Penguin presents the audiobook model of Tough Magic written by Lara Prior-Palmer, browse by Tamaryn Payne.

‘[Prior-Palmer’s] beautiful, sensual depiction of this race is usually a literary marvel; it feels as though you are using alongside her over the desolate steppes; her verbal acuity makes vibrant one of the most elusive of scenery; her triumph turns into ours’ NYLON

The Mongol Derby is the world’s toughest horse race. A feat of stamina across the vast Mongolian plains once traversed with the folks of about Rough Magic: Riding the world’s wildest equine race Genghis Khan, competitors trip 25 horses across a range of 1000km. Many riders don’t make it to the final line.

In 2013 Lara Prior-Palmer – nineteen, underprepared but seeking the great unidentified – decided to enter the race. Powered by her own restlessness, stubbornness, and a lifelong like of horses, she raced for a week through extreme temperature and terrifying storms, catching a couple of hours of rest where she could on the homes of nomadic family members. Battling rounds of illness and dehydration, exhaustion and bruising falls, she found she had nothing to lose, and tore through the field with her motley staff of horses. In another of the Derby’s most unexpected results, she became the youngest-ever champ and the first woman to earn the race.

A tale of adventure, fortitude and poetry, Tough Magic is the outstanding story of 1 young woman’s encounter with oblivion, and herself.