<p><font color="#ff0000" size="5"><strong>WHAT AM I DOING? I BLAME HUGH GRANT...</strong></font></p><p><font face="tahoma,arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Verdana">Just a couple of weeks ago I was on my way to Ibiza for Eric Gicquel Des Touches's sister wedding. I was not even formally invited to the wedding... but crashing weddings at the very last minute has become some kind of my summer plans. I was at Heathrow airport and unexpectedly (and looks like fortunately!) my flight got seriously delayed, so what a better idea than to buy some reading material. And that was it!! I saw the light&hellip; Hugh Grant and his very smooth approach towards Julia Roberts in Notting Hill came into my mind, a few seconds later I was reading the &quot;best-selling&quot; Horse &amp; Hound.</span></font></p><p>&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<img src="images/gallery09/12234/400x400.jpeg" /></p><p><font face="tahoma,arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="2">Right at the beginning of the magazine, there was an editorial about the &ldquo;Mongol Derby&rdquo;, described by the Guinness Book of Records as the longest, toughest horse race in the world&hellip; 1,000 km across empty wilderness of Mongolia, involving 25 riders and nearly 800 semi-wild horses trying to replicate the ancient route that great Chinggis Khan used for his famous messenger service in the early thirteen century.</font></p><p><font face="tahoma,arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="2">It didn&rsquo;t take me long after I landed in Ibiza to send a very charming email to the organizers asking (and begging!)&nbsp;for&nbsp;one last minute drop out. Apparently there was an American rider being a little bit annoying and not very responsive (poor bastard, he was on an Adventure trek), it didn&rsquo;t take me long to convince them that a Gaucho from the Pampas would bring some proper experience to the conquering of those far away frontiers&hellip; I didn&rsquo;t really read much of the instructions and warnings, I had just finished my polo season and I could manage to find a two week black-hole at work. I sincerely hope that those semi-wild horses don&rsquo;t forget their &ldquo;semi&rdquo; description, because there will be an Argentinean seriously looking to buy a motorbike in the middle of Mongolia. And Hugh Grant will not necessarily receive a thank you letter&hellip;</font></p><p><font face="tahoma,arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="2">&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;<img height="208" src="images/gallery09/12208/400x400.jpeg" width="292" /></font></p><p><font face="tahoma,arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="2">In honor of Juan Bautista Bairoletto,&nbsp;long gone from my Argentinean Pampas, but still ruling our character and romanticism.&nbsp;</font><font face="tahoma,arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="2">&nbsp;</font></p><p><font face="tahoma,arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="2">Juan Pepa</font></p><p><font face="tahoma,arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="2">Email: </font><a href="mailto:[email protected]"><font face="tahoma,arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="2">[email protected]</font></a></p>