From growing up on a farm in northern Maine to starting a design studio in Massachusetts, Kelsy Stromski has sought to live life to the fullest. Now, she is training to enter the Mongol Derby — the world’s longest horse race.
The race spans more than 600 miles, which — as Stromski put it — is about the same distance from New York City to her hometown of Fort Kent.
After being accepted as one of only a dozen horseback riders in the world to participate in the derby in 2026, Stromski’s next step is heading to Mongolia for training.
Stromski grew up on Bouchard Family Farms, which is run by her father’s side of the family. Her childhood was spent outdoors in potato fields, playing games of kick the can, catching frogs and diving for clams in Eagle Lake.
“I would work the harvest for my dad, pick rocks out of the field, pluck beetles off the plants or dig up some potatoes for dinner,” she said. “I didn’t shy away from dirt.”
It was through her rural Maine upbringing that Stromski began challenging herself and saw how rewarding it could be to achieve a seemingly impossible goal.
“My Grampy Weeks would take me hiking up Mt. Katahdin for a handful of years, and it was a great introduction to pushing oneself to accomplishing a challenge and be rewarded with a great view — with only a peanut butter and fluff sandwich and bag of trail mix in tow,” she said.
She began participating in the local biathlon and eventually qualified for the U.S. Junior Nation team, which inspired Stromski’s love of travel. At 16, her parents were driving her to the airport with her biathlon rifle, and she was flying solo to meet up with teams in Norway and France.
The upcoming derby will also incorporate what Stromski calls an obsession with horses that began in childhood.
“I began drawing at a very early age — my mom is an artist — and my subject matter for years was 99 percent horses,” she said, adding that her love of horses may have come from the popular show and toy line “My Little Pony.”
After saving $700, and after a decade of asking her parents for a pony, they finally let her buy one, a palomino.
“To me he was just a big dog,” Stromski said.
Stromski moved onto the UVM ski team and later decided to study art and design in Rome. She then moved to Boston, where she obtained a degree in communication design from the Massachusetts College of Art & Design. After years of working for other agencies, she eventually founded her own design studio in Massachusetts.
A guiding principle in Stromski’s life is the Japanese concept of Misogi, which she said essentially means doing one thing each year that is so challenging that it redefines one’s sense of what is possible in life.
“It’s meant to be a kind of personal rite of passage —- something that defines your year,” she said.
For Stromski, this has in the past meant traveling to a new part of the world and looking at life through a different lens, but she was recently inspired to go for something physically challenging. The Mongol Derby seemed to be the perfect choice; it is an intense physical feat that also combines Stromski’s love of horses.
She first applied to join the pre-derby training academy in December of 2023. She interviewed in May of 2024. About a month later, she received an acceptance letter that, with a tongue-in-cheek tone, both congratulated Stromski and warned her of the potential dangers.
“In case you’ve already forgotten the glorious stupidity you’ve just signed up to, here’s a recap: The Mongol Derby Academy 2025 is dangerous,” the letter read. “Please read our Entry Agreement carefully. Tally Ho.”
The race involves riding over 50 miles a day on a semi-wild horse, an incredibly strenuous feat. At this point, Stromski said she can now ride between 25 and 30 miles a day on horseback. The race spans the Mongolian steppe and retraces Genghis Khan’s ancient postal route.
The training academy in Mongolia will help Stromski and other riders prepare for the grueling conditions, to change horses out every 40 kilometers and stay the night with herder families in traditional Mongolian gers — which Stromski said are like a yurt — and to practice holding a GPS while sitting atop a fast-moving horse.
From Sept. 11 to 14, Stromski will host an endurance riding retreat in Fort Kent with endurance rider Jessie Dowling. Anyone interested in participating can learn more at ironledgefarm.com.
Even though Stromski has been accepted into the race, she still needs to raise $20,000 by next May to participate, including $18,000 to cover her entry and go toward caring for the horses, crew, vets, medics, translators and the Mongolian families involved in making the derby happen. The remaining $2,000 will cover Stromski’s travel expenses. She recently set up an online fundraiser.
The Mongol Derby will officially begin in August of 2026. And while many aspects of the race are daunting, Stromski is excited to take on the challenge.
“When I think about the Mongol Derby and what it requires — physical endurance, mental toughness, trust in myself — it terrifies me in the best way,” she said. “But I also know: this is the kind of challenge that wakes you up, that reminds you you’re alive.”
Editor’s note: BDN writer Chris Bouchard has no connection to the family behind Bouchard Family Farms.
