For some things in life, you simply cant be ready. I had 7 months to prepare myself, going from a complete beginner to taking on the toughest horse race in the world: Learning how to ride. Learning how to navigate. Learning how to survive in the wilderness. In the Pass of Tears, everything was against me. Still I knew, I couldnt lose.The horses are pawing at the ground. Tension hangs in the air. I only just saddled my horse, Gitana, and Im already standing on the start line. I ask myself: What will happen to all of us over the next few days? Who will fall? Who will make it through and who will fail?The thoughts drift past in slow motion. Im so excited it feels as if none of this is actually real. Ten days lie ahead of us, and yet everything has condensed into this one moment. And it stretches. Organiser Jako raises the rifle into the air. And aims. And aims. And aims.An eternity passes. The spectators are getting nervous. The riders too. When is this thing finally going to start? Bang. The shot catches almost everyone by surprise. A second later, 32 riders from all over the world gallop away. And Im the first one to fail.From Learner Driver to DakarIt all started on Instagram. Originally, our Art Director Julian and I wanted to do a bikepacking trip across Portugal. Then this thought popped into my head: It would be cool to do the whole thing on horses instead of carbon bikes. Marlboro cowboy vibes, campfires and trail riding along Europes west coast.I started researching horseback riding, and before long the algorithm served me @Jakotango. Not long after, Pass of Tears appeared in my feed. A race organised by two Argentinians, Rama and Negro, together with an Austrian called Jako. The tagline: Insane Patagonian Horse Race. Without thinking, I knew: Thats me. I have to do this. I didnt know how yet, butSeven months later, Im sitting in Patagonia. The race briefing has just finished. The riders are chatting and getting to know each other. Toby Coles, an extremely experienced rider from the UK, looks at me and shakes his head. Youre taking the piss, right? Your first riding lesson was seven months ago and then you signed up for this? The South African crew had already written me off anyway. The German Cowboy? No chance.Admittedly, for many people it sounds completely insane, rather like signing up for the Dakar Rally right after getting your drivers licence. Still, I had a few aces up my sleeve. And a few smart training tricks.The Insane Patagonian Horse Race Pass of TearsTen days on two horses. Four hundred kilometres through the most remote corners of Patagonia; self-supported, carrying your own food and tent, with no phone reception. Ten hours a day in the saddle, followed by long nights in sub-zero temperatures. Routes that dont exist or that you have to invent for yourself. Along glaciers, cliffs and steep mountainsides. Through deep bogs, rivers, lakes, tangled forests and razor-sharp boulder fields.No matter how well you can ride, Pass of Tears demands more. I knew this race wouldnt be mastered through skills alone. It would take the right mindset, careful navigation and consistency. Horsemanship, outdoor skills, situational awareness and the ability to deal with loneliness, doubt, despair and fear.Honestly, I never could have believed just how insane this Insane Patagonian Horse Race would turn out to be. Plot twist: I wasnt even a good rider. I couldnt ride at all.Training Like a Professional VacationerSo: How do you prepare for the toughest horse race in the world, as a complete beginner? And why was it that after my final training session, I genuinely didnt care whether I actually made it to the start line in Patagonia?Learning is a matter of attitude, just like the things we perceive as hard or uncomfortable. Instead of simply looking for the most professional trainer (or the first one I could find) I started asking myself some fundamental questions: What might I encounter in Patagonia? How do I learn best? What can I control and what cant I? How do I deal with uncertainty and all the things beyond my control?Instead of following strict training plans built on theory, I turned my preparation into a big adventure in itself. After all, Pass of Tears is an adventure race where so much can happen that you simply cant predict. Dealing with uncertainty and making questionable decisions would be essential. Thats why I wanted as many I-have-no-idea-how-Im-going-to-pull-this-off moments as possible.Rather than simply training my body and my riding skills, I wanted to train my mind above all else. My strategy was pretty simple: put myself into as many different situations as possible, ride as many different horses and types of terrain as possible, and experience different stables with different philosophies, in different countries. To get the most out of it, I started doing short daily recaps that always ended with a flexible to-do list: What am I missing right now? What can I do tomorrow? And where can I learn it best?I knew one thing: if I just stayed in Germany, I would be stuck in such rigid training structures and safety precautions that I would never learn what I needed to learn in seven months. It probably would have taken two years before I was even allowed to gallop. On a lead rope. Too much thinking. Far too much perfectionism. People stuff so much theory into their heads that they end up thinking more than feeling. But horses have to be felt.Nobody knows that better than the Argentine gauchos. For them, feel and connection with the horse are what matter most. Technique comes second. And why choose one approach when you can simply try everything?One month after my first riding lesson, I went on my first trip to the Dolomites. Steep, exposed terrain, so demanding that it would make some Mountain Bike World Cup downhill lines seem relaxed by comparison. Spending the night in a mountain hut, drinking deep red Italian Primitivo self-supported could wait a little longer here and taking a dip in an ice-cold mountain lake. Thankfully, I was riding Haflingers: horses so stubborn, yet so sure-footed, that youre more passenger than cowboy. Perfect for the beginning. This is where I built the foundation for technical terrain and loose ground. And I knew: One month later, Id be back.Back in Germany, I worked on my technique with my demandingly thorough riding instructor Heike, analysed where and why I felt insecure, and asked question after question. Most riding mistakes get projected onto the horse at first: Why arent they responding to this, or to that? The answer is (ouch, ego) in 95% of cases yourself.And then came our Moroccan fairytale. Together with my experienced riding friend Anastasia, I travelled to Marrakech. One Thousand and One Nights. Beautiful riads, multi-day treks, magical Bedouin tents and focused training that seemed so simple yet so effective. My thinking was simple: Anyone who gallops down a beach in flip-flops with a huge grin across their face, and owns their own stable at nineteen years old, must know a thing or two. And yes. He did.I learned an incredible amount from my young riding instructor and guide, Amine while fooling around and laughing our heads off the entire time. Controlled crashes into the sand dunes of Essaouira. Bareback riding at sunrise. And full-on Yallah gallops along endless beaches towards the sunset, with fresh sea air in our hair. Just do it. Amine believed in me. And with his confidence behind me, I slowly started believing in myself too: Try. Fall. Laugh. Get back up. And go again.Every now and then a horse kicked out. Not everything was technically clean. But it helped enormously to get rid of fear and hesitation. And sometimes the things we fear the most turn out to be surprisingly simple. A rearing horse is incredibly powerful and spectacular. And if you actually dare to do it, its almost disappointingly manageable. At the same time, it felt completely overwhelming that something like that was even possible after only four months of riding.You can read the full story of Pass of Tears from beginner rider to the toughest horse race in the world in our sister magazine DOWNTOWN: Pass of Tears: From Beginner Rider to the Insane Patagonian Horse Race in 7 MonthsDer Beitrag A Beginner at the Worlds Toughest Horse Race 400 Kilometres Through the Patagonian Wilderness erschien zuerst auf GRAN FONDO Cycling Magazine.