our destination is an area called erdenesant, in the tov province, around 140 miles from the capital.o! we've gone from sunny skies to rain in the space of a second. you never know, the mongolian sky. they laugh. mongolian weather is extreme. the summers are warm, but the winters can drop below —40 degrees celsius. and the country is recovering from its worst in recent memory. when you have a hard winter, we call it zud. zud. yes. 0k. the extreme cold and snowfall of the 2024 zud decimated livestock on the steppe. it's estimated more than seven million animals died. it's forced many nomads to reconsider their future. so, it's been an incredibly painful and tough year for them. yes. yeah. here in erdenesant, i'm told as many as 15 families have given up herding and left the countryside in search of an easier way of life. but i've come to meet a family who have stayed. i can see some gers in the distance! i think that might be us. these traditional nomadic tents will be my home for the next 48 hours. i want to experience this way of life for myself and understand why some people are giv

my final morning coincides with an annual event here in erdenesant. hoo! so, what's happening?place. yes. today, we are watching a horse race. mm—hm? i can see they're all kids, they're all pretty small. yeah, that's, how it's done here in mongolia. horse racing is a national pastime in mongolia, particularly during their festival season known as naadam. the minimum age for competing is just eight years old. after riding for 10km, the competitors gather at the starting point... ..and then, almost without warning... lucy laughs. look at all the drama, the drama! i love it! that was the start. i feel like that wasn't a fair start. all right, go, go! let's go! what kind of a start was that?! go, go, go! we got to catch them! woohoo, we have a winner! still not quite sure what i just witnessed, but everyone seems to be having a great time. i'll be honest, it made me feel a little uncomfortable, watching small kids race like that. i can see the adults have got the certificates. yeah. where are the kids? where the riders? er, riders are chilling their horses now. oh, ok. yeah. so, th