Mongol Derby: World's Longest, Toughest Horse Race

Well, if the only derby you've ever heard of takes place in Kentucky, forget everything you know about racing horses, because tonight we are taking you to the far reaches of outer Mongolia to one of the toughest races of any kind in the world, 850 horses, over 600 miles and 30 extreme riders, mostly women, in the adventure of their lives. They say if you can complete the Mongol Derby, you can do anything. And our special edition of Nightline sends correspondent Gloria Riviera and producer Alex Waterfield to join the ride. It is a race like no other. The toughest, most unforgiving, insane horse race on Earth. We've caught up with Laura coming out of the last station. Laura, how do you feel right now? I'm not saying things anymore, you know, I just get on the horse. Don't think, just go. We are tearing at high speeds across the wilds of outer Mongolia, here to follow 30 extreme adventurers who are attempting the fearsome Mongol Derby. And for the first time ever, most of them are women. I am riding with this. We came here to find out what it is that drives them to put themselves through this and what it takes to make it. We meet the racers here, in the remote Mongolian wilderness. You are a brave and hardy bunch, I'm very proud of you all. In a pre-race ritual, organizer Katie raises a bowl of erik, a boozy cocktail of fermented horse milk. Tighten your girth and ride it like you stole it tomorrow. I'm very excited for you. Among the competitors, three Americans. Endurance is in my blood. My father is an ultra marathoner. A toast to the step, may she be merciful. First, there's Devin Horn, the 20-year-old hotshot from Houston. Convinced there is only one reason to be here. What's the deal, are you going to win this thing? Yes. That's the plan? That's the plan. But as we and Devin would soon learn, it's not about winning or even surviving. Okay, it's about surviving, but it's about something much more. I toast to everyone and their horses who finish happy and healthy. There's Lynn, a lifelong equestrian. At 55, she is one of the oldest contestants and has a secret reason for attempting this race. You've had something to fight. I have had something. Do you feel comfortable sharing it with us? I'd rather share after it's over. Sure. How's that? And there's Tom, a friendly 23-year-old Texan college grad who recently entered the workforce. I guess you could call it a quarter-life crisis. My actual title is a risk management analyst. And you're out here? Yeah. Did you not analyze that correctly? I think if there's one thing I've learned about risk, you've got to take it when you can. But that night, a little too much Eric throws off Tom's sense of risk. He tries wrestling, Mongolia's other favorite pastime. I think I popped my shoulder on the place. Tom seems to have injured his shoulder badly and needs a medic. 6 a.m. race day. Devin is first up and ready to go as other riders make their final preps. Are you ready? Yes. I haven't made any alliances or promises to ride. If they can keep up, they can ride with me. Ready. Ready to start. Lynn is choosing a different strategy, teaming up with a young French woman named Sandra to ride together. Tom is still dealing with the aftermath of last night's antics. How bad is it? Torn, ACM, or something like that, so just a bunch of ligaments in my shoulder. But he grits his teeth and saddles up. With a final blessing by a Buddhist monk. All right, riders, let's do it. It's showtime and the riders are off. There is no marked trail, no set path. Riders have a crude map, a GPS, and their guts to guide them. Over the next few days, they will charge their way through 25 checkpoints, changing horses at each one, covering at least two marathons each day on their 620-mile journey. Lucky for us, the Nightline team has a different kind of horsepower to get ahead of these extreme riders. Devin. From day one, Devin has the lead. Did you see anyone from the start? No, I haven't seen a single person. She gets first pick of the new horses, programs her GPS, and is off. The rest of the pack starts to arrive. I love this. Including Laura Crear-Palmer. Oh dear, my horse is coughing already. It's not good news. Can you hear that? The sunny 19-year-old Brit is turned off by Devin's bravado. Some pretty competitive Texans. I'm here to win. If I don't finish in seven days, I'm not going home. Then comes Tom, walking his horse. That bum shoulder now a real problem. Wasn't the most comfortable ride. More pain pills, and you'll be fine. But there is more bad news. 76 at the moment, so just need a little bit more time. At each station, Yvette performs a thorough checkup on each rider's horse. The first thing we'll check is the heart rate. It needs to be 64 or under 64. Contestants are given a time penalty if their horse's resting heart rate is too high. A sign the horse may have been overworked. Tom's group won't wait for him, and he doesn't want to ride alone. You get caught out by yourself at night, and you lose your horse. You're literally in the middle of nowhere. We're known to help you. Still sticking together, Lynn and Sandra, who have become fast friends. Between stations, they decide to stay the night in the home of a local Mongolian nomad. The next morning, the dreaded sound of rain. We find Lara at horse station 2, all smiles and ready to go. We're starting to discover that her rosy outlook actually makes her a fierce competitor. And some 40 miles ahead, front-runner Devon is still solo. The rain seems to have shaken her supreme confidence. Day 5, we get word of a major upset. We really want to catch Devon. She's had some drama just when a rivalry is developing between her and a rider hot on her trail, Lara from the UK. We zoom ahead to horse station 17 and are amazed to find Lara riding in first. It's just after 8 p.m. She only has minutes of riding time left before the daily 8.30 cutoff. Lara, why not spend the night here tonight? Then I'll lose time. There is now a competitive edge to that quirky persona. Is this UK versus USA at all? Absolutely. UK versus Texas. The rest of the USA is fine. With Lara saddling up to leave, we see Devon in the distance right now. Devon arrives at the other side of camp. Are you mad you lost your lead? A little bit. How far ahead is she? Oh, she's right here. To our surprise, when Devon sees Lara, she does her own 180, ditching her go-it-alone mantra. If I get the chance, I'll ride with her. I'm sure we can help each other. That's a different strategy from when you started, Devon. You've got to play with it. But once-friendly Lara isn't interested in the offer. Or, it seems, even acknowledging her rival at all. Are you riding now? With 10 minutes. Wait, I've lost my map. Oh, no. I just don't know how far she'd get with 12 minutes. Why would she leave with 12 minutes? For the lead. The 12-minute lead. It could make a difference. I've just raced away from Devon. So I've galloped six kilometers away. To be honest, I couldn't bear the thought of spending the night with Devon making horrible comments. Meanwhile, Tom is hanging tough. How's it going so far? Much better today. Hopefully it stays this way. Riding 200 miles, despite the searing pain in his shoulder. But then, yet another derby fiasco. Okay, stop, stop, stop. Whoa. Whoa. Easy, easy, easy. So I'm walking again. My horse fucked me off and took off back for the beginning of the herd. Tom finds his horse, but alone again, he decides enough is enough. I was hoping we'd never have this conversation. I just, I didn't think I could make it. I'm just defeated. It sucks. Lessons learned? I don't wrestle Mongolians before the start of a 650-mile horse race. Tom becomes the sixth rider to quit the race. And it looks like Lynn may be next. Diarrhea. Violent, awful, debilitating. Need I say more? Lynn and Sandra, together this whole race, may now have to split up. It's very sad. It's really, really sad. Don't want to just finish together. Let's see if the positives still can catch up and still finish together. I'm hoping for that. When we come back, with only two more days to go, we find Devin and Laura in a battle royale that ends with an astounding finish line shocker. Oh, my God. Can you please not film this? It is six days into our epic adventure, and we're hundreds of miles away from the finish line. Out of 30 competitors, only 24 remain, and they are dropping like proverbial horse flies. Now, choices. What makes a winner in this? The best ride, the most strategic alliance, or the competitive spirit that just will not quit? Every game-time decision could be their last. And here again, Gloria Riviere. Welcome to day six of the mother of all equestrian adventures, the Mongol Derby. 19-year-old Laura and 20-year-old Devin are locked in a bitter battle across 600 miles of remote wilderness. Both are hoping to win the most grueling horse race on Earth. One after the other, You dumped me. the Mongol Derby is taking riders down. This wasn't how I planned on this working out. Just over half remain, including 55-year-old rider Lynn. Lynn beat back the flu, and she found Sandra again. Well, we are not filming our goodbyes. No way. What started as a tactical alliance has become a deep bond. Sandra is going to make me emotional. She's been like my little angel. She's taken care of me when I was sick. Meanwhile, five horse stations ahead. It is neck and neck between Devin and Laura. Both riding at a punishing pace because with just two stations left today, only one will be champion. I'm trying to keep ahead of Laura. Please don't follow me. If you dare follow me. We won't, we won't, we won't. Nerves totally shot, they both tell us to get lost. You guys need to leave me alone now. We're staying way back. So we race ahead to the finish line to await the winner of the Mongol Derby. As of the last horse station, it was really neck and neck. Devin just a few minutes ahead of Laura, so right now we could see anyone coming down that stretch. I see it. Is it a rider? Nope, there's not a rider. It is Devin we see first. After seven days of grueling work, it seems Devin got what she came for. She can't wait to celebrate. You stormed into this competition and said, I'm here to win. I mean, what did I say, I guess. As soon as my horse pulses down, it'll be official. How's he doing? Daddy, I just won the Mongol Derby. They're screaming. But then, the vet has crushing news. A two-hour penalty? It's a vet penalty. Devin's horse isn't recovering. His heart rate too high. Oh my God. A devastating two-hour penalty is added to her finishing time. Can you please not film this? Sorry, sorry. Laura arrives just a few minutes later. Race headquarters confirms it. Congratulations. Laura is the winner of the Mongol Derby. With an earshot of Devin's sobs, Laura is gracious. I feel slightly lucky. I got on some horses and kicked them a bit and managed to get away without any injuries, so I got here somehow. Devin, I'm so sorry. It's OK. Congratulations. And we are huge rivals, but I'm really proud of you, because that's really, really unlucky. And not fair, because you should have won, because I was miles away. I was never going to get here. So, yeah, just the way things work out. I guess we're both winners, really. Yeah. OK. First place decided. We find Lynn and Sandra at the last horse station, ready to finish as a team. I said we'd either end up best friends or horrible enemies, and I think it's going to be best friends. As promised, they end this race the way they started it, hand in hand. If finishing this race seems to mean more to Lynn than anyone else, well, it just might. Remember that secret she didn't want to share with us at the beginning? Well, now she does. About three years ago, I woke up and got up and fell over, and they found that I have what is called a patent foramen ovale, which is a hole in your heart. I kind of shut down for about six months, afraid to do anything, and then I just decided that you don't have to quit living because you have something wrong with you. A lot of it is here. Devin is here to congratulate Lynn with a new perspective on her own heartbreak. That one crappy hour at the finish line does not diminish the week of work I put in here to get here. What's done is done. You gotta roll on. You gotta be happy that you finished the Mongol Derby. For Nightline, I'm Gloria Riviera in the Mongolian steppe. What a ride! Our thanks to Gloria Riviera and our producer Alex Waterfield for that.