FOR HORSE PEOPLE • ABOUT HORSE PEOPLE
SIDELINES NOVEMBER 2013 65
e and Beauty in Mongolia
By Meg Krueger
For just one second, close your eyes and imagine all of the
wonderful comforts of your daily life: a flush toilet, shower,
fridge, central air and heating, your own room, easy access
to medical care and abundant grocery stores that cater to
your every dietary whim. Now, imagine stripping all of these
comforts away, right down to the bare earth and the biting
winds - and then start all over again using only the tools you
find in nature.
Imagine that you don’t own land, but that you own animals
and every day consists of watching and following your herd,
packing up and moving your Ger house four to thirty times
a year to settle closer to them as they move across the vast
countryside in search of forage. You’ll want at least 10 percent
of your animals to be goats, for they will lead the sheep, horses,
yaks and cows to the richest grasses. In the winter, you’ll burn
chopped wood and dried yak manure in the small stove in
your Ger, eating milk curds, dried meat and hot milk tea while
you pray that your animals survive the frigid temperatures,
scraping through the snow to the dead grasses below. In the
warm months, they will breed freely, mixing with other herds
and you will sit, perhaps drinking fermented mare’s milk or
vodka, and watch as they fatten and your riches grow.
I came to Outer Mongolia in June 2013 with a very simple
and specific goal in mind: to find stillness, perspective and
beauty. On first thought, this doesn’t sound like such a difficult
task, especially when you consider that my home is South
Florida; a world of endless beaches, swaying palm trees,
tropical weather and, of course, elite equestrian lifestyle.
My typical day is spent surrounded by the finest hunter,
jumper and dressage bloodlines, interacting with some of the
world’s most successful and talented business people and
riders and customizing corporate sponsorship opportunities
for the largest and longest running horse show in the world
- the Winter Equestrian Festival. My job as VP of Sales &
Sponsorship for Equestrian Sport Productions is intense,
exciting and it makes me proud to be part of a top notch and
passionate team who not only want to make our equestrian
events the best in the world, but who truly love horses and
learn and hope to contribute to the betterment and innovation
of the equestrian sport.
So when I found myself sitting cross-legged on the trodden,
permafrost earth floor of a humble teepee that belonged to
a man named White Bear, head shaman of the East Taiga
