At 9.51am local time, Will Comiskey from Australia, Marcia Hefker-Miles from New Mexico and Heidi Telstad from CANADA crossed the line, arms together, to take a triple dead heat in the 2016 Mongol Derby, the world’s longest and toughest horse race.

They gave thanks to the horses, herders and people of Mongolia for an incredible experience and said they wanted to share the experience of winning as a team just as they had shared the experience of the trail.

The pics show the three winners finishing the Mongol Derby and are credited to Richard Dunwoody @ Mongol Derby.

Will Comiskey, 28, ‘Dingo’, a cattle rancher from Longreach , said:
“There were slow ones, there were wild ones, but ****, we had fun!!
Marcia Hefker-Miles, 45, from New Mexico, said her most memorable memory was:
“Riding through a high mountain pass, past a boy and a girl both herding goats; making eye contact with them and waving. I saw myself in that little girl…”
Heidi Telstad, 43, a lawyer from British Colombia, said hers was:
“Camping one night with a poor family; they gave everything they had to spare to me and my horse and treated me as one of their own.”

Next to finish in the Mongol Derby were Tatiana Mountbatten and Venetia Philipps, from the UK and Courtney Kizer from Texas.

Congratulations to all who managed to finish this race but especially to our Canadian Heidi Telstad. We are so proud of you.

Heidi Telstad, the only Canadian entry in the 2016 Mongol Derby is among the leaders as they come to the half way point.

Photo Credits to: Richard Dunwoody @ Mongol Derby

The 2016 Mongol Derby, the world’s longest and toughest horse race, looks like being the closest yet as riders from all around the world are battling it out up front with just under 500 km to go!  These include:

• William Comiskey, nicknamed ‘Dingo’, a cattle rancher from Australia
• UK ‘Riding for Rangers’ team Tatiana Mountbatten, a professional dressage rider and 499th in line to the throne, and her team mate, Kenyan based Venetia Phillips
• Heidi Telstad, a lawyer from Canada
• Marcia Hefker-Miles, a New Mexican cowgirl
• Shannon Nott, an Aussie bush doctor
• Courtney Kizer, a Texan showjumper

A few km’s only separate these riders – plus the rest of the field are also within striking distance.

Do follow the race via twitter https://twitter.com/mongolderbylive or if you use the + arrows on the tracker you can home in and hover your mouse over the blue dots so you can see exactly where the riders all are and how far they have travelled http://www.theadventurists.com/mongol-derby-live-dashboard/

Other race news includes:

• There have been six people retiring so far – including a dash to hospital, a dislocated shoulder (the rider Hanna Backstrom from Sweden has carried on!), and currently some suspected broken ribs
• David Redvers (UK) and Peter Molony (Ire) lead the Qatar racing team, which includes Sheikh Fahad al-Thani.  Redvers said that “yesterday ranked as one of the ten best days of his life”
• The weather is also pretty dire on the steppe.  Last night race chief Katy Willings said as the three leaders left the comfort of Horse Station 14:
  “They’ve passed up some world class Khuushuur at U14 and a dry bed surrounded by racing medals to hang onto a 30 minute lead and sleep in a ditch. Plus U14-15 is the most beautiful ride. Perhaps the most stunning on the course except that it’s hammering it down with rain, so they won’t see much of it.”

Thanks to Liz Ampairee for the information about the race.

All Photo Credits to: Richard Dunwoody @ Mongol Derby