Key Dates: September 22 – 27 | Route: Young to the Meseta de Artigas Uruguay
📌 AT A GLANCE:
🐴 The Journey: 31 horses & 57 people traveling 110 miles down Ruta 3
🌾 The Need: Keeping our herd and crew moving (feed, meals, fuel)
❤️ The Impact: Everything over goal powers CADY’s horse therapy for disabled kids (managed for Flor de Lis by rider Susan)
⬇️ Read our story below or tap GIVE anytime to support!
The Tradition We Carry
We've got 6 days to move 31 horses and 57 people from Young to the iconic Meseta de Artigas monument, perched high on a hill overlooking the Uruguay River. This year marks the 32nd annual Encuentro con la Patriarca—and it's an amazing sight.
We leave Young on horseback to get to the event, ride in the parade through Paysandú, and head up the side of Ruta 3. A massive line of trucks and trailers from over 370 aparcerías (gaucho guilds) creeps up the highway right alongside us.
We started Aparcería Flor de Lis back in 2016 so we had a true home for keeping these traditions alive together. We wanted a place where people always come first, built on real friendship and helping out wherever we can, while expecting nothing in return.
We picked the Flor de Lis name and symbol to show we're all heading in the same direction—always trying to do more, help more, and see just how far we can take this thing. We're far more than just a "riding club." We're a tight-knit community working together to keep our traditional way of life alive.
That bond keeps us connected on the road. Our group spans all ages—from 4-year-old Facundo trotting along to 72-year-old Tito leading the way. At night, some of our kids sleep in our big double 18-wheeler trailer. Others pitch tents, while families sleep in their own campers.
💬 A Personal Note from Susan:
"Watching the endless stream of horses pass by was unlike anything I’d ever seen.
That first year I just helped out, splitting my time between the saddle & support crew.
Flor de Lis welcomed a gringa who hardly spoke Spanish, living her horse dream, and treated me like family from day one.
I swore I'd come back with my own horse.
Riding my mare Nita in the parade and making it all the way to the end was a dream come true.
I've seen up close and personal how much these families love their tradition, and whether I'm in the saddle or working crew, I'm all in."
What We Ride For
We ride because this way of life is worth saving. Uruguay wouldn't exist without the horse. On this very route, General José Artigas—the George Washington of Uruguay—led his people on horseback to win the country's freedom. We ride to honor those roots and keep them alive in the kids riding with us.
Out on the road, our kids swap their phone screens for reins and real responsibility. They learn solid horsemanship, teamwork, and respect for the land. They learn what it means to look out for each other when the day gets long and dirty.
We also ride for a cause close to our hearts back home in Young: CADY & Centro de Esperanza. They do incredible work using horses, special ed, and rehab to change lives for local kids and adults with disabilities.
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Tap GIVE anytime to pitch in! Every dollar helps put our aparcería on the road and supports equine therapy at CADY.
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The Big Night: Noche de Fogones
On Saturday night, we celebrate Noche de Fogones (Night of Campfires). Legend has it that when Artigas led his people across the river, they were massively outnumbered. To trick the enemy, they lit endless campfires along the shore. It worked! Today, we light those same fires to remember that night.
This weekend is a huge deal for families from the campo. A lot of them are spread out across Uruguay for work, so this is the one time all year they get to get together and spend the whole weekend as a family.
People travel from every corner of the country for this night. The whole campground turns into a giant open-air party lit by hundreds of fogones and live music late into the night. You can smell the smoke in the air for miles—and it clings to your clothes for days!
Back at our regular spot, high on the hill overlooking the river, our site fills with extended family and old friends. We pass around mate 🧉, share some shots of whiskey, and slow-roast a whole cordero al asador (lamb asado) over open embers.
The Grand Parade & The Way Home
On Sunday morning, a sea of 9,000 horses stretches farther than the eye can see across a giant field. Everyone is dressed in their best traditional clothes as an announcer calls out each group's name like a fast-talking auctioneer, lining up all 370 aparcerías in exact order.
Group by group, we ride out down the 7-mile road toward the campground, where tens of thousands of cheering spectators are waiting for the parade to begin.
Once the celebration winds down, the real puzzle begins. There's only one single dirt road leading in and out, turning the departure into its own kind of exodus and a true test of patience. Hundreds of long, open-air stock trucks line up to maneuver, two by two, into tight loading spots. Riders work carefully to load thousands of tired horses—packing them in head-to-tail and convincing the stubborn ones that it’s finally time to go home.
By Monday, we're back home hosing down wool saddle pads, shoving leftovers into the fridge, and firing off WhatsApp photos asking, "Is this yours?" as we sort out whose shirts, phone chargers, and bombachas got mixed up in the camp chaos! We're exhausted, but our hearts are full.
How Your Donation Works
Running a mobile camp for a full week takes real resources—especially with more than half our riders being school kids. Our aparcería works hard to keep this trip affordable for our families.
Safety rules now require all groups to sleep inside physically fenced pastures each night. We can no longer camp for free on open roadsides like we used to. Renting private, secure fields along Ruta 3 is a necessary expense for our camp.
Donations directly cover our $2,475 target to keep our 31 horses fed, our camp running, and safe pastures secured each night along the route.
As soon as we hit that target, 100% of everything over the goal goes directly to CADY & Centro de Esperanza in Young to fund their equine therapy programs! Even a small $5 or $10 gift makes a real difference to keep our herd moving forward.
Pick Your Part in the Journey
📱 $20 — Teen "Crisis Prevention" Fund
Keeps our camp generator humming so the kids can charge their phones after long hours in the saddle. (Full batteries = total peace in camp!)
🪵 $35 — Water & Firewood Hauling Crew
Covers truck fuel to haul 1,000-liter water tanks for thirsty horses, plus daily firewood for our cooking fires. We even stash logs in our mobile porta-potty to keep every stick dry!
🌾 $60 — Sponsor a Horse on the Road
Buys grain, alfalfa, and a lush patch of grass to munch on after long miles on the road.
🌾 + 🥕 + ❤️ = 🐴😋!
🍳 $120 — Camp Kitchen Hero
Helps buy bulk provisions to feed our 57 crew members. It fuels our moms and abuelos as they peel potatoes, fry fresh tortas fritas over the fire, and keep everyone energized!
🚛 $250 — Whole-Herd Pasture & Transport
Helps cover a secure fenced-in pasture for our entire herd for a night, and goes towards transport to bring our horses back home after the ride.
🥩 $500 — Noche de Fogones Host
Be the host of our camp’s biggest night. Covers the cordero and the wood to feed the whole camp when extended family and friends show up for the parade.
🐴 $1,000 — Aparcería & CADY Legacy Patron
Reaches our core camp goal quickly so that extra funds can go straight back home to CADY to support their equine therapy and special education programs.
Help Us Reach the River
You've read our story—now come join us!
Tap GIVE right now to help feed our herd, nourish our people, or treat the camp to a big bucket of ice cream!
Can't donate today? Tap FOLLOW.
Whether you donate or follow, you're along for the ride.
We'll post photo and video updates leading up to the ride and straight from the highway as it all unfolds—so you won't miss a thing!
Thanks so much for riding with us.
