Organizers of the race explained the background of the horse riders' attack on participants in Río Negro

Organizers of the "Doble Apolo" trail running race in Argentina's Río Negro province have described a recent attack by horse riders as premeditated. The incident, which occurred in the Paso Córdoba Protected Natural Area near General Roca, saw runners assaulted with stones and boleadoras.

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We had permission to pass through there. It is the Paso Córdoba Protected Area. It is land managed by General Roca. It was declared a Protected Area for sports, recreational and tourism activities. Every year we have to process the corresponding permits. We submit the plans three months in advance. Environmental guards indicate the sectors we can pass through and those we cannot.

According to Alejandro Pellegrini, one of the race organizers, the attack is rooted in a long-standing dispute with a group of families who claim exclusive rights to use parts of the protected land. Pellegrini emphasized that the race had obtained all required municipal and provincial authorizations to proceed. "We had permission to pass through there. It is the Paso Córdoba Protected Area. It is land managed by General Roca," he explained.

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This year, surprisingly, the locals appeared. We had had meetings with them in the first editions. Out of respect, we moved away. Two years ago they insisted again that we not hold the event, because all that mountain is theirs. The municipality, meanwhile, authorizes us.

Pellegrini detailed that while the municipality manages the area for sports, recreation, and tourism, a specific community holds tenure for animal grazing but not private use. "They don't let you pass because they claim all the land there belongs to the community they are part of," he said, highlighting the differing interpretations of land use.

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It is fiscal land managed by the municipality of General Roca. Obviously, there is a community there that has tenure for animal husbandry, but not for private use. They only have rights over 48 kilometers.

Pablo González, Pellegrini's business partner, corroborated that the attack was planned. He recounted that race officials found no obstructions when checking the course 30 minutes before the start. However, shortly after the race began, the horse riders appeared. "It was already premeditated on their part. If we had known this was going to happen, we wouldn't have sent the runners into a risky situation. They appeared out of nowhere," González lamented. He suggested the group responsible represents a small faction of local inhabitants.

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You are not allowed to pass because they claim all the land there belongs to the community they are part of.