Inspiration Comes from a Clinic Student
My summer has been busy with travel, judging working equitation shows, and teaching clinics. I feel fortunate to meet people of all ages, types, abilities, and backgrounds, and horses are the same all over the world—they fill me with joy. Horses humble us, make us proud, challenge us, cost us dearly, swell our hearts, and bind us to other horse people. Mutual appreciation for these wonderful creatures reminds us how much we have in common with one another. We’re all horse-crazy nuts, and we’re okay with that!
Recently I was in Idaho teaching a clinic and met an older gentleman named Bob Long. Bob rode a young, handsome Quarter horse gelding and had signed up for the clinic because he was curious about working equitation. It didn’t take me long to realize he was a fine horseman and an excellent student. He listened, asked questions, and his young horse responded well to whatever Bob asked of him.
Later, over dinner, I mentioned to a local woman how impressed I was with this pair, and she said, “You know who that is, don’t you? That’s Bob Long—he rode in the Mongol Derby in 2019, when he was 70 years old, and won it. He’s the oldest person to win that race and is a legend in this area.”
Bob isn’t the type to blow his own horn, so I looked him up on the internet and found quite a few articles about his win. The Mongol Derby is a 1000-kilometer endurance race that goes across the Mongolian Steppe and recreates Genghis Khan’s horseback messenger system of the early 1200s. It took Bob seven days and 28 horses to win the race, besting top riders from around the world. He won partly because he’s a superb horseman but also because he took an interest in the people from the region, brought them gifts, and worked with them to get some of the better horses.
Sometimes, it’s easy to diminish myself and think, “I’m too old, too unfit, too limited financially, or too something (insert excuse),” but then someone like Bob Long comes along and shows me how the will leads to the way. I need to pursue my dreams.
Meeting and learning about Bob has inspired me to keep thinking ahead and to be creative about what I want to do with the life I have left. Thank you, Bob Long!
Read more about Bob’s experience winning the Mongol Derby here.
See this article in the August 2025 Online Digital Edition:
August 2025
Kim Roe grew up riding on the family ranch and competed in Western rail classes, trail horse, reining, working cow, and hunter/jumper. She trained her first horse for money at 12 years old, starting a pony for a neighbor.
Kim has been a professional dressage instructor in Washington state for over 30 years, training hundreds of horses and students through the levels. In recent years Kim has become involved in Working Equitation and is a small ‘r’ Working Equitation judge with WE United.
Kim is the editor of the Northwest Horse Source Magazine, and also a writer, photographer, and poet. She owns and manages Blue Gate Farm in Deming, Washington where she continues to be passionate about helping horses and riders in many disciplines.
