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Pinamar, Pan Am Pre-ride Wrap-up

All in all, the Pan American pre-ride at Pinomar was a great success.
There were only minor glitches, the mixup with the 80km riders on the
beach, and a few ribbons pulled in the afternoon, causing some
confusion with the 160km trail. I think this is a great place for the
Pan American Championship.  Good trail - there is a lot of sand
though, I heard that the organizers might be looking for some other
harder roads and trails to include next time - There was some of both,
but probably too much sand overall, especially after many horses went
over the same track. The vetting area and crewing areas were perfect.
Nice smooth grass for trotting, easy traffic flow in-out of vetting
area, plenty of space and water for crewing. They use a LOT of water
here cooling their horses - pumps and hoses and spray rather than
buckets and sponges. The area was like a small lake at one point, but
sandy so it eventually drained.

There's a nice cantina for food and drink, where folks can visit and
watch the vetting, and see horses coming and going. The course was
well mapped - though a little complicated with many loops and
colors. Everybody basically drove the course before the ride, with 4wd
you could go everywhere that the horses went. The maps were good, so
this probably wasn´t absolutely necessary, but I think it did help,
especially where there were cross trails and entrance-exit to the
beach. It really is a pretty trail. The coast is gorgeous, and there
was usually some nice hard flat sand next to the water to ride on. The
forested trails were also pretty, though the sand was starting to get
pretty deep. There was a stretch along the highway, but the OC blocked
traffic during the ride so it wasn´t a problem, and there were several
stretches through the outskirts of Pinamar and Carilo, dogs, children,
cars, bicycles, etc. but the horses didn´t seem to mind much. and it
was entertaining!

The completion rate for the 160km was pretty good, most riders were
simply trying to get a solid completion or qualify for the WEC. Some
of the horses looked great at the end, some looked tired. I´m still
trying to get full results, with gate times, recovery times, etc, it
will be interesting. I think most of the eliminations were lameness, a
lot of the horses don't train in the sand, and there was a lot of
muscle fatigue from pushing off of the deep footing, and strain from
pulling the feet out of the deep sand. Many people are realizing that
they will need to train in the sand for next year´s Pan American.

The completion rate for the 80km was horrible, probably the worst of
all the distances. These folks ran like crazy, all day (until they
were pulled).  Lameness and metabolic. The OC is thinking to have all
of the distances next year when the do the Pan Am. Only the 160km
would be the championship distance, but they would still offer the
other distances. Could be crazy!

The Argentinean Federation is expecting that most of the horses for
foreign riders will be for lease by Argentinean owners. There are many
horses in Brazil so that is also an option, but the distance-expense
of transporting horses to South American is going to be prohibitive.

For anybody considering the Pan Americans here next year, I would say
Do It!  Argentina is wonderful, friendly people, great climate, a lot
of natural beauty.  And just to be able to ride along the beach for
miles and miles is a treat for most of us. It would be useful to learn
a little spanish, not everybody here speaks English, and it can be
difficult.

The WEC: The Arg. Federation is currently in the heat of selection for
the 2004 WEC. This ride was an important one. The riders that are
being considered will be asked to do one more ride in a few months,
probably a 120km, with emphasis on demonstrating soundness and ability
to compete. A few may still need to do one more 160km, if they didn´t
complete at Pinamar, or still need a 160km ride this year, or simply
feel that they have something more to prove - speed or soundness. As
usual there will be some difficult decisons to make, considering
speed, experience, soundness, age, politics and all the rest...  The
biggest question in everybody´s mind is whether Dubai will foot the
bill for the riders. If UAE doesn´t pay for horse transport at the
very least, many of the riders will not be able to go. Some will, if
they have patrons or a source of funding. After talking to Miguel and
others, I think that the Argentine Federation is a few years, a few
WEC´s, behind the US in terms of making team selections.  The US is
making good progress, empasizing teamwork and cooperation among the
riders, and soundness soundness soundness.

So that´s it for Argentina - for now. I will try very hard to be back
next year.  For the Pan Am (god willing), to be a tourist (the rest of
Argentina is calling), and to visit again with the wonderful friends
that I´ve made. Miguel is planning on coming to ride in Idaho in
September, and I´ve also invited Mercedes to come later in October,
I´d love to share my country with them, as they have with me!

Tomorrow I´m off to Brazil, it will be very interesting to observe
things over there, experience their philosophy, their system, their
horses...

luego!

Steph

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