I am sad to announce that Tatiana Mountbatten's horse from Urtuu 23 died extremely suddenly 8kms short of Urtuu 24 this morning. Riding with Venetia Phillips, as she had been throughout the Mongol Derby, Tatiana was momentarily aware that the horse did not feel right. Almost immediately the horse lay down and died. The pair had been making good progress from urtuu 23, where they selected two fine racing horses. There was no indication that the horse was in anything other than the peak of health and fitness. Their average speed was 17kph. Tatiana called for help at 11.07am. When our team arrived on the scene at 11.18am the horse was long dead, and she was transported to Urtuu 24. The horse's owner, Jamiyanmyadag, has been informed, and compensated, though there is nothing we can do to console him over the loss of a treasured horse. He has very graciously allowed us to perform a post mortem examination on the horse to determine the cause of the death. Dr Jeremy Hubert performed this at 1630 this afternoon and found a massive diaphragmatic rupture. The horse would have died almost instantly. Dr Hubert suggested the horse may have had a congenital defect of the diaphragm, or an old kick injury which could have damaged the tissue. He found it unlikely that the rupture could have been the result of strenuous exercise. The horse could have continued asymptomatically, or had a fatal rupture at any time at exercise. There is no evidence to suggest that anything Tatiana did while the horse was under saddle caused the rupture. Both Tatiana and Venetia confirmed that both horses were travelling well within their capabilities and going well just moments before the horse's death. I hope that it will be of some comfort to Tatiana, to the Jamiyanmyadag, and all the stakeholders of the Mongol Derby to know that the death was unavoidable. There is no evidence that Tatiana did anything to compromise the welfare of the horse. We select horses for quality, fitness and suitabilty. This horse met every criteria we set for suitability. We work with herders who understand the physical demands of the race on their horses and the need to prepare them thoroughly for the weight and distance. Jamiyanmyadag had prepared his horses fastidiously as evidenced by the excellent performances of his horses from Urtuu 23 to 24. We select capable and responsible riders. Tatiana is a fine example. We have a stringent veterinary back up system on the race. Her horse was checked prior to departure of Urtuu 23, and would have been again on arrival at Urtuu 24. Riders whose horses who do not recover fully (by internationally recognised standards) within 30 minutes are penalised for over-riding. Tatiana's veterinary record was good, with a single heart rate penalty at urtuu 6. There was no doubt over her ability to get the best out of her horses without pushing them too hard, as evidenced by the excellent recovery of almost all of her other horses. As per the rules of the event (though this is an unprecedented event on the Mongol Derby), Tatiana served a veterinary penalty at Urtuu 24. She has since ridden on with Venetia and still hopes to complete the Mongol Derby
