The WEC Adventure - 2005
Argentina - The Adventures Begin
John and I are currently in Argentina, staying with our friends, Mercedes Tapia and Eduardo Beccar Varella at their ranch 'El Reparo' outside of Saladillo, Argentina. Mercedes and Eduardo came to Idaho last summer for the Abu Dhabi Arabian Nights ride, and have become good friends. And a little Ridecamp@endurance.net trivia - Mercedes was one of the first Ridecamp subscribers, 10 years ago! Mercedes will ride for Argentina in the World Championships this month, and I will be her groom! Eduardo is the team Chef d'Equipe.
Mercedes & Eduardo are both veterinarians - Mercedes specializes in equine reproduction, and Eduardo is primarily trauma and surgery. They recently bought a farm (which is where we are now) 2 hours outside of Buenos Aires. An older farm, 80 acres, which was in the same Italian family for the past century. A single story rambling adobe house (the original house!), fields planted in soy, oats, pasture, some groves of eucalyptus and cotton wood. And a lot of horses! They raise their own horses (Arabians, Criollos, and some polo horse crosses) and also train Endurance Arabians for Las Cortaderas - a large estancia owned by Claudia Quentin, a day's drive south of Buenos Aires. The house didn't have electricity when they bought the farm,- the water was hand pumped, or pumped by windmill for the stock. It's a great place - they've been making improvements since they bought it (last year) and built a nice barn (priorities :) right away. It's fun to see the excitement and fresh energy of new land owners.
But things are pretty busy right now - on Jan 7 the horses and riders will ship to Dubai. Lots of organizing and last minute things to do, especially since they're taking a horse and also doing the Chef d'Equipe job. The Argentine Federation doesn't get involved with Championship competitions in the same way that USEF does for the USA effort, so it's all up to the individuals to make everything happen. Tons of paperwork and phone calls.
I'll be flying with them on Jan 7 so will be able to help in any way I can for the next few weeks. I was supposed to fly on Jan 23 with the rest of the grooms and crew, but the travel agent booked the flight for Jan 7 instead, so I figure I might as well take advantage of the error and get there early. Although - it's not clear where I'm going to stay when I get there - the rooms for the grooms and crews are booked for Jan 23. We'll see, sounds like more adventure in store. And maybe a night in some hotel lobby until I figure things out.
We'll be doing as much internet coverage on Endurance Net as possible, though on ride day the priority will be helping Mercedes. I think the OC will have a webpage in place, with live coverage of the event, and probably even a live broadcast, so there probably won't be much to do anyway once the event begins. I'll focus on the teams and riders preparing for the race, and try to take a lot of pictures. I think John will be staying here in Argentina helping with updates and webpage work from afar. We'll see...
Hasta luego!
Steph
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
