Jindera vet Brad Goonan at the famous Mongol Derby in August this year, where he helped oversee the welfare of the 1500 hardy, native horses used during this famous test of endurance held over 10 days and 1000 kilometres. Photos: Supplied.
It’s the biggest, longest and toughest horse race on the planet – a do-or-die ride to survive.
But while competitors from all over the world push themselves to the absolute limit for 10 days across 1000 kilometres of rugged Mongolian terrain, Jindera vet Brad Goonan was on hand to ensure the horses they rode stood up to this ultimate test of endurance.
Now while Brad, 45, spends much of his time as a country vet working with cattle, he jumped at the chance to be part of the famous Mongol Derby, which ran this year from 5 to 13 August.
The owner of Murray Valley Veterinary Services was part of a team working across the steppe to safeguard the welfare of the 1500 hardy native horses used during the race that retraces the mail system of ancient warrior ruler Chinggis Khan.
During the race, riders swap semi-wild horses roughly every 35 kilometres at remote tent stations run by local herding families, navigating the extreme, unpredictable wilderness entirely by GPS and paper maps.
Brad says it was luck that led him to this extraordinary adventure. He got the call-up three weeks before the race from an old friend (and former boss at Dubbo) Don Crosby, who was leading a team of seven international vets in Mongolia.
“They needed someone who would be able to handle the horses, be OK with living pretty rough out on the steppe, sleeping in a ger (traditional tent) with Mongolian families and eating their food, with no access to luxuries like showers,” he says.
“Oh, and maintaining a sense of humour in potentially adverse conditions …”
This down-to-earth vet, who has previously spent plenty of time mustering and camping out in the Aussie bush, “couldn’t say yes quick enough” – with the blessing of his wife Mary-Lou, and their three young daughters.
Still, Brad admits nothing could prepare him for the cultural contrast that met him in Mongolia – a beautifully preserved traditional way of life that sees nomadic herder families moving livestock across wide, open communal plains.
“They were living in gers and herding animals as their ancestors would have done 1000 years ago,” he says. “I found it fascinating that they are not trying to change their way of life even while the world changes around them – I embraced it!”
Now “embrace” may slightly overstate Brad’s enthusiasm for the traditional drink central to the fabric of the Mongolian nomadic culture.
“Airag is made from fermented mare’s milk and has a slightly bitter taste – it’s not bad,” Brad says. “It’s a social thing; people sit together and pass it around. Every time we met a new family as we moved between stations, we would be offered airag and food. These families were so generous and wanted to share what they had.”
That generosity extends to their highly prized horses, who boast ancient genetics shaped entirely by environmental survival.
Loaned out for the race by more than 500 herders, these unique animals are small, fast, and sturdy – and at times quite wild, according to Brad, who says the local children and herders took great delight in showing seasoned international riders how to stay on their steeds!
“They can be quiet, or very spicy,” he laughs. “The way the race runs, horses are allocated to riders via numbers drawn from a hat and only ridden once.
“These things are the size of kids’ ponies – the average height is 12hh to 13hh – and they are tough. They can withstand being galloped across hard ground and navigate the deep hidden holes dug by marmots, which pose a major tripping risk during the race. A normal horse would end up with a broken leg if they stumbled into one of those holes – a Mongol horse just gets up and keeps going!”
Brad and the other vets were responsible for a strict inspection of mounts arriving at the end of each leg. “The horse’s heart rate had to drop below 56 beats per minute within 30 minutes of arrival,” he says. “If the horse failed that check, the rider faced time penalties and could not move on to drawing their next horse.”
Brad has nothing but admiration for his equine charges, and laughingly recalls the antics he witnessed as unwitting riders attempted to handle, saddle and mount their allotted horse.
“The Mongols’ ability to ride a wild horse is impressive – I never saw a Mongolian get bucked off but I saw plenty of race riders take a tumble,” he says.
The 43 international riders who started in this year’s derby came from a wide range of equestrian disciplines including endurance, dressage, and show jumping, and ranged in age from their mid-20s to a 68-year-old Aussie horse breaker (who completed the course), according to Brad.
This year’s race was won by Laura van Laar (of the Netherlands) and Brad said it became clear within a few days who would make it through.
“The strong just got stronger – and the best could have just kept going,” he says.
The huge commitment from the herders, their horses, the riders and the incredible team working behind the scenes meant early starts, long days and late nights throughout the gruelling race.
It comes as no surprise that Brad easily kept pace with the exhausting schedule given this is the same man who completed the Sydney marathon just two weeks after his return home to Jindera.
Vet by day, marathon runner by night it seems.
“It’s hard,” Brad concedes. “It involves lots of time on the treadmill late at night when the kids are in bed, but there’s something about setting a goal and getting it done that’s good for you.”
As for a return to Mongolia, well it’s definitely on the cards.
“It’s hard to describe but there was just something about the whole experience that makes me want to be part of it again,” he says.
