Horseback Rider To Embark On 620-Mile Trek
/By Janee Law
jlaw@longislandergroup.com
Amanda Herbert rides horse Hobo through the Absaroka Range of Wyoming. (Photo provided by Amanda Herbert).
Amanda Herbert has been riding horses since she was a little girl, gradually advancing her skills and learning from these majestic animals.
Now 25 years old, the former Huntington resident is set to be one of three who will represent the United States in the August 2017 Mongol Derby in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.
“This is the opportunity of a lifetime for me,” said Herbert, who attended St. Anthony’s High School until after her junior year in 2008, when she moved to Connecticut. “This was such an incredible opportunity at such a small playing field that I really wasn’t expecting to hear back but I got a call.”
After a two-week process of sending her resume, submitting an application and interviews, Herbert received the news that she was chosen on Oct. 26.
Herbert said her reaction was utter shock and “the feeling of this enormous door being opened in front of me.”
In order to compete in the 620-mile trek, Herbert has to raise a mandatory $1,000, which will be donated to Cool Earth. Herbert said she is hoping to exceed that number with a goal of $14,000 to donate funds to the Mustang Heritage Foundation. Donations can be made at Bit.ly/2gLDjfF.
Herbert said she will arrive in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, on Aug. 6, 2017 for three days of pre-race training, which includes medical briefings, veterinary briefings and a briefing on the horse she’ll be racing with, and whether conditions. Racers will then caravan out to the Steppe to begin the race on Aug. 9.
Riding for 14 hours a day for 10 days, Herbert said participants will be galloping throughout the race and that derby runners are extremely stringent on the care of the horses.
“They are semi-wild Mongolian horses, but they’re incredibly fit and rigid just by their nature,” Herbert said. “Upon every check point, each horse has to have an entire veterinary work up and if they feel that you mistreated the horse then they would have no problem pulling you out of the race.”
As part of her training process, Herbert goes to the gym every day for an hour and a half, and trains with Federation Equestre International dressage trainer to improve technical riding abilities.
“It feels like everything in my life has coalesced to this point,” Herbert said. “I’ve just been preparing for this for past 25 years and here we go.”
Since she started riding at 4 years old, Herbert said, her development began at what was then Willow Tree Farms at Caumsett State Historic Park in Lloyd Harbor. It’s now called Lloyd Harbor Equestrian Center.
Now, Herbert lives outside of Park City, Utah, where she teaches art classes at Park City’s Art Center and works for her dressage trainer at H&H Ranch.
Herbert has also previously worked at a guest ranch in the Absaroka Range in Wyoming and at a Black Angus Cattle Ranch this past summer in Kremmling, Colorado.
“I got into working with horses, where they’re not really a leisurely thing for me anymore, they are my profession,” Herbert said. “Anything I get to do with them is great, whether it’s show jumping, dressage or working Black Angus cows, it’s all great.”
Given that she has been provided with an amazing opportunity to compete in the Derby, Herbert said she wants to make the most of it to make a difference.
“This is a once in a lifetime chance so I want to do something really good with it,” she said. “This isn’t just a fun adventure for me, this is my opportunity to give back and to live according to my ideals and just help things.
