Wednesday, February 27, 2019

Book Review: The Rough Magic Of The Mongol Derby

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ThoroughbredDailyNews.com - Full Review


Friday, February 22, 2019

By Kelsey Riley

“Why do humans put so much thought into some decisions, yet plunge into others like cavalier penguins?”

This was 19-year-old Lara Prior-Palmer’s revelation after a day spent poking around Google for inspiration in June of 2013 led her to the application page for the Mongol Derby. It was seven weeks out from the world’s longest and toughest horse race, most of the other 40-odd riders had been training for a year, and she didn’t have nearly enough money to cover the entry fee. Yet, there is something intensely captivating about that far off, wild landscape and its horses and people, and so, wildly unprepared, Lara hit the big red ‘apply’ button.

I can attest to that feeling of wonderment and that urge to recklessly dive in head-first despite the odds of success-or even survival–looking incredibly unlikely; four years after Lara, it was me clicking that apply button, despite having never in my life camped or used GPS navigation, and having not been on the back of a horse in three years. Hell, I didn’t even know if I still enjoyed or was capable of riding, but something about the very thought of the Mongol Derby is absolutely intoxicating.

Rough Magic, set to be released in May, is Lara Prior-Palmer’s debut book and her memoir of becoming the youngest-ever person and first woman to win the Mongol Derby...

Read more here:
http://www.thoroughbreddailynews.com/book-review-the-rough-magic-of-the-mongol-derby/

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