I’ll never forget the moment that sparked this. I’d just arrived with my dog at the park, with its daffodils and dogwoods in bloom, and I was feeling discouraged. After two years back at riding lessons, I’d decided it was finally time to book a horseback riding vacation. I’d been browsing equestrian travel sites all morning, but the dismal exchange rate of USD to euros and the British pound placed most of rides that interested to me out of my price range. I wasn’t ready to give up, though.
Rolling my eyes at myself for pulling my phone out on a walk, I decided to check out destinations I’d overlooked. Listed there between Ireland and Spain was… Mongolia. Mongolia? I shrugged and clicked on it, curious but doubtful.
Then I saw the words “Golden Eagle Festival.”
A sudden, unbidden rush of air filled my lungs. The park receded into a murky distance and all that existed was the screen in my hand. I recalled seeing a 60 Minutes segment about the festival, set in a wild valley where trained eagles hunted and locals played traditional games on horseback. My heart pounding, I read that participants get to ride into the festival with the competitors. And below that was a photo of a tour client—an average-looking middle-aged white woman like me— astride a horse with an EAGLE ON HER ARM. Tears welled and I was instantly transported. I could almost feel the wind against my face as I squinted below a fur hat, feel the surprising heft of the fierce bird and the powerful grip of its lizardy talons through the long leather glove.
That’s how major life changes often begin for me: with a gasp and flood of tears, my body’s reaction to life hurling a javelin of unarticulated truth right into my heart. A cataclysmic feeling like space-time has ripped, sending me into collision with an alternate world where I’ve only made decisions fully in alignment with the values that have been mine since before my parents were born. Suddenly a path is unfurled before me like a righteous ribbon of light rolling into the dark unknown.
So now I’m heading to Mongolia. Maybe. The idea both thrills and scares me. It’s an opportunity to be a version of myself I don’t think I’ve dared to dream since I was a kid. Brave, tough, a world traveler living her passion for riding horses. Am I cut out for a week off the grid, pooping in a hole and sleeping on the ground with strangers after riding six hours a day through all kinds of weather? Not really. I like to be comfortable, to feel safe and sheltered. You won’t catch me rough camping in Vermont. But to ride horseback across Mongolia into the Golden Eagle Festival? I think I could do it. I feel I have to.
Preparation for such an adventure will require significant time, effort, and dedication. I’ll need to reach a higher level of physical fitness to endure those conditions and at 55, that won’t be quick or easy. I’ll have to save up money and hoard vacation days. There will be sacrifices, self-doubt. And there’ll be a hard choice to make about whether to spend two weeks traveling halfway around the world from my beloved dog, who’s already 12 years old. Luckily the Golden Eagle Festival happens in September and this year’s trip is sold out, so I have some time.
This experience of a lifetime would involve the farthest and most challenging journey I’ve ever made. And I’m inviting you along, starting today. We often see celebrations of personal victories on social media— the triumphant smile at the top of the mountain— but not the difficult path riddled with obstacles, both external and internal, that had to be navigated day after day to get there.
Why share this messy process, with its uncertain outcome? Because maybe one day life will hurl a truth javelin into you, if it hasn’t already. And knowing there’s another ordinary person out there challenging herself to transcend the limits she’s acquired over the years like fine layers of hardening dust might inspire you to embark on the adventure calling your heart.
I’d love to hear what adventure fills you with a potent mix of thrill, desire, and fear. If you are willing, please share below.
Beautifully expressed! Mongolia was my first riding holiday, too. I thought, if there's one place that MUST be explored from the back of a horse, it's there! Like you, I had visceral visions and fortuitous dreams. Now, 8 years later, I have memories of a whole lifetime lived in my short time on the steppe, and in my dreams I frequently return. I can't wait to witness your journey.