Brothers complete tough Mongolian horse race

Charlie Read, 21, with one of the race horses on the steppe

Three brothers have completed what is described as the world's longest and toughest horse race.

Gus, Charlie, and Bert Read, from Ludlow, Shropshire, completed the 1,000km (621.3-mile) Mongol Derby in eight days.

The riders travelled across varying terrain, including valleys, rivers, wetland, dunes, and open steppe.

"We’ve been riding since day one, always had horses at home - it was the ultimate riding challenge for us," said 23-year-old Gus Read.

Youngest brother, Bert Read, 19, finished 11th alongside Charlie

The course recreates the long-distance postal transmission system, developed by Genghis Khan in 1224.

Navigating by GPS, riders change horses and refuel every 40km (24.8 miles), with the first to the finish line crowned winner.

"We were trying to do 100km a day," said Bert Read, 19.

Competitors could only ride between 07:00 and 19:00 local time, and either camped or stayed with locals at each station.

"When you arrive at a horse station, your horse's heart rate has to be at 56bpm or lower, and if it's not you get a two-hour time penalty," said Charlie Read, 21.

The horses are semi-wild, and every year, 1,500 of them are vetted and trained for the race.

"Some of them are pretty wild, they’ll try and buck you off straight away," said Gus.

He finished the race in 6th place, and Charlie and Bert in 11th. There were 44 riders in total.

Gus Read, 23, finished in 6th place, ahead of his brothers

"The initial plan was to stick together, but it fell apart pretty quickly," Charlie told BBC Radio Shropshire.

"I think it was at horse station number four, Bert got a vet penalty, so me and Gus left him there, and at the next one, I got a vet penalty."

The race lived up to its name as one of the toughest in the world.

"There were some real lows," said Gus.

"I lost a horse. I found it again luckily.

"It bucked me off mid-leg, and just took off with my saddle, so I had to chase around on the back of a motorbike trying to find it."