American Distance Rider Gets Left Behind, 'Abandoned' After Getting Sick During Brutal 620-Mile Race in Mongolia
Imagine spending $30,000 to travel to another country for a horse race only to get sick, receive little medical attention, then find yourself alone trying to get back home.
That’s the ordeal Dede Anders claimed she went through in her pursuit of competing in the 620-mile Mongol Derby in Mongolia. The Mongol Derby boasts on its website, “This is the longest and toughest horse race on earth.”
The Wyoming-based Anders told Cowboy State Daily, she was not supposed to be competing until 2025 but filled a spot when another competitor withdrew. After arriving in Mongolia’s capital of Ulaanbaatar on Aug. 1, she took an 8-hour trip to the starting point of the derby.
Anders became ill on Monday, and with the race starting on Wednesday, she couldn’t compete. Despite $30,000 spent to be a part of the event, she claimed the medical staff weren’t helpful.
“I was throwing up and stuff like that. Two medics looked at me. They told me I needed nothing but did nothing for me. They told me to ride it out,” she said.
“One of the medics didn’t even touch me or ask me any questions.
“The other one took my pulse for a couple of seconds. They didn’t take my vitals, didn’t ask if I was diabetic or what medications I was taking. All they told me was it would pass in 24 hours.”
Trying to get back to Ulaanbaatar, the sickness was only the beginning of her troubles, she claimed.
“They put me in a vehicle for eight hours sick with a GI bug, with a driver who barely spoke English,” she recounted, saying she had to worry about the logistical side of things herself, “I had to use Expedia from base camp to book a hotel, had the driver stop in the city and get my passport, so I could finally check into the hotel.”
Anders told Cowboy State Daily, she is feeling unwell as of Wednesday and won’t be flying until Aug. 11 — a flight which will only get her to Seattle.
Anders is a former medic for the Army and has a doctorate in medical science and emergency medicine.
Given her expertise, she was appalled at the lack of care: “You couldn’t swing a cat and hit a medic over there. I don’t know what the holdup was, but I was definitely blown off for whatever reason.”
Dede Anders knew she was too sick to ride 620 miles across Mongolia, then was abandoned halfway around the world Wednesday. The Wyoming woman was there to compete in the Mongol Derby, but race organizers left her in a hotel room without medical care.https://t.co/lEDSdqkm2B
— Cowboy State Daily (@daily_cowboy) August 7, 2024
Her will is still a testament to the human spirit in jumping on the opportunity a year before she planned to.
Moreover, how many of us could find ourselves terribly sick in another country where English is not the native language and make our way back to the U.S. alone?
Anders told Cody Enterprise in July that competing was a lifelong dream.
That month, she visited her father who suffers from dementia to tell him the news. Anders felt he knew how impressive the pursuit of that dream when he said to a passerby, “She’ll do things that most men wouldn’t do.”
This was definitely not the way she meant for that dream to unfold.
Upon publication of this article, The Western Journal received the following statement from John Grigg, CEO at The Equestrianists, the organization that puts on the Mongol Derby: “We are really sorry that Diana Anders felt the need to withdraw from the race yesterday. Our team works really hard to help as many riders as possible reach the finish line. We wish Diana the speediest of recoveries as a gastrointestinal bug is certainly unpleasant. Our primary responsibility is to provide emergency medical support to all our competitors. We strive to go above and beyond for the contestants’ health and well-being.
“We stand by our team’s actions and by our medic’s assessment of her condition as we supported Diana in her decision to withdraw from the race. Our expert medics examined Diana immediately after she alerted us to any symptoms. She was reporting with mild diarrhea and vomiting but showed no signs of dehydration. Our policy based on medical advice is to observe symptoms of D&V with no dehydration for 12 to 24 hrs before administering fluids because invasive procedures such as IV cannulation increases the risk of infection in wilderness environments. Our medics advised Diana to rest, stay hydrated, consider electrolytes and remain under their medical care, so they could continue to monitor her and treat symptoms if they got worse. When reassessed later, her condition showed no concerning symptoms that required further intervention, and the same advice was given.
“Diana chose to discharge herself from our medics’ care and did not seek further assessment. She decided to retire from the race and requested a lift back to the capital city, which we arranged, taking her to her hotel of choice.
“In case of a serious injury that requires immediate medical evacuation, we keep hold of all contestant passports in a secure safe. A member of staff then took Diana’s passport to her en route to her hotel for her convenience.
“We arranged for our medics to visit Diana for a third time in her hotel room. Her observations were normal, and she reported an improvement in her condition. Our team then escorted her to the international medical clinic in the capital for further monitoring and onward care, where she was discharged shortly afterwards.
“Once again we wish her a speedy recovery, and we will continue to provide support for Diana if she prefers to return home but would also welcome her back into the field to ride on if she’s feeling better soon.”
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