Anuario Raza Polo Argentino Anuario2018 | Page 229

“What importance do you attribute to the team
working with you?” “And what is your opinion of animal welfare and
its constant evolution?”
“I believe it is very important. In our case, it is
Rubén who chooses the people, and we are very
demanding. We have a very good relationship
because we are very much on top of the stables
and it is also important to maintain a good human
relationship with your work team. And as regards
the facilities, this is very important to me, such as
the rubber floors or exercising tracks because the
horses spend a lot of time in those areas, even
more so than on the polo field. And everything
must be well kept up; there must be nothing bad
that may affect the horses.” “I think it’s getting closer every day; there are many
people here who are very careful and do things
right. And in this case, we try to uphold a team that
is careful, but it is very important to be able to train
people. In Argentina, as opposed to Europe, it’s
more usual to have more horses, but nowadays,
because of their value they are increasingly more
taken care of, and this will continue to be so.”
“Some of your horses were nominated and
received awards at Palermo. How did you feel
about this?”
“It is a real pleasure for me, coming from France
to attend Palermo and be able to watch horses
from our bloodstock. Horse-blankets are an award
that goes to all the organization and the work we
have done. It’s a mixture of everything, from us to
Facundo who is an excellent rider and knows how
to bring out the best in the horses.”
“As regards genetics, have you any preference
or do you measure this more according to type
in horses?”
“Yes, I always looked more for type in horses, but
when I started coming to Argentina more, I saw
that the work breeders are doing is very important.
To me Ellerstina is a great brand, and I feel great
respect for what Gonzalo Pieres has created. And
to be able to observe the quality of his horses fills
me with admiration. We in the jumping horse’s
world always say that there are three places in
which to breed horses: Ireland, United States and
Normandy, but I think we must add Argentina,
because of the good breeders there are here:
Ellerstina, Los Machitos; La Irenita, the Tanoira’s
and many more.”
“We’ve already spoken about your team: what
can you say of Rubén?”
“I think that Rubén is neither a tamer nor a polo
player. He breaks-in horses for his son and for this
reason he does everything on the farm. The horses
he trains are those that are tamed little by little; it’s
a job that takes a lot of time and patience. A horse
is an animal that does everything by memory and
by routine, and without that it is not possible to
tame. Rubén is very passionate about horses. And
when talking of horses, passion is essential.”
“And what about Facundo?”
“Facundo is like a son to me. I met him when he
was 18 and he is a boy with great enthusiasm and
very hard-working. The truth is that without work
one can’t ever get anywhere, whatever you set
your heart to, and you see Facundo: he gets up
early; works out on his ponies and does whatever
he has to do. And he is also a great rider, which
you can see on the field. And he stands as he does
today not only because he knows how to play, but
also because of how he works day after day and
therefore deserves all he gets.”
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