Riding in Mongolia — Marty DeWindt

Today was a lifetime adventure. I'll get to that in a minute.

I had lunch today at Cafe de France: spaghetti in garlic (sort of a pesto) and a chocolate crepe. Don't get excited: this is Mongolia it is not quite gourmet French food and it beats mutton by a long shot, but is probably not what you are thinking. The best place to eat here in Ulaanbaatar is Millie's: chicken tacos that are the best I have had anywhere. Yes, even better than Surf Taco!

Yesterday we went out to the world's oldest national park. Manchir Park was established in 1672 as a preserve. It became the center for a monastery that was quite large and has a copper cooking pot that held 2 full grown oxen and 2 sheep and fed 1,000 monks. It is a ruins at this point with only the remains of two buildings left. We met a 79 year old man who had been a novice there in 1934 when the communists came in and killed the lamas and destroyed the site. He talked with us for an hour and our guide, Ando, translated while John W. asked questions. It was really a great time and he was delighted to share. This is the second time we have talked with someone that has actually lived through events that are history to us.

It is a beautiful mountainous park and we all hiked in small groups or alone. Saw marmots (like prairie dogs) and kites (like large hawks) and a blue sky that just can't even be described.

Now for today: three of us went horseback riding out on the plains of Mongolia for 4 hours. Ariana Herlinger, Julian Bradley, and I went off on our own while the rest of the group did a shorter ride. The three of us are more experienced and it was a great morning. The horses here are really ponies. The ones we had were from 13-14 hands tall and 14 hands is big for their ponies. To give you and idea of their endurance, we were still cantering off and on at the end of 4 hours!

We did not ride in traditional Mongolian saddles. You really need to stand in those unless the horse is walking. Those saddles are small and wooden and have high fronts and backs. Ariana and I have both ridden those saddles for short times when we were at various ger camps. The saddles we used were Russian and looked in the front like and English saddle and the back was not quite as high as a western saddle. They were not as large as our saddles, but definitely bigger than the Mongolian saddles we rode on in the Gobi.

"Choo" is the word you use to get the horses going and they do really go. They are neck-reined and amazingly strong and competitive. Therefore, if one of them starts to go, you better have control of your horse! We all found it easier to let the hors have its head and pick up speed going up hill because the horse natrurally tended to slow down after a bit - just like me!

The area we rode is like I imagine Montana. You could see forever. We were in a valley that was dotted with gers, sheep, goats, horses, and cattle. It was ringed with low mountains or hills and was desert in appearance. No trees or bushes. The wild flowers were amazing. Siberian iris growing wild and Eidleweiss and tons of others. We saw a pair of hooded cranes wheeling and "crawking" not too high above us. It was warm and sunny and a perfect ride.

Julian said this must have been what it was like when they first rode across the west. We walked, trotted (at several different paces), cantered, and galloped when ever we felt like it. It is difficult to keep them at a canter as a gallop is what they really like.

At one point we rode to a hill top and walked around an ovoo (see Spiritual Landmarks, journal by Liz Fliege) three times and added to the rock pile. This was a holy place and what came to mind for me was "Father, Thy kingdom has come upon earth, Thou rulest in all Thy creation..."

We were three very happy campers at the end of our time. It cost us a total of $9 each. It was without a doubt the best riding experience I have ever had and one of the best times of the trip. I really got a feeling for Mongolia: its vastness, its stark beauty, its potential. It is so wonderful here - the people are genuinely warm and caring - that I want to say, "Wake up, Mongolians! You have one of the last remaing pure treasures on earth. Don't let it get spoiled!"