He’s already been a joint winner of the world’s toughest and longest horse race but now central Queenslander Will Comiskey is keen to take the ninth Mongol Derby outright.
Organisers have announced that Will is one of 12 men and 23 women from nine countries who will be riding 1000 kilometres across Mongolia in August, in a race of determination and endurance.
“All I can do is have a good crack,” Will said. “I might have an edge picking horses but there are so many variables. I don’t feel I’ve got it in the bag by any means.”
He shared the 2016 Mongol Derby line honours with Canada’s Heidi Telstad, a lawyer, and New Mexican cowgirl, Marcia Hefker-Miles.
“Riding with Heidi was great but I really want to challenge myself,” he said.
The race recreates Chinggis Khaan’s ancient horse messenger system, and Will is trying to find a way to help the Mongolian people through his 2017 ride.
“I just love Mongolia, but it all went so fast, like a blur,” he said. “I really want to honour their culture.”
He raised money last year for the Royal Flying Doctor Service but understands that another of the Australian competitors has them listed as their official charity this year.
One of the things Will learnt from last year’s event was not to take so much kit.
“I lost it all anyway,” he laughed. “I realise now that you can get things like needle and thread if you just communicate properly.”
There are plenty of skilled Aussie horsemen and women lining up against him this year, and Will has already cast an appraising eye over them, judging them to be a good field.
They include Katherine’s Jodie Ward, 30, who is setting herself a rigorous training schedule, Moura’s Rebecca Hewitt, 36, who enjoys a challenge, and Lucy Taylor, a 21-year-old from Coonable, NSW, who works as an international polo groom.
Others with strong horse credentials include 29-year-old Ed Fernon from Sydney, who competed for Australia at the 2012 London Olympic Games in Modern Pentathlon, and who has previously ridden 1000km when he rode from Braidwood, NSW to Melbourne over the Snowy Mountains, following the legend of the first Melbourne Cup winner, Archer.
James Lester, aged 21, from Perth, started riding horses from the age of six and is now a professional polo player, while Emma Manthorpe, 30, Port Lincoln, South Australia, grew up on a farm where her dad bred and worked racehorses.
She now works with horses as a veterinary nurse.
Of the international competitors, which include a dairy farmer, a potato farmer, an ostrich rider, a dog sledder, a psychologist, an artist, a banker, a private investigator, even a desperate housewife, is New Zealand’s Marie Palzer, 22, who trains green horses, works at a horse trekking company and competes in trail rides.
“The Derby has a way of bringing you down,” Will said. “I’ll be staying humble.”
Competitors ride up to 160kms a day, navigating independently and changing horses at 40 kilometre intervals.
Pre-race training takes place in Mongolia from August 6-8, and the starting gun fires on August 9.
Sally Gall
Based at Blackall, CW Qld, where I've raised a family, run Merino sheep and beef cattle, and helped develop a region - its history, tourism, education and communications. Get in touch at 0427 575 955 if you've got a story idea for me.
Based at Blackall, CW Qld, where I've raised a family, run Merino sheep and beef cattle, and helped develop a region - its history, tourism, education and communications. Get in touch at 0427 575 955 if you've got a story idea for me.
