Send Mandy to Mongolia

Amanda Charlton is organizing this fundraiser.

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*Essentia Equi "Thank You" gifts are at the bottom of this page*

Hey there! How are you these days?   

You can call me either Amanda or Mandy. “Hey you!” works, too—I’ll respond to just about anything.    

Thank you for finding your way to my fundraising campaign.

It may sound downright nutty, but the reason why I am trying to raise that whopping $14,000 you see up there is so that I can hop on a few aero-planes, find my way to Mongolia, and saddle up the first of many semi-wild Mongolian horses to start the 1000 km trek (that’s about 620 miles) across the Mongolian wilderness in the world’s longest endurance horse race: The Mongol Derby. There would be no marked course, no guidance along the way—just me, High Mountain passes, green open steppe, deep rolling rivers, and a motley crew of 25 – 27 semi-wild native horses.  

It’s okay, you can say it—I’ve been called worse things than crazy.   

See, this is the thing:

 The Mongol Derby's official charity is trying to save the world, and they have done some damn good work in their attempt thus far. Cool Earth, an environmental charity that works hand-in-hand with indigenous communities, has raised over 6.5 million dollars since its inception in 2007. The UK-based international charity protects endangered rainforest in order to combat global warming, protect ecosystems and to provide employment for local people. In 2015, it was named Charity of the Year at the Civil Society Media Charity Awards and Best International NGO (non-governmental organization) at the PEA Awards. 
 
 

The other thing is this:     

I am insanely passionate about this planet and want nothing more than for my life’s legacy to be that I left this beautiful place a little bit better than I found it. At 25-years-old, I know a lot about horses and I know a lot about the outdoors but I haven’t yet figured out how to bring this hands-on knowledge into the realm of environmental conservation. Cool Earth’s commitment not only to protecting endangered rainforests but also to protecting the last bit of indigenous humanity we have left is inspiring and hope-bringing and demonstrates that we humans have not lost all of our natural wisdom in our acquirement of industrial knowledge.   

And, you know, I’ve got this really big thing for horses.    

  I’ve been with these creatures for almost 20 years now and that amount of time is the only thing I am in a position to measure within that experience. I have long since lost count of the number of times that I have thrown a leg over the back of a new four-legged partner, the number of times that I have been thrown from the back of a four-legged partner with different ideas than my own, or the number of times my heart has skipped a beat from the mere sight of one of these guys grazing in a pasture by the side of the road. I believe that very little of what we do with horses is in a position to be measured or quantified because their intense awareness of the world around them is extremely changing and fluid and the most that we can do as humans is to stick with them.

My love for these magnificent animals is infinite and, as such, I am committed to sticking with them for as many more years as I have left on this Earth.   

I have chosen the Mustang Heritage Foundation, an American non-profit that works to train and adopt-out our nation's once-wild horses, as my charity of choice. Right now, we've got loads of wild horses with very little wild land for them to work with. This issue has escalated for many reasons—the largest one being that wild herds continue to grow in size, contributing to the detriment of publicly/privately shared rangelands. Because of this, more and more mustangs must be brought into federally-funded captivity by means of taxpayer dollars. MHF's mission is to find these incredible beings the loving homes that they deserve given that they can no longer exist in the environment that we once shared.

I cannot imagine a more personally relevant way to act for what I believe in than to compete in the Mongol Derby, raise funds for the purposes of Cool Earth as well as the Mustang Heritage Foundation, and to share my journey with the world at large. I’ve learned that my life is more about walking the walk than talking the talk and I know that getting my hands dirty in the Mongol Derby for reasons that bring hope to my heart is in line with the path that I have chosen.   

I’ve been making about $20,000 to $24,000 a year by means of my nomadic livelihood, taking care of equines and picking up odd jobs along my way. As you can probably imagine, donating a huge chunk of cash to charity, securing my entry fee in the world’s longest and toughest horse race, and buying the airplane tickets and the gear and a spot in a wilderness survival course [to help ensure that I don’t die] are not things that I can readily accomplish on my own.   

I need your help.   

  I am not going to tell you that I deserve this more than anyone else because that would be a lie. I don’t deserve this chance any more than others deserve to have a roof over their heads and a way to make ends meet, and so I ask with as much humility as can radiate from your computer’s screen for you to sacrifice only as much as you can happily give.

    I ask for your help if you:    

Believe that I can cross the finish line—
that I can think about you when my journey becomes difficult 
and use the strength of your belief in me to continue;
Trust that I will not take this opportunity for granted—
that it will send me on my way to making this planet a better place 
and that I will never stop fighting for the things that can’t fight for themselves;
   and, last but in no way least,   
Know how incredibly thankful I am for you   and the gift that you have given me—  
you, just you, have made my world so much better simply by being in it.  

Tally Ho / Yippee Ki-Yay / Yee-Haw

Wrangler Mandy

Essentia Equi: The Essence of the Horse
So, I've been drawing horses since I was a tot and the habit has only gotten worse as I've grown. Below, you will see the prints that are available for your selection in medium and large sizes relative to the amount donated. Please accept these prints, provided by Park City Print and Ink, as the most sincere token of my thanks to you. Once you have decided on the amount that you are able to donate, please type the title of the print that you would like in the comment box so that I may ship it to your mailing address—shipping and handling is included within your donation.

1) Masculino: Masculine
2) Amici Optimi: Best Friends 
3) Bellator: Warrior
4) Moonlight Sonata:  (My girl since childhood) 
5) Phasma: Ghost
6) Rubedo: Redness