Another Wyoming woman is leading the herd in the world-famous Mongol Derby.
Lindsay Woods of Jackson is one of the 43 riders participating in the Mongol Derby 2026, a 620-mile horse race in Inner Mongolia. As of Monday, she’s made her move and is poised to win it all.
Woods promoted herself as "a washed-up Pony Clubber now cowgirlmaxxing in Wyoming" on the Mongol Derby website. She put a positive spin on her prospects, saying that if she does get "lawndarted" by a semi-feral Mongolian horse, "she might at least get a nose job out of it."
“I came to compete with the variables within my control and hopefully have a couple giggles with the things that aren’t,” Woods said in a video filmed before she started the arduous race. “I’m really looking forward to coming off the start line, seeing a little carnage. I’m excited to see what the steppe’s got in store.”
Dozens of friends are supporting her from afar. Nobody’s heard from Woods since the race started Aug. 4, but the updates they’re getting are extremely promising.
“She’s one of the toughest, most positive women that I know, and she is a top-notch equestrian,” said Amberley Baker with the Jackson Pony Club. “She is in it to win it.”
The Race So Far
According to the Mongol Derby’s official website, Woods was trying to maintain a healthy lead on Day Six
She and Rangna Roux from South Africa, pushed beyond Horse Station 15 to “some extra kilometers between themselves and their closest rivals.”
As of 3 p.m. Monday, the live race tracking puts Woods at Horse Station 19, with Roux and Laura Van Laar of the Netherlands. Only six stations remain between Woods and a potential first-place finish.
Woods’s friends and family are extremely excited about her progress.
“Nobody wants to jinx it,” Baker said. “It’s like the Super Bowl of horse races. She’s been in the lead for a few days now, but we don’t know if she’s teamed up with the other riders. Everyone at the barn has seen how much she's put into this, both physically and mentally.”
Baker and her daughter have been taking riding lessons with Woods for years. Many other young women in the Jackson Pony Club are eagerly following her progress, confident she has what it takes to succeed, she said.
“I would say she's inspiring the next generation of endurance riders,” Baker said.
Dangerous Derby
The Mongol Derby follows the "postal route" established by Genghis Khan across the Mongolian Steppe in 1224. Horse messengers used the route so the leader of the Mongol Empire could communicate with the far-flung corners of his conquests.
Today, the Mongol Derby holds the record for the longest multi-horse race in the world. Participants ride "semi-wild" Mongolian horses between 25 stations along the 620-mile route.
Riders change horses every 25 miles, which amounts to 25 horses for the entire race. They can only ride for 11 hours a day, or they incur penalties that affect their time and place in the highly competitive 10-day endurance race.
Deidre Griffith was the first Wyoming woman to winthe Mongol Derby. She split the victory with fellow rider and now lifelong friend Willemien Jooste of South Africa in July 2022.
"The ride itself is really about physical fitness, not necessarily horse ability," Griffith said. "You need to be a good rider, but it's really about physical and mental endurance. You have to be prepared for 10 days of long hours in the saddle. If you're mentally prepared for that, you can do anything."
Physical and mental fortitude is critical, but it can only do so much.
The Mongol Derby is notoriously treacherous. Riders have gotten lost and injured, sometimes to the point that they can't continue.
One rider has already dropped out of the 2026 race due to an injury.
Griffith said she met with Woods a few times before she departed for Mongolia and shared what wisdom she could, mostly about equipment, the horses, and strategy.
“I tried to give her all the knowledge I could, but her race will be different than mine,” she said. “It will be her own race with her own challenges.”
Having followed her entire journey to this point, Griffith said Woods is “doing wonderfully, so far.”
“With some good luck and good horses, I think she should continue to do really well,” she said.
Strength And Strategy
Woods did everything she could to prepare for the Mongol Derby when she got one of the highly coveted spots in the 2026 race, Baker said. She said she rode through the Wyoming wilderness at every opportunity.
“She was out on her mustang pretty much daily, putting in the miles in the mountains to get ready for this race,” Baker said. “I encouraged her to rest, recover, hydrate, and sleep before she left, because she was training very hard.”
Griffith said one key element to a successful race is strategy. With the limitations imposed on riders, they have to outthink as well as out-ride the other participants.
“I would say the most difficult part was trying to balance wanting to be competitive and ride as quickly as you could, while trying to balance the health and welfare of the horses," she said. “The ‘semi-feral’ horses have been ridden plenty, but they’re grumpy and might bolt or gallop off, so picking the right horse is important.”
If anyone rides past 7 p.m., they incur a 2-minute penalty for every minute beyond it. After careful planning and “an agonizing walk,” Griffith and Jooste crossed the finishing line at 6:52 p.m. on July 31, 2022, with eight minutes to spare.
"It’s stressful, adventurous and lots of fun,” Griffith said.
In It To Win It
Because of the intensity and remoteness of the Mongolian Steppe, nobody’s heard from Woods. Baker, Griffith, and others are clinging to every update on the Mongol Derby’s website and live map, along with any Instagram posts.
“I expect her to finish in a few days,” Baker said. “She could be done in two days.”
Having a partner is a good strategy for a successful race, but that’s another thing nobody knows about Woods’ progress. She might have teamed up with Roux and Van Laar, or she could be riding solo.
According to Griffith, having a partner can be “pretty fluid”, depending on the person and the horses.
“I think it is easier to ride together if you can, but it’s also hard to stay together,” she said. “Your horse might pulse down at the same rate, or you might be ready to leave, or somebody might get a penalty.”
The landscape itself is a constant challenge. That’s why Griffith said one of the most important factors is also one that nobody can control or prepare for.
“You need a fair bit of good luck,” she said. “What if you get a penalty? What if your horse goes lame? What if you get bucked off and lose a horse? There are just so many variables in the steppe that you can only do so much.”
Still, that might be where Woods has an inherent advantage. The Mongolian Steppe is rugged, dangerous, and treacherous, but not dissimilar from where Woods lives and has been training.
“Mongolia itself is a lot like southern Wyoming with its rolling hills and breaks, but it's covered with grass instead of sagebrush," Griffith said. "The terrain is super similar. The temperature is very, very similar. The nights are chilly, but the days can be hot, and the weather blows through quickly. For Wyoming riders, there’s comfort in that terrain.”
Finishing the Mongol Derby is enough of an accomplishment, but everyone following Woods knows how tenacious she can be.
Regardless of the success of her strategies and alliances, Baker is excited for Woods, as are Griffith and all the people cheering her on from afar. She’ll be hailed as a hero when she returns to Wyoming, no matter what, they say.
“No matter how it turns out, she'll make Wyoming proud, but she’s in it to win it,” Baker said.
Andrew Rossi can be reached at arossi@cowboystatedaily.com.
