Name: Rough Magic
ISBN: 9781948226196

Lara Prior-Palmer

For fans of Helen Macdonald's H Is for Hawk, this is the extraordinary debut memoir of a young woman who traveled to Mongolia to compete in the world's longest, toughest horse race, and emerged as its youngest and first-ever female winner

Riding the World's Loneliest Horse Race

Rough Magic

SHORTLISTED FOR THE WILLIAM HILL PRIZE 2019 'Such an addictive and likeable book...One of this year's best memoirs' The Telegraph 'It's the resistance to the obvious narratives that makes Rough Magic so appealing: the book undermines lazy women-in-the-wilderness tropes at every turn.' Sarah Moss, Guardian 'A heroic tale beautifully told' TLS 'Rough Magic is transporting, beguiling and terrifically entertaining' Daily Mail The Mongol Derby is the world's toughest horse race. A feat of endurance across the vast Mongolian plains once traversed by the people of Genghis Khan, competitors ride 25 horses across a distance of 1000km. Many riders don't make it to the finish line. In 2013 Lara Prior-Palmer - nineteen, underprepared but seeking the great unknown - decided to enter the race. Driven by her own restlessness, stubbornness, and a lifelong love of horses, she raced for seven days through extreme heat and terrifying storms, catching a few hours of sleep where she could at the homes of nomadic families. Battling bouts of illness and dehydration, exhaustion and bruising falls, she found she had nothing to lose, and tore through the field with her motley crew of horses. In one of the Derby's most unexpected results, she became the youngest-ever champion and the first woman to win the race. A tale of adventure, fortitude and poetry, Rough Magic is the extraordinary story of one young woman's encounter with oblivion, and herself.

Riding the World's Wildest Horse Race

Pam Sartain

Rough Magic; Riding the world’s wildest horse race by Lara Prior-Palmer is the true story of Lara's experience of riding in the Mongol Derby, which is the world's toughest horse race.  Every August, riders have to ride wild ponies over a 1,000 km course within 10 days.

This is a fascinating read, and takes you day by day through her adventure!  It is an epic ride, and is very atmospheric. 

I hadn't heard of this race before, but was hanging on to the book, wanting to know what would happen next.  You're told the race outcome early on, but not how it happened, and that's what kept me turning pages!  Literally a wild ride!

 Rough Magic  was published on 6th June 2019 and is available from  Amazon ,  Waterstones  and  Bookshop.org .

I'm afraid I couldn't find a link for you to follow Lara Prior-Palmer.

I was given this book in exchange for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to  Ebury Publishing .

A RICHARD AND JUDY BOOK CLUB PICK WINNER STANFORD TRAVEL WRITING AWARDS 2020 SHORTLISTED FOR THE WILLIAM HILL PRIZE 2019 'Such an addictive and likeable book...One of this year's best memoirs' The Telegraph 'It's the resistance to the obvious narratives that makes Rough Magic so appealing: the book undermines lazy women-in-the-wilderness tropes at every turn.' Sarah Moss, Guardian 'Think Educated meets Wild' Entertainment Weekly 'Rough Magic is transporting, beguiling and terrifically entertaining' Daily Mail The Mongol Derby is the world's toughest horse race. A feat of endurance across the vast Mongolian plains once traversed by the people of Genghis Khan, competitors ride 25 horses across a distance of 1000km. Many riders don't make it to the finish line. In 2013 Lara Prior-Palmer - nineteen, underprepared but seeking the great unknown - decided to enter the race. Driven by her own restlessness, stubbornness, and a lifelong love of horses, she raced for seven days through extreme heat and terrifying storms, catching a few hours of sleep where she could at the homes of nomadic families. Battling bouts of illness and dehydration, exhaustion and bruising falls, she found she had nothing to lose, and tore through the field with her motley crew of horses. In one of the Derby's most unexpected results, she became the youngest-ever champion and the first woman to win the race. A tale of adventure, fortitude and poetry, Rough Magic is the extraordinary story of one young woman's encounter with oblivion, and herself.

Rough Magic Riding the World's Loneliest Horse Race

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