Maine Woman Finishes World's Longest Horse Race

LEWISTON, Maine - A Maine woman has finished the longest horse race in the world.
 
The Sun Journal reports that 26-year-old Amanda Herbert, of Poland, crossed the finish line of the Mongol Derby in Mongolia eight days after it began on Aug. 9.
 
A company filming the race described Herbert as having "kindness and grace under pressure.''
 
Competitors in the derby have 10 days to ride the 620 miles that emulate Genghis Khan's relay postal system. The riders use Mongolian horses, which are "semi-wild,'' and change horses every 25 miles.
 
Derby officials say this year's weather was the worst they have ever seen. They described the monsoons that delayed race starts as "biblical.''
 
Two other Americans finished the race; Leslie Wylie, of Tennessee, and Taylor Dolak, of Colorado.