6 pairs of boots. 240 horseshoes. 690 days.
This is what it took for my ponies and I to travel the 14,000 kilometers that separate Calgary, Canada and Puerto Kijaro, Bolivia. We crossed national parks, rivers, mountains and deserts to get here. I can honestly say that this has been the hardest thing I have ever done in my life. At the same time, it has been the most gratifying.
As I entered the 10th and final country I’m to cross on this journey, my native Brazil, I was overcome with emotion. Tears started to run down my face when I finally reached Brazilian soil. I had been dreaming of this moment my entire life. Since learning of Aime Tschiffely’s epic Long Ride from Argentina to New York I had been imagining my own journey through foreign lands on horseback – with the arrival being the most important part.
“Welcome to Brazil… Welcome home,” the Ministry of Agriculture official said to me as he shook my hand.
I could barely get any words out as I started to cry harder and harder. Even after all we’ve been through, and even after all the bureaucracy we encountered in South America almost put a sudden end to my dream, I never lost hope that my three horses and I would make it here. I always knew deep down inside that we would make it home. That’s why crossing the final imaginary line of our trip was even more emotional than I could have ever have imagined.
As I turned Frenchie, Bruiser and Dude out into the corral where they would be quarantined before we could continue riding to São Paulo, they ran and bucked as if celebrating our victory.
“This is your new home boys, you have arrived in the country where you will be retired,” I said as I watched them have fun.
“Filipe this quarantine is going to be complicated and could take up to a month, but we will help you,” the official said.
As we walked back to his office he explained to me how I would have to put netting around their stalls and be strict with the time of day I turn them out and put them in. We talked about all of the exams and costs. All of the excitement I was feeling from my arrival quickly turned to worry.
How much will this quarantine cost me… how will I have the money to pay for all the exams… what if the horses test positive for something?
These were all of the questions circling around in my mind. The next month will be hard, but at least I will have Emma and my family to support me. This weekend my Mom, Dad and sisters will join me here to celebrate my arrival.
