Anuario Raza Polo Argentino Anuario2018 | Page 213
at hand, then I begin to catalog it… There are
horses that are very bad during break-in and
end up being fantastic, and others that are very
good and then appear frightened or cowardly
and don’t get you anywhere… I’ve seen it all. I
think that with a demanding practice match you
realize whether it will be of use or not and it is
then returned to the pilot with the slow system…
but you already know if it will be any good. In my
breeding system, I mount them once at the age
of 4 to 5 years and put all the pressure on them,
and then I know if they’re any good or not… or at
least I make many less mistakes.
From four to five years I try to get them to play
Tortugas, but to do that they must have been
playing easy-going polo for two long seasons. I
put pressure on them for a month and then ease
down that rhythm. In fact, last season I played
Dolfina Roxy (Hanna Montana) at Tortugas,
aged five. I let her loose for a month and with
permission from her owner, Federico Farina,
I brought her back again and she played the
Palermo final.”
“What role does the pilot play in your
schooling process?”
“It’s like all the rest. I think the tamer and pilot
have to be united. Just like the player, with the
vet and groom, they also must be united. It is
all joint work. It all starts with the previous
imprinting process, so that they don’t get hurt
when the tamer starts work on them. The tamer
must talk to the pilot and they must all work
together. When all that is joined together is when
the horses on average begin to improve. It is
a team that joins together the parts. In all the
processes sensitivity is very important. That is
where tamers, pilots, grooms and players make
a difference. One feels a horse on its back; those
who feel it are those who make a difference.”
“And how long do you have to wait for them
after that?”
“My record indicates that you make many less
mistakes if you wait for a horse, but you also
spend a lot of money. If you go to the history
of all my very good mares… they all played the
Open between the ages of 4 and 5. From my
bloodstock I can mention Lapa; Cuartetera;
Dolfina Buenaventura… then from other
bloodlines you have Marsellesa, La Luna; Polo
Pureza; Dolfina Toro; Ytacuá Bengalita… all
ponies that are now in the AACCP Hall of Fame
and that played Palermo aged five. So at some
point you can say to yourself ‘you may make
mistakes… but you realize faster’. On average
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