We received a wonderful email from Leonor Munoz, who just won the individual silver medal and the team bronze medal for Costa Rica with Andrea Sanchez, Gregorio Beeche and Victor Wolf at the Central American Championship Games in Costa Rica. Eventing is a new sport in many Central American countries, and the dedication and love these riders show for the sport is truly inspiring. Congrats Leonor, Andrea, Gregorio and Victor. Go eventing!
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Coach Ian Roberts stands with Victor Wolf, Andrea Sanchez, Leonor Munoz and Gregorio Beeche.
From Leonor:
I am 27 years old and have been riding for 22 years; yet, as a rider, I have only been introduced to eventing two years ago. The FEI, in collaboration with the USEF, sent Jose Ortelli Sr. from Argentina down to Costa Rica and other Central American countries to, as Jose says, have the eventing bug bite us.
The bug did in fact bite us. We started enthusiastically learning and training, traveling to eventing shows, watching YouTube videos, taking clinics, reading books, building jumps, organizing our first shows and, of course, checking out Eventing Nation’s website at least three times a day. This all was with the medium-term goal — that looked so far away at the time — to get a team prepared and ready to show at the Central American Championship Games here in Costa Rica, our home country, and win a team medal.
We were very lucky along the way to have great collaborators to guide us — Jay Hambly as course designer; Aaron Rust as jump builder; Wayne Quarles as TD; but very very very specially, for some God-given reason, we where tremendously lucky to meet up with Ian Roberts and his wife Kelly Plitz, who where vacationing at Costa Rica. Being the horse crazy eventers they are, they offered to help out, because working with us apparently was more fun than getting a sun tan at the beach.
All this long introduction is to share that I am proud to say that championship took place this week. What seemed impossible became reality, and next to to my team members, Andrea Sanchez, Gregorio Beeche and Victor Wolf, we came out victorious with a team bronze medal around our necks. And, as Ian said just before heading out to the airport yesterday afternoon, me winning the silver individual medal just made it that much bit sweeter.
Central American and Caribbean Games at Veracruz 2014 — here we come!
