Mainer Headed to Mongolia for Endurance Horse Race

Amanda Charlton Herbert, 26 of Poland, Maine, is going to be involved in what has been called one of the toughest horse races in the world.

Herbert is on her way to Asia as just one of eight Americans who have been selected to compete in the Mongolian Derby.

The Mongolian Derby is not anything like the Kentucky Derby here in the US, it's a 620-mile race across Mongolia, which is a test of a rider's endurance and the ability to read and work different horses along the way. According to a report in usnews.com, Herbert will be riding 28 semi-wild horses across a desolate part of Mongolia during the trek.

The race, which gets under way on Wednesday aims to recreate Genghis Khan’s relay postal system from the 1200s, it was a system which was similar to the The Pony Express in America.