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American distance jockey is abandoned in Mongolia after getting too sick to ride in 620-mile race: ‘They told me to ride it out’

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American distance jockey is abandoned in Mongolia after getting too sick to ride in 620-mile race: ‘They told me to ride it out’


A Wyoming-based extreme distance jockey was left to fend for herself in Mongolia after race organizers “couldn’t give a crap” about what happened to her when she fell too sick to compete in the 620-mile trek across the East Asian country.

Dede Anders, 49, was a last-minute entry in the Mongol Derby and arrived in Mongolia on Aug. 1 after race organizers reached out to her last month when another competitor dropped out, she told the Cowboy State Daily.

From the nation’s capital of Ulaanbaatar, Anders took an eight-hour trip to the race starting point and was all set to take the lengthy ride across the Mongolian Steppe.

Wyoming native and lifelong rider Dede Anders was a last-minute entry in the Mongol Derby. Mongol Derby

The race — self-proclaimed as the world’s toughest horse race — recreates the horse messenger system developed by Genghis Khan in 1224, according to The Mongolian Derby’s website.

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However, on Monday, two days before the race was set to start, she became violently ill.

“It’s a lot of gastrointestinal stuff,” Anders told the outlet. “I was throwing up and stuff like that.”

The race — which usually takes 10 days to complete as riders navigate through wicked terrain and spend, on average, around 13 hours a day in the saddle — was now out of the question given her condition.

Even worse, when Anders tried to seek medical help at the base camp, she was shocked by the lack of empathy or care the race’s medical staff showed for one of their registered riders.

“Two medics looked at me. They told me I needed nothing but did nothing for me. They told me to ride it out,” the lifelong horse racer told the outlet.

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An aerial view of part of the Mongolian Steppe in Batsumber in Tuv province on June 30, 2024. AFP via Getty Images

Anders, a US Army medic veteran with a doctorate in medical science and emergency medicine from Lincoln Memorial University in Harrogate, Tenn., was astonished that a race that claimed to have “an international team of highly experienced medics” did so little to help her.

“One of the medics didn’t even touch me or ask me any questions,” she told the outlet.

“The other one took my pulse for a couple of seconds. They didn’t take my vitals, didn’t ask if I was diabetic or what medications I was taking. All they told me was it would pass in 24 hours.”

Anders then met with the Mongol Derby’s race director, Katherine, to tell her she wouldn’t be racing because of how sick she became.

“Katherine came to my yurt and talked to me at least twice,” Anders said. “I told her I was sick both days.”

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Anders tried to seek medical help at the base camp, but was shocked by the lack of empathy or care the race’s medical staff showed for one of their registered riders. Facebook / Dede Anders

During this time, she claims the race provided her with no medical care but instead drove her back to Mongolia’s capital, where a driver stranded her at a hotel.

“They put me in a vehicle for eight hours sick with a GI bug, with a driver who barely spoke English,” Anders told the outlet.

“I had to use Expedia from base camp to book a hotel, had the driver stop in the city, and get my passport so I could finally check into the hotel.”

She claims being “dumped off” back in the capital was the thing only organizers of the derby did to help her while ill.

“I was too ill to get on a horse for 620 miles,” Anders shared. “But I was also too ill to get in a car for eight hours and be dumped off into a city without a passport or a flight home.”

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Now alone and still dealing with illness in a foreign country, Anders’ trouble continued when she struggled to find a flight back to the US.

“I had to call home and have my boyfriend book a flight for me because I didn’t have cellphone reception,” she said. “Seattle is the closest I could get. I just want to get back to the US.”

The experienced rider couldn’t find a flight back to the US until Aug. 11, and once she lands in Seattle, she will need to make other travel arrangements to get back to Wyoming.

As she waits to return home, Anders said she has emailed race organizers about her feelings about how she was treated but hasn’t “received a response.”

The course recreates the horse messenger system developed by Genghis Khan in 1224. Photothek via Getty Images

“I paid around $30,000 to go over for this thing,” the rider said. “My entry fee alone was almost $17,000, and I didn’t even get my blood pressure taken when I was sick.”

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Prior to the drama, Anders told Cody Enterprise that she was making “payments of about $900 per month” to foot the cost of the race she once considered a “lifelong dream.”

Missing out on the Mongol Derby, which she described as “kind of a mess” and “not very organized,” is the least of her concerns now, given how apathetic the race’s medical staff was while she was ill.

“I work in the ER, and I have my doctorate in emergency medicine,” she told the outlet.

“You couldn’t swing a cat and hit a medic over there. I don’t know what the holdup was, but I was definitely blown off for whatever reason.”

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Wyoming 3A and 4A Boys Basketball Regionals Tip Off Postseason Play

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Wyoming 3A and 4A Boys Basketball Regionals Tip Off Postseason Play


The 2026 postseason has arrived for Wyoming High School boys’ basketball teams in Class 3A and 4A. They participate in regional tournaments from Thursday through Saturday. The regionals will be in Buffalo, Evanston, Gillette, and Lovell. Three sites will use the format: two wins qualify a team for the state tournament next week in Casper, or two losses eliminate a team. The 4A East Region has three loser-out first-round games on Thursday, followed by two days of games for seeding. The 4A East Regular Season champ draws a first-round bye and has qualified for the state tournament.

WYOPREPS 3A-4A BOYS BASKETBALL REGIONAL TOURNAMENT SCHEDULES

Except in the 4A East Regional, Friday starts with elimination games. The regional semifinals are on Friday night. The final seeds for next week’s state tournament will be determined on Saturday. The schedules below for this weekend are based on the brackets sent to WyoPreps. It is subject to change.

THURSDAY, MARCH 5:

Final Score: (3) Pinedale 58 (6) Mountain View 40

Final Score: (2) Cody 58 (7) Powell 46

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Final Score: (1) Lovell 75 (8) Lyman 43

Final Score: (4) Lander 65 (5) Worland 40

FRIDAY, MARCH 6:

Game 5: Mountain View vs. Powell, noon – loser out

Game 6: Lyman vs. Worland, 1:30 p.m. – loser out

Game 7: Pinedale vs. Cody, 6 p.m. – semifinal

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Game 8: Lovell vs. Lander, 7:30 p.m. – semifinal

SATURDAY, MARCH 7:

Game 9: Winner Game 5 vs. Loser Game 8, 11 a.m. – loser out

Game 10: Winner Game 6 vs. Loser Game 7, 11 a.m. – loser out (at LMS)

Game 11: Winner Game 9 vs. Winner Game 10, 5 p.m. – 3rd Place Game

Game 12: Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8, 2 p.m. – Championship Game

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THURSDAY, MARCH 5:

Final Score: (3) Douglas 85 (6) Rawlins 50

Final Score: (2) Wheatland 57 (7) Burns 40

Final Score: (5) Torrington 35 (4) Newcastle  28

Final Score: (1) Buffalo 69 (8) Glenrock 44

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FRIDAY, MARCH 6:

Game 5: Rawlins vs. Burns, noon – loser out

Game 6: Newcastle vs. Glenrock, 1:30 p.m. – loser out

Game 7: Douglas vs. Wheatland, 6 p.m. – semifinal

Game 8: Torrington vs. Buffalo, 7:30 p.m. – semifinal

SATURDAY, MARCH 7:

Game 9: Winner Game 5 vs. Loser Game 8, noon – loser out

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Game 10: Winner Game 6 vs. Loser Game 7, 1:30 p.m. – loser out

Game 11: Winner Game 9 vs. Winner Game 10, 7:30 p.m. – 3rd Place Game (if necessary)

Game 12: Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8, 4:30 p.m. – Championship Game

 

Read More Boys Basketball News from WyoPreps

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WyoPreps Boys Basketball Week 11 Scores 2026

WyoPreps Coaches and Media Basketball Polls 2-25-26

WyoPreps Boys Basketball Week 10 Scores 2026

WyoPreps Coaches and Media Basketball Polls 2-18-26

WyoPreps Boys Basketball Week 9 Scores 2026

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WyoPreps Coaches and Media Basketball Polls 2-11-26

WyoPreps Boys Basketball Week 8 Scores 2026

WyoPreps Coaches and Media Basketball Polls 2-4-26

Nominate A Boys Basketball Player For Athlete Of The Week 2025-26

 

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THURSDAY, MARCH 5:

Final Score: (NW-3) Kelly Walsh 64 (SW-2) Riverton 49

Final Score: (NW-1) Natrona County 77 (SW-4) Jackson 23

Final Score: (NW-2) Green River 50 (SW-3) Evanston 40

Final Score: (SW-1) Star Valley 62 (NW-4) Rock Springs 60 – Erickson makes a turnaround jumper at the buzzer off an offensive rebound for the Braves.

FRIDAY, MARCH 6:

Game 5: Riverton vs. Jackson, noon – loser out

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Game 6: Evanston vs. Rock Springs, 1:30 p.m. – loser out

Game 7: Kelly Walsh vs. Natrona County, 6:30 p.m. – semifinal

Game 8: Green River vs. Star Valley, 8 p.m. – semifinal

SATURDAY, MARCH 7:

Game 10: Winner Game 6 vs. Loser Game 7, 11:30 a.m. – loser out

Game 9: Winner Game 5 vs. Loser Game 8, 1 p.m. – loser out

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Game 11: Winner Game 10 vs. Winner Game 11, 4:30 p.m. – 3rd Place Game (at EMS)

Game 12: Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8, 4:30 p.m. – Championship Game

 

THURSDAY, MARCH 5:

Game 1: (1) Sheridan = Bye

Final Score: (2) Cheyenne Central 75 (7) Cheyenne South 35 – Bison are eliminated

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Final Score: (3) Thunder Basin 75 (6) Laramie 59 – Plainsmen are eliminated; Bolts qualify for state

Final Score: (4) Campbell County 59 (5) Cheyenne East 39 – loser out; Thunderbirds are eliminated; Camels qualify for state.

FRIDAY, MARCH 6:

Game 6: Cheyenne Central vs. Thunder Basin, 4:30 p.m. – semifinal

Game 5: Sheridan vs. Campbell County, 7:30 p.m. – semifinal

SATURDAY, MARCH 7:

Game 7: Loser Game 5 vs. Loser Game 6, 11:30 a.m. – 3rd Place Game

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Game 8: Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6, 2:30 p.m. – Championship Game

 

James Johnson Winter Showcase Basketball Tournament 2026

Photos from game action at the James Johnson Winter Showcase tournament in Cheyenne.

Gallery Credit: Courtesy: Shannon Dutcher





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Explore small streams of Wyo. with WGFD XStream Angler challenge

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Explore small streams of Wyo. with WGFD XStream Angler challenge


WYOMING — The Wyoming Game and Fish Department (WGFD) is rolling out its 2026 XStream Angler challenge, open to anyone looking to fish the smaller streams of Wyoming. The XStream Angler challenge is an opportunity for anglers in the state to explore over 150 streams with instream flow water rights. According to WGFD, instream flow […]



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Governor Gordon attends signing of Wyoming’s Healthy Choice Waiver in Washington D.C.

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Governor Gordon attends signing of Wyoming’s Healthy Choice Waiver in Washington D.C.


CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Governor Mark Gordon’s office recently announced that the governor and Director of Family Services (DFS) Korin Schmidt traveled to Washington D.C. on Wednesday to meet with Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr., as well as other Trump Administration officials, to sign the Wyoming’s Healthy Choice Waiver. A release […]



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