Tough Girl Podcast Julie Veloo - Canadian Adventurer for Good. Expeditions Chief, Horse Trek Mongolia and Founder of The Gobi Gallop.
Dec 30, 2021
51:59
Born the youngest of 6 children and raised in small town in Northern B.C. Canada, Julie never expected she would end up in Mongolia, feeding, caring for and educating hundreds of Mongolian children in need at her two Children of the Peak Sanctuary or Narnii Huuhduud charity kindergartens. She and her husband, Chelvan, a Mining Engineer and the President of Veloo Foundation, have lived and worked in Indonesia, Australia and The United States before settling in Mongolia. During her 10 years here, Julie has taken up horse back riding and now, every year, with Saraa and Baagii of Horse Trek Mongolia hosts and rides the longest annual charity ride on the planet – The Gobi Gallop – along with a suite of other charity rides across Mongolia. In 2022 she will ride the record breaking 3,600 km / 84 day Blue Wolf Totem Expedition to raise funds for her charity project projects. All of the money the people pay for these rides stays in Mongolia and helps the children, local businesses, artists and artisans and local herders. Julie, herself, works running these rides and the charity projects on a volunteer bases. Since first riding here at the age of 50 Julie has logged in excess of 35,000 km on horseback across the wilds of Mongolia and all of it to help the children. Julie is passionate about Mongolia and all things Mongolian and is committed to sustainable and fiscally transparent philanthropy. She is thrilled to be able to incorporate her love of Mongolian culture and history into Veloo Foundation’s Soaring Crane Summer Camp out in the countryside of Sonjin Boldog. The camp is a traditional Mongolian themed camp experience in English and Mongolian alike and offers 3 paying camps a year in English to fund the remaining camps for 250 Mongolian children in need. In addition to the two Narnii Huuhduud Kindergartens and the Soaring Crane Summer Camp, Veloo Foundation also operates the Fran London Centre for the Fabric Arts. Now 60, Julie expects to continue her epic long distance riding her in Mongolia and will continue making a difference in the lives of children in need as long as she is able. New episodes of the Tough Girl Podcast go live every Tuesday at 7am UK time - Hit the subscribe button so you don’t miss out. The Tough Girl Podcast is sponsorship and ad free thanks to the monthly financial support of patrons. Support the mission to increase the amount of female role models in the media. Visit www.patreon.com/toughgirlpodcast and subscribe - super quick and easy to do and it makes a massive difference. Thank you. Show notes
- Who is Julia
- Being based in Mongolia, Central Asia for the past 10 years
- Growing up in a small town in Northern Canada
- Being the youngest of 6
- Being fascinated with the idea of travel
- Being stuck in hospital for 4 years as a child
- The plight of the children in the garbage dump
- Being terrified of horses growing up
- Sitting on a horse for the first time at 50 and falling in love
- Her life before Mongolia
- The work the Veloo Foundation does in Mongolia
- Moving to Mongolia in 2010
- Dealing with harsh winters due to over grazing and climate change
- Magical moments and how the idea for the Gobi Gallop came about
- Using the Gobi Gallop as a fundraiser for the Veloo Foundation
- Working with Horse Trek Mongolia
- Taking on a solo challenge…
- Riding 700km in 8 days
- The Blue Wolf Totem Expedition happening in 2022 - 3,600 km challenge in Mongolia
- The mental side of the challenge
- Training with Sarah Cuthbertson - Ride Like an Athlete Program
- Get back on the horse
- Riding with a rockstar…
- Having a weak moment in your endurance adventure doesn’t mean it’s over
- Life in Mongolia and what it’s like
- Starting a new project
- Eating traditional Mongolian food
- Learning the language
- How to connect with Julie
- #AdventurerForGood