Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

Once again I have access to a computer, so even though it is late news,
here's my ride (and miscellaneous) story.

Friday - before the ride - I came with Elizabeth (van Schelle) to the
ride site Friday morning, met up with everybody, checked the ride site
and staging area, met some more people, took more photos...  We took
the horses out for a slow one hour ride, Firebird was nice and
forward, but relaxed. The saddle is one of Sylvia (Sylvia Vaccari
owner of Firebird), a comfortable Western style saddle (similar to my
SR saddle). There's always a little risk of new sores/bruises riding
new horses/saddles - but this seemed like a good setup. We vetted the
horses in, and everybody was good to go.

I met Luis Oberto (the blind rider) at the stable. I would be his
'sponsor/guide' for the ride - a new adventure and experience!  We
talked some about the ride - he assured me I didn't need to worry...

Everything was set up and ready for the next day, and I left with
Elizabeth. (I assumed we were headed to the city and the hotel, but
when you don't speak the native language, and are accompanying very
busy people, then you just have faith and follow along, like a little
duckling paddling behind it's mother :)

I hopped into Elizabeth's car along with two others, a vet from
Uruguay who would be the foreign FEI veterinary judge - Jose Verocay
(Pepe), and Antonio Llompart, a lawyer from Chile, who was to be the
foreign FEI steward. We arrived at a great pizza place and met there
with several other vets and officials (including Ocimar, the Brazilian
farrier who helped me with Khruschev when I first arrived in Compiegne
for the 2000 WEC - small world of endurance!).

The pizza place was owned by Danillo - also oen of the vets - a
delightul place with dark wood walls and floors, thatched outdoor roof,
colorful mosaic tiles embedded in the walls and floors, very
nice. Danillo kept us entertained all evening with pizza (some of the
best I've had), good Brazilian beer, Busca Vida (his house specialty
dring) and Caipirinha, the famous Brazilian drink made with limes,
sugar and Cachaça a type of sugar cane rum. Good fun, and good
conversation. As the evening went on I was able to absorb the
language - it's close enough to Spanish that I could figure out most of
it (or maybe it was just the Caipirinha...). I had some good
conversations with Antonio and Pepe whose English is very good.

Pepe is a veterinary professor in Uruguay, retired as a vet from the
military, and his specialty is equine abdominal surgery. He has
studied with several colleagues in the US, sharing knowlege and
experience, and is very passionate about his work, and about saving
the lives of the horses. He does surgeries at night, after his regular
work day (working at the race track and teaching classes).

Uruguay is a fairly poor country, and Pepe said that his biggest
challenge is getting decent medicines for surgery and anesthesia. Plus
the people that bring the horses to him are generally poor farmers and
he earns nothing from the surgeries, maybe enough to cover the cost of
the facility and medicine, maybe not. Most of the horses that come to
him have blockages from ingesting pieces of rope or nylon or bags, and
they are usually quite desparte by this time, so he has learned to act
fast (little time for questions, he can tell by the look in the
horse´s eye...) and he will take the horse into surgery immediately,
get in - get out - finish quickly. He has learned to complete the
abdominal surgery in less than 45 minutes, and said that he has an 80%
survival rate. Not bad for a poor small country, with little or no
funds for veterinary work.

Antonio is Chilean, another one of Elizabeth's Endurance recruits in
her continuing effor to build and promote the sport in Central and
South America. She has put together a course for FEI officials and
travels around the continent training and recruiting. Antonio has been
primarily responsible for starting Endurance in Chile. He lives
outside Santiago, has a remote ranch at the foot of the Andes, and
breeds Arabian horses . He is an accomplished rider and trainer. He
spoke enthusiastically about Chile, it sounds like a beautiful
country.

Every summer he takes several horses, and sometimes a friend or family
member, and packs into the mountains for two weeks. Totally remote,
often staying in the high country - around 10,000 feet high, finding
trails and passages as he goes. I think another trip to South America,
and Chile, is in order! I was offered a horse for the 160km ride in
Chile next month... but

I guess I'd better get home (don't worry John!).

more - the ride -

Steph

http://www.enduranceworld.net/events/2004BragancaPaulista/