CAMPBELL Costello is at home on a horse, he's up for a thrill, and he doesn't mind a yak.

That's just as well because the try-anything Cobden horseman, 24, is saddling up for the world's toughest ride, 1000km by wild horse through unforgiving terrain and, guaranteed, vicious dogs, the Herald Sun reports.

And if the perils of the Mongolian steppes don't get him in August, there's always the local fermented mares' milk brew.

"Not everyone's finished the race. I don't think anyone has died, but people have been airlifted out," Dr Costello, a veterinarian, reports happily.

Although he reckons the scariest part was telling his mother, Judi, he was going, Mongol Derby organisers beg to differ.

"You could break limbs, suffer internal injuries, become paralysed or even die," they warn for legal reasons, and to brag.

Dr Costello has sunk his house deposit into it - $11,000-odd.

"I'll have memories and an adventure I can tell my grandchildren about until they're bored," he says.

The race takes 10 days and riders get a new horse every 40km, flighty beasts that buck at the rustle of a raincoat. On the upside, they are shorter than nags here - not so far to fall.

About 24 riders will set off in the tracks of Genghis Khan. Past entrants have told of their fear of being bucked from their wild horses and eaten by packs of even wilder dogs.

"It's like driving a car - you're always at risk," Dr Costello says.

Aged 17, he ran with the bulls. Mustering, footy, rugby, broken noses, a wrist fracture, concussions, whiplash and rope burns feature on his resume. He hopes to add to that, soaking up the culture along the way.

Full report Herald Sun.