A pair of Houstonians will departed for China late on July 31 from George Bush Intercontinental Airport to compete in the Mongol Derby equestrian endurance race. Dr. Dori Hertel and Devan Horn will compete the 1,000-kilometer ride, touted as the world’s longest horse race, from August 8 to 17.

Before their departure, six Houston Airport Rangers took a ride with the pair to celebrate their participation in the horse race. The Mongol Derby is touted as the world’s longest horse race. Its 1,000-kilometer route will transverse mountain passes, green open valleys, wooded hills, river crossings, wetland and floodplains, sandy semi-arid dunes, rolling hills, dry riverbeds and of course open steppe. Typically, it takes the winning rider 6 to 8 days to complete the course, riding Mongolian horses that are swapped out every 35 to 40 kilometers, depending on the course. The horses themselves are semi-wild, and may not cooperate with the rider, adding one more level of difficulty to the race.

Dr. Dori Hertel: A 1995 graduate of Texas A&M’s College of Veterinary Medicine, Dr. Hertel runs both a small animal practice a large animal facility where she raises Quarter Horses and cares for the Houston Police Department’s equine members and the Houston Airport Rangers’ horses. A member of the Houston Airport Rangers, her love of all things equine has led her to riding everything from polo horses to endurance horses and, of course, ranch horses. Her love of all things adrenaline-releasing started in grade school with gymnastics, bungee jumping in college, developed into racing cars in her 20s and has since led to scuba diving, and even paragliding with Egyptian vultures in Nepal. 

Devan Horn: A 25-year-old adventurer, Ms. Horn competed in her first 50-mile endurance ride at the age of 12 and her first 100-mile endurance race at 14. Since then, she’s amassed more than 4,000 competitive miles on horseback in the USA, as well as ridden in Australia, England, Mongolia, Japan, South Africa, and the UAE. Also a member of the Houston Airport Rangers, she has undertaken 4 rides of more than 500 miles, including 2 Mongol Derby rides, when she placed second in 2013 and did not finish the rigorous ride in 2015.

For more information or to keep up with the pair, visit MongolDerby.com.