The Gaucho Derby has been billed as ‘the greatest test of horsemanship and survival skill on Earth’ and the Pioneer Edition of the race is certainly living up to this promise.
Run by The Adventurists, the team behind the Mongol Derby ‘the longest and toughest horse race on the planet’, The Gaucho Derby is looking to build on the new sport of ultra-endurance. The Adventurists went in search of the next world-beating adventure. They didn’t just replicate The Mongol Derby with new scenery, but designed a new race from the ground up, based on the landscape, culture, history and horses of Patagonia and the Gauchos, and have created, what they believe, is the ‘greatest test of horsemanship and survival skill on Earth’.
So far, with still a day of racing to go, the race has delivered on all fronts. Racing through the wild landscapes of Argentina, in places the going has been technical and slow, with pack horses in tow, in others fast and furious, through flatter pampas sections; the scenery stunning throughout.
Drama unveiled as the race headed through the mountains and a ferocious snow storm swept in. Local Gauchos helped guide riders to safe passage and an emergency shelter was created in a forest, with some riders (most to re-join the race later) air lifted out as a precaution.
And it’s still not over…to follow the race to the finish visit on Twitter or Facebook.