Tis the season innit??
We had one hell of a season living alongside my Tsaatan reindeer riding friends in Northern Mongolia and my photographer bestie @kathy_gabriel_ was there to capture all the magic!!
To reach the real Tsaatan people requires 3 forms of transport: plane + 4x4 + horse (if ya didn’t do all these methods ya went to the tourist trap).
They live in the high mountain valleys of Northern Mongolia, their teepees are pretty hidden in the thick forests, only giving themselves away by the soft pine smoke billowing out of their chimneys.
Their land is rooted in shamanism, protected by wolf dogs and overseen on the backs of their reindeer. They use these reindeer as their main form of transport around their boreal forests.
It’s a special placed filled with a unique people and makes for one amazing horseback riding (and reindeer riding) adventure.
I still have a few spots on my trips next year, get at me if ya wanna join.
Peep the Frands: @20somethingnomad@burhan@corryn30@chrissy.rides.western@loriwayne13@sambazjones
#erikcooperadventures in #Mongolia
#horsebackMongolia #travelMongolia #tsaatan #dukha
Here we goooooo!!!!!! You can follow along here: /live/ and watch our progress in real time!!
Thank you to everyone who has encouraged this adventure and donated to the charities i am racing for. If you would like to donate as I am racing, please visit gofundme.com and search "racing for health and tradition" thank you thank you thank you!!!! See yall in about 2 weeks! ❤
Words have been hard to find these past few days as I am attempting to soak up every minute of my remaining time here in Argentina. However, I feel that I owe all of you, my most wonderful supporters, family, and friends, a vivid description of this epic journey. And so I promise that once I return to the states, yall will be bombarded with stories, photos, and more information than you could ever want about this race! To the point that you may tire of hearing about it :)
But for now, I want to reiterate how grateful I am to each and every one of you. Without you, this race would've remained a distant dream, a fantasy of a horse obsessed girl. Yall made it possible for me to be here, and to do my favorite thing - to travel with a purpose. Yall were in my mind and heart throughout this race,and I cannot wait to share all the details when I get safely home ❤
6am, Monday, Feb 28: and just like that, bags are packed, and we are off to the start line!!!! Beyond excited to finally meet the rest of the crew, MEET THE HORSES, and get to hang out with the other riders a bit more before race day! Follow along on our adventure with the @gauchoderby live tracking map, my little dot will be RLA :) /live/?fbclid=IwAR3W7nIAlbwDUx8AmGImV0BCMcS1Hl_GvcNYF-RqCC71468BYz7qKXiluFg See yall in a couple weeks!!
1 beautiful bluebird day --- 3 training trail rides --- 4 incredible horses. @gauchoderby here i come!! And, if you decide to re-instate the pack horse, im ready! 🐎
Holy sh**, 28 days until I am on that @gauchoderby start line!!!!! 🤯
THINGS I HAVE DONE/AM READY FOR:
✔💨 riding in extreme 40+mph wind
✔⛰ exploring new places
✔❄ riding in snow
✔🎁 unpacked my derby box
✔🐎 riding tons of new horses
✔🐴 fast grooming skills
✔🌨🌧 riding in sideways snow/rain, while getting in a leg workout (riding without a saddle)
✔💪 getting strong by doing undesirable ranch chores (like hauling countless wheelbarrows of poop through deep snow)
THINGS I AM WOEFULLY UNPREPARED FOR:
❌ navigating across 315 miles of rough terrain....I may end up in chile, this has never been my strong suit
❌packing....still have yet to get all my gear....like STIRRUPS....and weigh everything out!!! 🤦♀️
❌testing the gear and clothing I will be using....jeans and flannels haven't failed me yet tho!
❌ speaking spanish...meant to be practicing for the past month...have only done one exercise in my workbook
❌ did I mention the packing
In summary, this'll be an adventure!!
Weekend adventures with Rango, the former cow dog and current emotional support dog, firewood gatherer, and best adventure buddy! Thanks for leaving him with me @irob250 ❤
60 degree weather calls for short sleeves, a bareback pad, and a long ride in the mountains with my favorite girl... this is the price Liberty pays for being my favorite 😊 perfect way to spend time with her before heading off to montana!
Weekend ride with my momma, nothing better 🐎 this was Timber's first trail ride in who knows how long and he seemed to love it! Cows, bighorn sheep, snow...he handled it all!
Got to take my beloved Liberty Belle on her first ride in her new home and she was such a champ about it!! With the exception of the trailer, she didn't balk at anything and even took the lead from my mom and Concho! Love this horse that lets me #bareback her anywhere and everywhere ❤ great afternoon with my favorite mom and my favorite horse!
My happiest of happy places with my most fun horse and perfectly goofy cowdog ❤🥰 @ariatinternational@ariatwork #happyplace #horse #barebackriding #bareback #cowgirl #mountains #wintertime #wyoming #wyominglife #getoutside
Last bareback ride of the season with Liberty and Rango,and couldn't have dreamt of a more beautiful evening. So glad that Liberty is officially mine and that @irob250 let me steal his dog for a few weeks :)
