broken tailbone, broken ribs, complete dejection from getting lost, severed thumb. There was quite a bit of carnage.
It took me eight and a half days riding 14 hours a day and I lost my horse twice, which set me back quite a bit.
The decision to ride the Mongol Derby
Riding the Mongol Derby went on my bucket list as soon as I heard of the race in 2009. It took me 16 years to enter, but it still felt like a natural progression. As long as I can remember, I’ve wanted to do almost everything horse–especially if it involves racing. Reading Sophia’s story struck a chord.
Q: What made you decide to attempt the race?
At the time I was heavily involved in horse racing. I worked at Monmouth Park Racetrack in New Jersey in marketing and my husband (now ex) was a jockey. Racing was in my veins and I’m a very competitive person. I had seen a very brief article about an American endurance rider, Justin Nelzen, who had won it the year before. I tracked him down, called him and after talking to him decided I’d at least apply (not thinking I’d have a shot at getting in).
I also have had a deep love of Mongolia since the 4th grade when I got the country for a geography assignment. Once I learned horses outnumbered people 7 to 1 I was obsessed in a way that only a horse crazy girl can be.
Q: What is your background with horses and/or other outdoor extreme adventures?
I have been riding since I was 5 and I galloped racehorses when I still had ambitions of being a jockey (but hey, I love French fries!). I rode like a farm kid – no formal lessons – fall off the pony and crawl back on. Little 4-H shows and stuff like that. When I turned 18 I went to the track. The first year my nickname was “Crash” because I fell off so much. But it taught me a lot about how to stay on.
Yes, we have a lot in common. I fell five times in the first six weeks I spent galloping Thoroughbreds at the racetrack in Spain in 1992. It was a good lesson for someone who had become quite sure of her riding ability. Nothing teaches like pain, except for maybe embarrassment, and I had my share of both.
Q: How long before you competed did you make the decision?
I think it was about ten months before the race that I applied.
Above: Sophia shares some of her experience training for the Mongol Derby.
Preparations for the Mongol Derby
Over the phone, Sophia told me that research is important, but doing is more important. Try everything well before heading to Mongolia.
Q: How did you prepare for the Derby? Are there any hints you can give those of us prepping now?
The usual things that everyone does; work out a lot, ride as much as you can. I didn’t own a horse at the time so I would string together about 5 farms on my day off and just go from one to another riding whatever was available, sometimes laps in an arena, sometimes hours on trail.
Sophia had an informative interview with Horse Racing Radio during her preparation for the race: Horse Racing Radio Network Interview for Mongol Derby. In it, she shares some of the things she did to prepare, and some details of her fundraising.
Sophia emphasizes the importance of learning to navigate
Practice like crazy with your GPS. Everyone will be getting fit and riding a lot, very few get super familiar with the gps. You want to be so familiar that using it is natural and quick. It’s a competitive advantage.
Sophia gave me a tip when we spoke: the GPS won’t point in the right direction when you are standing still. Movement helps the system filter out noise.
She also recommended Geocaching for navigation practice.
To repeat, gear is vital!
Train with and test your gear, all of it. I was able to find failures in my kit, failures in how I secured it, and the best location for my sunscreen and chapstick by riding in my gear on all my training rides. We had one rider lose everything he owned on the first day. He did manage to do the whole ride with a borrowed sleeping bag and clothes. You won’t believe how many people show up to ride camp that have never put their saddlebags on a horse.
Like Grace, Sophia said that trialing gear was vital. When we chatted, she shared some details of the gear she used.
Sophia’s gear (and recommendations)
- Racing safety vest. She pointed out that it also protects from chafing.
- Adding to my Mongol Derby wish list
- Ariat Terrains (hiking/riding boots)
- Irideon tights (she took two pairs).
- Half chaps with Velcro (not zippers)
- English stirrups leathers that she could lengthen and shorten from the saddle. (Absolutely agree here. The only thing I don’t like about my McCall western saddle is that I cannot easily adjust the length.)
- Velcro to secure saddlebags (I carry the one at the link in my horse trailer).
- Shorts to sleep in.
- Stick sunscreen.
- Lavender essential oil (link is to the one I buy).
- Waterproof bags to keep things dry: horses sweat through the saddlebags.
- A DJI camera. Sophia says GoPros heat up too much.
- This is not based on riding the Mongol Derby with an action camera–they didn’t exist back then! But later experience has taught her to prefer DJI.
Q: How did you fund it? Did you have any sponsors?
I was poor so I relied heavily on sponsors. I started with a list of every single person I knew and company that I had a personal relationship with. Then I went and asked every friend and family member for a certain amount. Once I had that, I went and asked a company to match it.
Q: Do you have any advice for finding sponsors?
The key to most sponsorships is that they do it because they want to support YOU. As a person. Very few of us have the size of audience to deliver on some marketing objective based on impressions and eyeballs. But think of your local restaurant and business in your town that supports the local Little League. I even got sponsored by one of New Jersey’s newspapers because they felt it was a great human interest story.
In the end I raised $20,000.
That’s over $29,300 in purchasing power today! (Inflation calculator.) I am impressed.
Q: Do you have any advice for insurance coverage?
I think I used World Nomads.
Q: How long before the event did you arrive in Ulaanbaatar? Was it the right amount of time for you there?
I was granted very little time off from work so I arrived right before the trip out to start camp. Besides missing the trip to the black market, I felt it was fine. But my heart is in the countryside so I usually want to skip out on anything in the city. Just be aware if you get a massage in UB – they do the front of the chest as well – that was a surprise!
The “black market” refers to the famous Narantuul market. I’ll definitely be in Ulaanbaatar with time to visit!
The race: Riding the Mongol Derby with Sophia McKee
Q: Tell me about the race itself! Anything and everything you’d like to share.
Sophia started her story with a reflection on different approaches to riding the Mongol Derby.
A lesson learned about mindset
There are two types of mindsets, and it’s the first question I ask aspiring derby riders – are you going to be competitive, or just have a great time. Because it will change the type of advice I give.
I went into the race with a super competitive mindset – I was there to win. And the first day of the race I found my glory leading the pack. I thought it was the greatest day of my life.
The very next day I lost my horse when he dumped me and buggered off. And I sat in the dirt feeling very sorry for myself as nearly the entire field passed me by.
The next horse I had was quite spooky so I didn’t ride very fast and I ended up ponying another rider and their horse 10 miles because theirs refused to move. I could have ridden by, but that wasn’t the right thing to do.
That delay led to me happening upon a South African on the next leg of the race who was lost in this awful mountainous area with lots of gullies and ravines.
I tell this story because in that moment of dejection, I realized there was more to this race than just winning. Kevin and I became great friends, and he invited me to ride Fauresmith – South Africa’s National Endurance Championships the following year. From that followed adventure rides into the country of Lesotho, cattle drives in Alberta, riding the Wild Coast in South Africa, and riding reindeer in Mongolia. All because the universe put me in that damn gully with a bunch of stinging nettles.
I have had my own experience with stinging nettles! (Horse reactions to stinging nettle.) I had to ask Sophia if the ones in Mongolia were the same as ours… she didn’t remember!
Above: Sophia talks about her experience on Day 1.
A rodeo and the value of making friends
As they say with winning – it’s lonely at the top. There was a good lesson in there I was happy to learn.
Later in the ride – maybe day 6, I had a horse buck so hard that every single piece of gear on his back ripped off – including the seat of the saddle itself. Once he had shed himself of everything but girth and saddle pad, he disappeared never to be seen. Kevin and my new Derby friends helped me gather my things and then stuck with me as I hiked the six miles to the next horse station. They didn’t have to do that, but they realized as I had, that there was something very meaningful in the friendships that are born out of hardship.
Above: Sophia riding in South Africa, thanks to a friendship forged on the Mongolian steppe.
A racehorse, no brakes, and chocolate
Another memory that sticks with me was my Naadam racehorse. We were overnighting at a horse station and my horse had a mild bout of colic. We suspect it was from being on the highline all day and I was distraught with worry.
The next morning the herder brought me a tiny bay horse. I shook my head and indicated it wasn’t the horse I had selected. He insisted.
The horse was an absolute rocket ship. He took off at a dead run. It was terrifying. It was exhilarating. The herder couldn’t catch us on his motorbike. I had no brakes. All I could do was steer. About halfway through the 25 miles the horse came to a dead stop. I didn’t know what was happening. Was he dying? He stretched out, took a long pee and a fart, and then bolted off again.
At this point I settled in for the ride, realized I still had a chocolate bar in my pocket, opened the wrapper, and shoved chocolate in my mouth while the wind whipped my face and my little bay thundered across the steppe. Life couldn’t be better.
His heart rate at the vet check was 40.
Of course there was so much more! For a more complete account, you can access what she wrote years ago on her Mongol Derby blog page (“should anyone want to dive into the hypothermia day or the day I peed in the saddle,” Sophia said.) It was originally shared on a blog hosted by the Equestrianists (since taken down).
Above: Sophia with the Naadam racehorse that would run and pee and run again.
Aftermath
Q: How did you feel after competing 1000 km horseback?
I thought I would be satisfied but I was left with wanting something more. The restlessness and the quest for adventure that led me to the Mongol Derby…it was a thirst that hasn’t been quenched.
Above: A short video about the Lesotho Rescue Ride. Riding the Mongol Derby did not quench Sophia’s thirst for adventure. If anything it inspired her to more adventures.
Q: What was the most important thing you learned?
It’s about the journey and the race isn’t some climax or end goal to the journey. At least it wasn’t for me.
On the horses…
Sophia’s best advice–for me anyway–was that two horses travel faster than one. I don’t like to think about this, because I prefer to ride alone. I might have to rethink my solitary approach to distance riding. Most horses do make better time accompanied. The one with more energy can go ahead, pulling along the other. I experienced this when riding endurance with Heidi Helly; we would switch places whenever the lead horse started to flag. (Read about it in River’s first endurance ride.)
Sophia also noted that the Mongolian horses did best when left alone to do their job. They aren’t used to cuddling, and under saddle they don’t do well when micromanaged. Mostly, the horses are good once you are in the saddle, Sophia assured me. Getting in the saddle can be difficult. Bad news when you might get a horse that wants to walk 25 miles! And no bathroom breaks.
Q: Looking back, is there anything you would do differently?
Yeah, I would take a real sleeping bag. I took a fleece blanket to save on weight and froze my butt off.
Q: Would you do it again?
The Derby – no. Another event, yes.
Summarize your experience in a single sentence!
The horses are everything.
… and is there anything else you would like to say?
Sophia told me that Hannah Kahn’s poem “Ride a Wild Horse” used to hang on her wall when she was a child. She sent me the entire poem, but as it is still under copyright, so I will quote only a few lines here:
Ride A Wild Horse
Whatever else you leave undone
Once, ride a wild horse
Against the sun.
I can say — I did that.