Horse rider will speak about international distance races at UU Church

SANGERVILLE — “The solution to burnout is pursuing your wildest dreams.” Jessie Dowling of Whitefield will speak about her experience training for and riding the Mongol Derby and Gaucho Derby during the Sunday, June 28 service at the Unitarian Universalist Church on Church Street. The service is at 10 a.m.

In August 2023 Dowling competed in the Mongol Derby. At over 1,000 kilometers, it’s the longest horse race in the world set across the wide open steppe landscape in Mongolia. Dowling’s presentation covers what it was like training for and competing in the race and what it was like staying with nomadic mongolian herder families along the way.

In February Dowling completed another epically long and challenging horse race. The Gaucho Derby is a 500-kilometer race set in Patagonia, Argentina. Dowling placed 15^th out of a field of 40 international riders. Like the Mongol Derby, the race is a multi-horse endurance race set over a 10-day period where riders navigate their way using a handheld GPS.

The Gaucho Derby is billed as the “Toughest Horse Race in the World” and is as much a survival race as it is a test of horsemanship. Contestants carry their own tent, food and other essential gear, that in total weigh no more than 10 kilograms (22 pounds) in saddle bags and receive resupply bags of food set along the course route. Riders draw eight horses at random to ride throughout the race and horses must pass strict veterinary checks along the way.  The course runs through some of the most rugged wild places in the world navigating through steep mountain passes, down scree lined cliffs, across bog filled valleys, barren mesas and wild Patagonian steppe. The winds of Patagonia are epically strong and the weather can change in an instant from sun to hail.

“The best part of the race is getting to spend time with so many amazing criollo horses (the native breed of Argentine horses),” Dowling said. “The challenge of meeting a new horse each day and quickly developing a trusting partnership with these strong fast agile horses is indescribably exhilarating and fulfilling.”

Now that Dowling is back in Maine, she brings back new inspiration to her budding endurance horse training business in Whitefield. At Iron Ledge Farm, Dowling teaches lessons, trains horses, coaches endurance riders and leads endurance focused riding retreats throughout Maine. She is also excited to give talks around the state sharing stories about her experiences riding and training for these extreme endurance horse races. You can find out more by visiting www.ironledgefarm.com.