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Born in Buenos Aires, Eduardo is dedicated to the agricultural production of sunflowers on Rancho el Chaja, a farming ranch his family has owned since 1942. As an avid polo player he became the President of Sports in Central Cordoba. He attended university - attained his law degree and later became a Federal Judge. With all of this apparent success one is compelled to ask, "Why?". "Why leave your home, your family, your career to undertake a journey of this magnitude?" His answer is simple. Eduardo (Eddie to his friends) says, "I have always had this dream, vision if you like, of uniting the worlds' foundation horse to its original homeland and doing it much like Aimé Tschiffely* did in 1925." "What a dream to come true!" he says. "To have an opportunity to experience so many 'once in a lifetime' adventures. To be able to meet so many people from so many countries and cultures. To have them open their hearts to my plight as if I'm living their dream for them. To be able to duplicate a trek that recreates the experience and hardships encountered by Tschiffely* in 1925. To experience the fulfillment of my childhood dream and to do it all from the back of a horse. The answer to your question can only be, "Why wouldn't I?"
Since leaving Buenos Aires in 2002, this jockey of the pampas of Argentina has been on a mission of the three Americas. "The path of travel has not always been easy, and filled with many dangers", he says. "Traffic, steep narrow slippery mountain crossings, poisonous snakes, facing the political unrest in some countries, sleeping under the stars and being at the mercy of Mother Nature.", just to name a few. "Through it all the hospitality of the people I've met has been overwhelming," says Eduardo, "especially those I've met here in the United States. I'm not interested in politics, but compared to what I've heard others say about the USA, I now have a totally different sense of it. I've never seen so much generosity and willingness to help."
Eduardo plans on staying in this area for a couple of weeks, taking advantage of some much needed rest, for himself and his horses. While here he will have the chance to catch up with some of his polo playing friends from back home that now live in the Aiken, SC area, watch and maybe even play some polo. Eduardo's final destination in the United States is New York where he will arrive after visiting with friends in Ontario, Canada. Once in New York he will attempt to gather a means of getting his horses and himself transported across the Atlantic in an effort to complete his mission. He tells me, once his mission is finished, he has definite plans of returning to the southern states, and especially the Augusta area. When he leaves he will carry with him many mementos of his stay here, thoughts of new found friends and prayers from all for a happy and safe path to the fulfillment of his journey's end. Good luck Eduardo Discoli. Read more about Eduardo's, expedition on the Long Riders Guild Web site: http://www.thelongridersguild.com/Expeditions.htm Editors Note: The Long Riders' Guild is the world's first international association of equestrian explorers, and is an invitation-only organisation. It was formed in 1994 to represent men and women of all nations who have ridden more than 1,000 continuous miles on a single equestrian journey. Members currently reside in at least 32 countries. These Long Riders have collectively written more than a hundred books on equestrian travel and ridden on every continent except Antarctica. Since its inception The Long Riders' Guild has pioneered the study of equestrian travel research and methodology. Using a world wide network of historical and equestrian contacts, The Long Rider's Guild has documented nearly 300 equestrian trips, gathered vital information on more than 275 Long Riders, and confirmed more than 822,000 documented miles traveled in the saddle. *In 1925, Swiss school teacher and inexperienced horseman, Aimé Tschiffely, bought two middle-aged, unbroken wild horses from a Patagonian Indian in South America. People thought him a lunatic doomed to failure, until he rode them 16,000km (approximately 10,000 miles) from Buenos Aires, Argentina, to Washington D.C. In an incredible adventure lasting two and a half years, Aimé battled hostile natives, bureaucrats, landslides, rope bridges and vampire bats. He survived, and fell in love with his Criollo horses (wild descendants of horses imported from Spain 450 years ago). **The Augusta Horse & Carriage Parade is a living, educational procession showcasing the vital role equine transportation played in American history. First associated with the Augusta Cutting Horse Futurity, held each year in Augusta during the month of January, parade organizers recently moved the popular event to the month of May to accomodate a much larger participation of carriages, out riders and better weather conditions. For more information on the parade visit their Web site at http://www.augustahorseandcarriageparade.com
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