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Horseytalk.net Special Interview
Sophia Mangalee
1,000 kms, 9 days, 27 horses including one that went like a Ferrari. Sophia says it was all an anti-climax
Despite being one of the last to physically come across the finish line after nine days amid the vast wilderness of the Mongolian steppe, things could have been far worse for Sophia Mangalee.
After losing two horses and delayed for hours at a time along the 1,000-kilometer (630 miles) course, being hammered by a stomach virus at one point during the middle of the race, and being forced to walk seven grueling kilometers in order to reach the nearest horse station, Mangalee had plenty of chances to bail out on the Mongol Derby.
Instead, she persevered and was one of just 13 riders from across the globe to officially finish what is considered the longest and toughest horse race on the planet. In fact, she was the only American to cross the finish line.
“It was all I thought it would be and more,” said the 28-year-old Eatontown resident, who took time off from her job as marketing manager at Monmouth Park to take on the race of a lifetime from Aug. 6-14. “To finish was incredible. I didn’t win, but there was nothing else like it.”
Following 10 months of conditioning and preparation, Mangalee and the original 22 other riders spent three days in a crash course on how to deal with the varying weather and terrain of the steppe, how to navigate the course, and, most importantly, to get acclimated to the semi-wild horses they were going to ride for more than a week.
On Aug. 6, Mangalee and 21 riders — one sustained an injury during pre-race camp and had to withdraw — took to the course, and almost immediately Mangalee had one of her highlight moments of the race.
“My first horse just took off from the starting line and galloped for the entire 35 kilometers to the first horse station,” Mangalee said. “Me and two other riders were in the lead, and I thought it would be like that the whole race.”
But it wasn’t. In fact, Mangalee’s horse failed to meet the heart-rate requirement of 64 beats per minute or less and she was penalized with a two-hour delay. After such a great start, the wait was agonizing, but she and Holland’s Frederique Schut managed to get into the fourth horse station the next day only an hour behind the lead pack.
Soon after, Mangalee’s hopes of winning the Derby ended when, about six kilometers out from the fourth station, her horse bucked her off his back and ran for the hills.
“At that point, I knew I was out of the race,” she said. “For the rest of the race, my goals were to have fun, help other riders who needed it and just finish.”
And while helping other riders would be no problem, having fun and merely finishing the race still remained a daunting task.
As other riders dropped out of the competition due to either frustration or injury, Mangalee continued on, enduring fierce rain storms, blazing heat by day and the threat of hypothermia at night, and the sometimes quirky disposition of the Mongol horses, including another that ran off during a brief stop and never returned.
“The one thing I wasn’t prepared for was the unexpected,” she said. “And the race itself was less of a race than I thought it would be because of some of the circumstances I had to deal with. But I learned I was versatile, and that I had the ability to adapt.
“I could have fallen apart and given up. But never at any point did I have the thought to give up. Quitting didn’t even enter my mind. I stayed even-keel and optimistic.”
When the final day arrived, Mangalee was treated to her second highlight of the race, a horse that loved to run. In fact, he ran for 21 miles and stopped just twice — once to go to the bathroom and a second time so the horse’s owner could adjust the girth on the saddle.
“I was never so scared to be on a horse, but at the same time I felt so safe,” Mangalee said. “For 21 miles, I had power steering. This horse was like a Ferrari. And the best part ... one of the vets gave us chocolate bars with almonds the night before, and I was able to pull it out during that last seven miles. So there I was on a racehorse, running through the wilderness, eating chocolate. It was great.”
Later that day, Mangalee and Schut crossed the finish line.
“It was a bit anticlimactic,” Mangalee said. “We were on these less-than-enthusiastic horses for the last leg and they got a bit spooked as we approached the big flags at the finish line. When we finally got them across the finish, it was the only time I cried during the whole race, more out of relief than anything.”
Mangalee rode a total of 27 horses during her nine days on the Derby course. Winner Craig Egberink of South Africa completed the course in eight days.
She said the advice she’d give to potential riders who may contact her during the years to come is simple and practical.
“Bring a warm sleeping bag,” she said. “Don’t bring all that you think you need. And don’t make any plans.”
And while Mangalee doesn’t expect to ever ride the Mongol Derby again in her lifetime, she said the experience was one she’ll treasure forever.
“I rode to the best of my ability and, because of circumstances I couldn’t control, I didn’t perform in this race as I could have,” Mangalee said. “But I have no regrets. The Mongol people were amazing, very hospitable. They were very gracious.
“No one here at home has any idea the kind of adventure I’d been through in Mongolia. But something spectacular happened to me, and I’m going to find a way to get back there. Whether it’s just to visit or for charity work, I’m going to go back. That place lives in my heart now.”