Day 6 of the 2024 Mongol Derby has seen our riders labouring under another summer scorcher out on the steppe. HQ had decreed that riding hours would be extended from today onwards by an hour from 6:30 to 19:30, giving riders more of a chance to make the most of cooler evenings and mornings to keep battling on towards the finish line at HS29. Out in front leading the charge, Missy Morgan (MMO) continues on her professional romp round the Derby course, eating up yet more ground to reach HS22 this evening. But her closest competitors are giving their all in the chase. Sam Jones (SJO) and Josh Edwards (JED) have rejoined forces and closed the gap slightly, having ridden a textbook day to reach their campsite just short of HS21. MMO still has a healthy lead, but at the pace her pursuers are travelling a penalty of just a few hours or a couple of slow horses could make all the difference. Can she handle the heat to cling on the whole way to the finish line, another 7 horse stations away?

After her horse of a lifetime on the way into HS22 last night, MMO trundled out of the station this morning after sitting her 1 hour late riding penalty on a perfectly mannered but slightly less speedy draw. She’s had a day of smooth sailing, cruising in and out of horse stations 19, 20, 21 and 22 without a hitch. HS19 in particular was a memorable stop. All of the host family were dressed in exceptionally beautiful traditional Mongolian deels for the occasion, and welcomed MMO with the customary fresh airag. The lady of the house here is a famous del maker, who has previously designed outfits for the prime minister of Mongolia. Our crew suddenly felt a little self conscious of their own attire, now mostly unwashed for the last 6 days. MMO seems to enjoy riding under pressure. She again checked into HS22 tonight after close of riding hours, this time by 22 minutes. She passed the vet check smoothly, but has a 44 minute penalty to sit tomorrow morning before she can draw her next horse. SJO and JED, camped together just over one horse station behind her, have an opportunity here. If they can ride their horses – hopefully fresh from a rest and good feed overnight – fast into HS21, there’s a chance they could reel MMO in to around a one horse station lead before she even gets moving. And, as we’ve seen many times over the last few days, that is by no means a big enough lead to guarantee anything on the Derby. SJO in particular had a cracking day out on the steppe, catching up to JED meaning the pair are now once again riding as one, waiting for each other at horse stations and pitching camp for the night together. If we were MMO, we’d be keeping watch over our shoulder. These guys aren’t playing.

We’re thoroughly enjoying watching Almira Zakiyeva’s (AZA) truly beautiful ride too. She’s always polite as can be to everyone she meets, and is riding all her horses efficiently but sympathetically, as evidenced by her clean vet card. She makes camp for the night around 10km behind SJO and JED, once again camping out in the wilds and pushing as hard as she can. All she needs to catch up with or perhaps even leapfrog those ahead of her is one or two exceptional horses: might the next stroke of luck be hers?

Speaking of luck, poor old Margaret Holloway (MGO) in the chasing gang has had a real dollop of the wrong kind today. Riding speedily as usual with her riding buddy Josh Dales (JDA) and new joiner Grace Neuhaus (GNE), the trio rolled into HS19 ready to sweep through and onwards to HS20. She’d calmly worked her spicy draw out of HS18 through a bit of insecurity to mount up and guide him safely to HS19, the consummate horsewoman as ever. On the trudge into HS19, she had a horrible realisation: her Vet Card had been lost to the steppe somewhere along the way. Heartbroken and despondent, MGO sat out a real stinger of a 2 hour penalty while JDA and GNE made the tough decision to leave their companion behind and continue on. Gianna Aycock (GAK) arrived into HS19 to a sorrowful MGO and realised with a shock she’d ridden right past the missing Vet Card, mistaking it for a less valuable piece of paper blowing in the wind. Sorry MGO: the Derby can sometimes feel like a very long and drawn out version game of snakes and ladders. But all was not lost. Once the pain of the initial disappointment was over, she rallied like a pro and remounted, determined to catch GAK and Colby Coltrain (CCO) just out in front of her.

And catch them she did. All three are camped together between HS19 and HS20 tonight, a mere 12km or so behind JDA and GNE. They’ll be riding like the clappers tomorrow to close the gap. CCO and GAK will definitely be ones to watch, and if MGO already caught up with them chances are she’s drawn a strong horse. Both GAK and CCO jetted out of HS19 on steeds looking seriously up for the challenge. GAK had enlisted some local expertise in delegating her horse draw, and CCO in particular appeared to be riding a runaway train. Cling on tight, CCO: that’s a ride you don’t want to lose hold off.

Could the five unite to form a chasing supergroup? GNE is already the master of the catch-up ride: today she pulled off a stormer to close the gap between herself, JDA and MGO between HS18 and HS19. Steady and consistent, she’s having a remarkable ride to keep herself close to the front.

The next to roll into HS19, Augustus Read (ARE) and Lola Day (LRD) appeared on two perfectly matching handsome greys, and still have the chasing pack firmly locked in their sights. They have the horse station to themselves tonight to kick back and relax, which poor old ARE will certainly be needing. Whatever he did in a past life to offend the Derby gods, it just keeps coming back to bite him. Today, that nibble came in the form of yet another tumble while attempting to wrangle a spirited steed out of HS17 this morning. He broke the fall with his nose which is feeling a little off-centre, but his spirit has remained firmly intact. Still smiling and riding strongly despite a slightly tender undercarriage, his attitude and grit are winning him many supporters out on the steppe.

Somewhere along the way, brother Bert Read (BRE) has once again dropped slightly behind. Now camping out on his lonesome between HS18 and HS19, he’ll be hoping to repeat some of his luck from yesterday when he drew two phenomenal naadam horses to rocket up the course, riding two legs in under two hours each. Today was not so blessed from above. His horse took an unscheduled pitstop for a quick roll in a bog and didn’t fancy letting BRe back on. It broke free, but was tracked down and returned to BRE by hero horse manager Ben. A tough cookie, he leapt back on and rode hard after his brother. With his dogged perseverance and excellent navigation, surely it won’t be long before he’s back with big bro.

While his elder and younger brothers drop in and out of touch up ahead in the race for the finish line, middle brother Charles Read (CRE) and his loyal companion Annabelle Heffron (AHE) announced they had had an epiphany this morning on arrival into HS14: “Let’s just enjoy ourselves!” The plan is to finish and have the best possible time doing it. Their new strategy was off to a solid start. They’d somehow procured a fish last night to cook on a campfire at their riverside campsite shared with Fred Berry (FBE) to enjoy after an evening dip in the sun. And CRE’s horse into HS14 was an absolute machine, having bolted the whole way and refusing to slow down until CRE physically got off him. Hard to have a bad time riding that.

But there was one catch, CRE admitted: “But now we are in a bit of a struggle to finish, is the only problem.” AHE was indignant. “No no no! We’re doing alright.” “We’re doing alright”, repeated CRE. “And now we’re actually enjoying ourselves, and it’s great fun!” It’s been hard to wipe the smile off AHE’s face the whole way round, so we’re looking forward to seeing how this new attitude makes her an even happier camper. CRE was so buoyed up by his realisation he slightly overshot the mark today leaping onto his steed at HS14, and suffered the indignity of having a herder grab a generous handful of his breeches to keep him in place. So those baggy bottoms were all part of a cunning plan after all. This evening camped out with Grey Godsal (GGO) at another serene riverside spot en route to HS18, we’re excited to to see them all return to the steppe with their trademark good cheer tomorrow.

Riding expertly to reach HS18 tonight just ahead of them, the Kiwi contingent of Brydie Black (BBL) and Emma Watson (EWA) have been reunited to tackle the steppe together. Pushing on to gain as much ground as possible today, they each acquired a few late riding penalties along with Marieke Schnebeli (MSC) who joins them in the rider ger tonight. All vetted through clear, so have just a short delay to sit out tomorrow before continuing on their Derby crusades with fully recharged batteries.

HS18 is something of a party tonight, in honour of Sarah Delia’s (SDE) birthday. Happy birthday Sarah, and massive congrats on an amazing Derby effort so far. Enjoy the ride! Also joining her for the party is longtime riding buddy and fellow Mongol Derby Academy graduate, Yolande Steyn (YST). Horses, the steppe and friends: what better way to spend it? This one will be pretty unforgettable. Happy birthday also to our media queen Candie, who has once again chosen to share her big day with all of the riders, herders and crew out on the steppe.

Not quite reaching the comfort of HS18 to join the party tonight, Alyssa Cederstrand (ACE) and Marni Hamilton (MHA) have nevertheless sourced a satisfactory back up. Hosted by a lovely young couple and their children, they seem pleased as punch with the end to their day. Also lucking out with a wonderful steppe camping experience nearby is Sophie de Rouet (SDR). She thundered out of HS17 alone with her horse, bravely in search of a home for the evening. Her gamble paid off: she has somehow found one of the only permanent structures on the steppe and a very welcoming family to move in with.

A little further behind at HS17, riders are in for a real treat tonight. The host family have taken it upon themselves to provide entertainment for their 13 weary guests this evening, and have laid on an incredible Mongolian horsemanship demo. Billy Crouch (BCR) will be enjoying the light relief having suffered a setback today when he received a vet penalty, but elected to continue riding on with firm friend Kelly Dudley (KDU). He’ll sit out his penalty later down the course. The pair were spotted flying along full throttle today en route to HS16, still very much enjoying the ride.

Kelly Westlake (KWE) also joined them to make it into HS17 tonight, now fully recovered from taking the scenic route into HS14 this morning. She had a testing start to the day when, camping out alone, her horse gave her the slip while she tried to bridle him. As ever, the nearest herder family came to her rescue, and saw her safely back on her way. This morning she was immensely grateful to them and their incredible horsemanship.

Daughter and dad duo Elli (EGI) and Terje Gilje (TGI) still appear to be on speaking terms despite admitting their bond was being “tested” a few days ago, and are also enjoying the comforts of HS17 tonight after a good day’s riding. Gideon Kotkowski (GKO) has also joined the party, having dropped a little back down the field today owing to his first vet penalty.Merrily bringing up the rear of the field in irrepressibly good spirits, sister act Claire (CMO) and Hannah Morgan (HMO) continue their cheerful ride around the steppe, always smiling and drinking in all the Derby has to offer. CMO had a nervy moment today mounting up on a horse which had given his herder some serious grief on some warm up laps around the horse line. CMO confidently swung up and rode him out, quiet as a lamb. Sometimes all a stressed horse needs is the feminine touch.

Also bedding down for the night at HS16 is Ross Colbert (RCO) who regaled us with some of the most extraordinary Derby camping tales we’ve ever heard. Sleeping out alone under the stars last night with his horse beside a tall post, he gushed about the multiple shooting stars he saw overnight against the night sky. He fell asleep, only to be woken by a gentle nudging. He opened his eyes to find a large curious cow staring him in the face, backed up by her whole herd. Waving them off, he dozed off again, but was awoken by a strange noise on the pole just beside him. He looked up just in time to glimpse a huge eagle taking flight. Certainly beats being woken up by the neighbour’s yappy dog back home.

The charm however wore off slightly when, at 5:30AM, he realised his horse had made a break for it with the heifers. Wandering off to search for him, he was scooped onto the back of a motorbike by a concerned herder, who helped him push his horse into a corral. So calm and reliable was his horse (aside from his nighttime wanderings), RCO simply hopped on bareback to ride him back to his saddle 2km away, before continuing into HS14 this morning. What an adventure. He then pulled a horse belonging to a very proud young herder, who insisted on snapping a photo of the occasion to treasure forever more. What a day, RCO: we hope you’re keeping a diary of all these adventures.

And with that, Day 6 of the Derby drama draws to a close. As the riders rest up, we leave you with some more of our favourite images from another action fuelled day on the steppe. We’ll be back tomorrow, to see if any of our chasing pack manage to close the gap on the leading lady.

Photo credits: Kathy Gabriel, Tulgaa Skizz, Louise Crosbie

Day 6 Close of Play

HS22: MMO

Between HS20 – HS21: AZA, JED, SDO

Between HS19 – HS20: CCO, GAK, GNE, JDA, MGO

HS19: ARE, LRD

Between HS18 – HS19: BRE

HS18: BBL, EWA, MSC (Adv Cat: SDE, YST)

Between HS17 – HS18:  ACE, AHE, CRE, GGO, MHA, SDR

HS17: BCR, EGI, GKO, KDU, KWE, TGI, (Adv Cat: CAS, CLE, FBE, KSI, PDA, SVW, YJI)

HS16: CMO, HMO, RCO

Adventure Category: BBO, CAS, CLE, FBE, KSI, MER, PDA, SDE, SVW, YJI, YST

Retired: CWI

Penalties

Vet penalties: BCR (4 hrs), GKO (2 hrs)

Late riding: BBL (6 mins), EWA (12 mins), MMO (44 mins), MSC (10 mins)

Lost vet card: MGO (2 hrs)