Our Library hosted Jessie Dowling who shared an afternoon of stories and photos of the Mongol Derby on January 13, 2024.

The Mongol Derby is dubbed, “the longest and toughest horse race in the world”. It is an endurance race which follows the messenger system created by Ghengis Khan. Riders cover 1000 km of the Mongolian steppe riding 30 different semi-wild horses, changing horses every 40 km. Jessie and others navigated the routes and survived on their wits and skills, while living amongst the local Mongolian herders. Jessie trained for a year, raised funds, traveled to Mongolia, and finished 13th in the Derby, held in August 2023.

Jessie Dowling is a cheesemaker and sheep and goat farmer from Whitefield, Maine. She owns and operates Fuzzy Udder Creamery LLC. Her passion for growing a local business, centers on putting the welfare of animals and people first. Another passion of hers is working with horses, which has come to the forefront as her business has become sustainable, not requiring her constant attention. Her passion for horsemanship led Jessie to compete in the Mongol Derby.

The recording of Jessie’s talk can be found HERE.     The Passcode is  +?arC4kK   

Thank you for your patience with our tech issues and our less than elegant recording.