As a lifelong horsewoman, Christina Keim has ridden long distances on horseback before. She’s ridden a mule down the Grand Canyon’s Bright Angel Trail, horse packed to visit mustangs in the Eastern Sierras of California and twice completed the three-day 100-mile distance ride at the Green Mountain Horse Association.

But nothing compares to her current equine challenge, the Gobi Gallop, the world’s longest charity horseback ride across Mongolia. Alternating between two Mongolian horses, she covered 500 miles in 10 days in support of the Veloo Foundation, which supports disadvantaged children in the country’s capital.

Keim, 46, left for Mongolia on 30 May and began the ride 2 June. This year’s route crosses rivers, go over mountains and along the Mongolian steppe as the horses and riders leave from the wilds of Sukhbaatar Province and finish up outside Ulaanbaatar, the capital of the country which is bordered by China and Russia.

“It’s the adventure,” Keim said of what attracted her to the ride. “It’s not something anyone I know has ever done or experienced. For me, that just sounds like a thrill.”

She is also eager to support the Veloo Foundation’s Children of the Peak Project and hopes to raise USD 10,000 for the nonprofit.