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Using
the estancia as your base, explore the Sierras Chicas on a
trail rides and play polo ‘country-style’.
This is an 6,000-acre working farm that has
remained in the same Anglo-Argentine family for four generations.
The Estancia is very secluded on the top of the "Sierras Chicas" at an
altitude of 3,000 feet, nestled between the pampas and the Andes in the
heart of the beautiful region of Cordoba. It is steeped in family
history and locally there is much evidence of the pioneering work of the
Jesuits who first organized farming in the area before they were forced
to leave in the 1760's.
Here we provide you with the opportunity to get involved with the sport
of Polo for a week - Country Polo to be specific. Country Polo is
an introduction to polo. It is aimed at the novice or occasional player
who would like to improve their Polo but also enjoy varied and
interesting rides in fabulous countryside. "We would like polo to be
cheerful and fun, with no pressure or embarrassment, a starter rather
than main course". This will be a fun holiday in beautiful scenery
with excellent horses and all within the context of a real farm
environment.
This is a place for people who appreciate fine horses and know how to
ride. However, there are horses for every ability.
 IT-ARRT11-P
Rates incl. lodging and meals, 6 riding days.
8 days/ 7 nights $ $ 2,730 Single:+30%
2008 Dates:
03/29-07/07 08/16-08/23
11/15-11/22
A concentrated weeks of polo can be arranged at most times of the year
with a minimum of four players.
Meeting: Cordoba
Airport: Cordoba
Transfer: included from Cordoba
Horses: Peruvian Paso, Criollo,
Polo Ponies
Tack: South American, English
trekking with sheepskin
Pace: Moderate, trots and canters
Level:
Intermediate
Min/Max Riders: 4-12
The week:
In a typical day a two to three hour morning ride will be followed
by lunch at the estancia, or a picnic if out doing some cattle work.
Swimming, a siesta or reading a book will fill the warm hours. After tea
we ride to the polo ground and take a lesson playing some chukkas at the
end of the day. Candle-lit dinners back at the farm. We hope to prepare
for a mini tournament at the end of the week when local players may
visit or go to the village and "play away" representing the estancia in
the team colors. All of this takes place in a beautiful setting allowing
you to explore the hills and a traditional way of life.
We can provide you with polo gear during your stay, however we strongly
recommend that you bring your own boots, gloves and helmet to guarantee
a comfortable fit.
"Our success is that even though accomplished players have their
contacts, there is a larger market for riders who have always fancied a
"go" at polo. We are offering a holiday that way exceeds the average
polo estancia because we offer adventure in a beautiful landscape,
excellent horses and all within a real country environment. We are not
swanky about polo but it would be wrong to underrate our farmers polo".
A "country polo" week with an in house tournament
will take place several times a year and guests are welcome.
This concentrated week of polo can be arranged at most times of the year
with a minimum of four players. Professional polo tuition is also
available.
Included in your week:
- Stick and ball, polo lessons followed by chukkas
- Riding on the farm, including farm
activities when they are going on
- Ride the Paso Peruano horses
- Accommodation at the Estancia
- All meals, appetizers, and drinks
- A wine tasting evening of local wines
- Airport transfers from Cordoba
Horses:
The horses, all bred on the estancia, have exceptionally soft mouths,
are well mannered and in excellent condition, they are responsive and
sure-footed, and most are either "Criollos" or "Paso Peruanos" with some
crossbreeds. These horses differ in that here they are used constantly
on the farm, moving cattle over the terrain makes them sure footed and
willing animals.
INSIDE POLO
Polo has been described--and up to a point it is
true-as Hockey on Horseback. Both games involve teams contesting
possession of a ball from opposite ends of a rectangular field of play.
Every player is armed with a stick/mallet. Through a combination of
speed, stickwork and strategy, each team tries to strike the ball
through its opponent's goalmouth, with the highest-scoring team declared
the winner.
And there the similarities end. Polo differs crucially in being played
on horseback. Because of the physical demands upon the horses, which are
fully extended stopping, starting, turning, galloping and pushing aside
opposing players and their mounts from the ball, a polo game is divided
into a specific number of 7 ˝-minute segments called "chukkas."
POLO PONY Horses used in polo are called "ponies." This is an
anachronism, a legacy of the height restriction on mounts, discarded
after World War 1.
Several factors have contributed to Argentina's position as the supreme
polo nation since World War 11 . One advantage are its natural
assets--its rich, flat, open pastureland, a climate allowing outdoor
sports which virtually all year round, and a deeply entrenched
equestrian culture serving its livestock industry. Another factor was
Argentina's neutrality in two world wars, sparing it from untold cost in
lives and treasure.
The first Argentine player to attain a ten-goal handicap, in 1919, was
Luis Lacey (who lived out his last years on Estancia Los Potreros)
followed by Juan Traill (1924); in the 1940s by two Alberdis, two
Menditguys and Luis Duggan; by Roberto Cavanagh in the 1950s; in the
1960s by two Dorignacs, two Heguys and two Harriots; in the 1970s by
Gonzalo Tanoira; in the 1980s by Daniele Gonzales and Gonzalo and
Alfonso Pieres. Juan Carlos Herriot is regarded as the 20 th century's
greatest player, a mantle to such early 21st century players as Bautista
Heguy and Adolfito Cambiaso now lay claim. Argentina currently has
enough ten-goal players to mount two 40-goal teams. |
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