Ride Argentina - Intro

Even today I still find myself day dreaming about the solo horseback ride Pam and I took in Patagonia. I don't think the images of the Argentine Andes, Manolo and Mauritz (our two horses), Pam and I riding solo in the pampa of Rio Pico, will ever leave me.
Here is the story of how it all happened and how we did it...

One day in Hawaii, in July 04, Pam and I met two people who told us they were going to horse ride in Patagonia (Argentina) for 4 months. We had planned to spend one or two months there. As soon as we heard that we decided that we were going to do the same. Well not exactly the same, just that we would get two horses and visit Patagonia on the back of two big grass eaters.

Well, read further for the story but it turned out that we had an amazing time on our two friends, Mauritz and Manolo and did about 600 Miles in two months. Despite what people say (and think), it is possible to set yourself up for a 3-week to 2-month ride, solo, without a guide and free to go anywhere you want. I don't think I need to say the satisfaction you get from doing it on your own.

Keep reading, the next posts will explain how we did it...

Heading south, well kind of...

Our best friends Mauritz and Manolo

If you search the web about long distance horse riders you will find people that cross entire countries or even continents. Well for us it seemed an overkill to force ourselves into a single direction as well as commit to make a certain distance in two months.

Instead we decided that our general direction would be south, starting from San Carlos de Bariloche (Argentina), but that we would take side trips here and there, just to break the monotony and visit nice places. In El Bolson we 'stopped' for 10 days and took side trips in Cajun Del Azul, and Mallin Ahogado, just because a guy had invited us to his farm. In lago Puelo we went to Chili, well first on horse (the crossing was too difficult so we turned around) and then took a boat. After that we went up the Rio Turbio river just because someone told us the place was nice. From there we were invited by gauchos (farmers) to celebrate the New Year. And so on...

What do I want to say here: Well if you ever decide to take a horse trip like this you might want to be flexible and not force yourself into a very specific departure/destination. Horse riding is all about enjoying yourself and given the pace at which these grass eating machine go, you might as well take it easy!!! Also your horses will most likely become your friends (well they better be, they are your taxi) and sometimes they really need a rest.

You hooked yet?

So, are you not sure that you want to take a horse ride, on your own in Patagonia, Argentina.
May be a couple of pictures will help you decide:






Or you can check more here

Lets get practical - part 1

If you search google for horse riding in Argentina you will only find commercial web sites that refer to guided tours. This was very frustrating because Pam and I didn't want to pay - come on check my picture on the profile. Therefore, we were motivated to write this site to help others with as much information as we can give.

What you will need to know if you want to take such a trip.
Well remember everyone is different and all we offer is advice.

Do I need to speak Spanish?
Yes, If you go to Patagonia you should speak at least some basic Spanish, most of the people in Patagonia don't speak English. And it will make your trip that much more rewarding.

Do I need to fly there with 200Kg of equipments and pay overcharge on the plane?
You can buy saddles and tack in Argentina. Contrary to common belief Argentina is civilized and there are a lot of people riding horses there. As an example we got endurance saddles for 200USD each. Remember to get a light (no more than 10Kg) saddle.

Do I need a pack horse?
If you are not too heavy you can definitely go without a pack horse, all you have to do is pack light and plan on riding a little less to save those big boys health!!!

Do I need to be a very experienced rider?
I (Pierre) had no experience in horse riding. If you want to do it, you can. In fact horse riding (walk/trot and later on canter) is not that difficult. Taking care of a horse, including shoeing, finding good grassy spots, maintaining them in good health, etc. is the difficult part.

Do I need a lot of money?
Well much less that what you would pay for a 3 week guided, brainless, choiceless, tourist packed tour. We spent in tack and horses 1000USD each. And believe me we made a lot of mistakes that you might be able to avoid, maybe by reading this....

El Gaucho Viejo

Nino aka "El Gaucho Viejo"

We met Nino one morning in Bariloche. He came with his 30 year old beat up Chevy where only one door would open. Immediately I was impressed by the modesty of this man who right away started asking us what kind of trip we wanted to do, how long... He had no pre-conception on how we should horse ride through Patagonia and was listening carefully to what we wanted to do. He then gave us some advice on the tack we should get and we set an "appointment" the next day to see some horses.

We later met his family: his wife Cecilia and his 3 daughters Maria Cecilia, Anto, and Micca. The man was surrounded by women and was very happy that way. Proud owner of the Don Raul racing stable, Nino has spent his whole life around horses. He started racing his father's young stallion when he was only 8 years old. Only 1.55m tall (5'5"), 55Kg (120 lbs) the man is a Jockey, Horse Trainer, self taught Vet, Horse ferrier and Electrician. Despite his size I have never seen him scared by a horse, even that crazy stud of his, Rey Gay.

I will never forget him and his family. All along our trip Pam and I always kept in mind that without him our trip would probably not have been possible. We spent long hours at his stable, learning from him how to develop a relationship with the horses, how to care for them, give them injections and shoe them. I know all the time he spent with us was to make sure we would have a safe trip and nothing would happen to us.

We ended up nick-naming him Gaucho Viejo, which is kind of a bad joke: The last thing a jockey/veterinarian wants to be called is Gaucho -- the local cowboy in Argentina.

Contact us

If you want some more information, or you would like to contact Nino in Argentina, you can contact us here:
pmonestie [--at--] gmail.com
or
pmaulhardt [--at--] gmail.com

(replace [--at--] with @)