with Lara Prior-Palmer, the first woman to win the Mongol Derby
The first woman to win the Mongol Derby, the world’s longest horse race, and also the youngest person ever to complete it, fills us in on her equestrian roots
How did you get into horse riding?
I grew up partly in Appleshaw in Hampshire where my aunt, Lucinda Green, ran her eventing career. By the time I was born, there were still horses adorning the fields and you could sense the spirits of those champions who had passed. Aged three, I was swung onto my cousin Lissa’s Shetland pony. That felt like home, although I look quite grumpy in the photos! At seven, I pleaded for lessons and Aunt Lucinda directed me to Penny Charrington’s in Ibthorpe.
Later I would ride rental ponies and ponies on loan. I had a pony of my own at 11, but I couldn’t quite convince him to be interested in cross-country.
How did you prepare for the Mongol Derby?
I had five weeks. I volunteered to ride lots at Biddesden Stud, near Appleshaw, where I reckoned the smaller size of the Arab horses there would make the transition to the sub-14.3hh Mongolian ponies less jarring. I also ran and played tennis a lot — my nerves gave me energy. I bought the kit I’d need for the trip last minute on eBay.
What were the biggest challenges you faced?
My mind. God, how it wanted to quit!
What was the most memorable moment?
Perhaps a moment after many hours alone when I passed a young man with a long wooden stick aboard his horse — on his way back, I guessed, from cattle herding. The sun was low, haloing the land in colours particular to that time of the evening. We slowed our horses to meet and spoke to one another, he in Mongolian, me in English, and somehow shared a joke at which we both cackled. I rode away with a heart so alive I nearly fell off.
How did you come to write about your experience?
What had passed was oblivion. I felt so much propulsion, but had no clue where to direct it. I love telling stories, so I picked up my pen and laptop. I wasn’t intending on a book — 19-year-olds don’t tend to think that way. I think I also wanted to write because I still couldn’t believe I’d won the race (it had seemed so unlikely, especially to me), and I reckoned that if I got it all down on paper I’d be able to trace the formula that had brought about such a fate. Something about being raw and tired and outside had allowed my memory to be perfect, too. The marks of the landscape were living inside my body. I let them pour out onto the paper.
What did you want to be when you were younger?
Lightning! Also, between the ages of six and 11, I had a desire to be a burglar, and an ongoing desire to become an eventer or a prime minister.
Do any of your family ride?
Not my immediate family, but my cousin Lissa, Aunt Lucinda’s daughter, events for a living. She’s one of a kind.
Do you have any pets?
I don’t believe in ‘having’ pets, but I live with four thirsty herbs (basil, thyme, chive, coriander). There’s also
Alfie and Tweenie in Appleshaw, horses who enjoy breaking their fences. Very much owners of themselves.
What’s your favourite food?
Fresh air. I have a difficult relationship with food due to chronic pain in my stomach. I practically live on tahini and I’m a fan of the aesthetics and benefits of broccoli. I don’t eat meat or dairy (dare I mention I’m vegan?).
“We slowed our horses and spoke, he in Mongolian, me in English, and somehow shared a joke at which we both cackled”