naments , so that they may have had the experience of several matches . Nowadays , Open players arrive in Argentina and begin by playing the Tortugas Open , where they already need to win , so that it is very difficult to enter a new mare without much experience , because of that very need . It is better when they ’ ve gone through it all ; when they are used to competition and can play some tournament before so that they are better prepared for that level of polo . It ’ s essential to have a good trainer ( pilot ) at this stage and that he be a player , who makes it play in other tournaments , because if they were to start by going straight in to Tortugas , where they have to win , it is important that the shock should not be so drastic .
Claudio At this stage I see to it that they are fully fit so that medium or high-goal players may start to mount them . It is all a question of details related to each horse . If the person who schooled them did so conscientiously , he already knows what kind of horse he has . As the horse goes asking for more you realize that the moment has come for it to start playing . Yes , in my experience , I believe that the schooling ends after a polo player takes them up , because I ’ ve noticed that I may think something about a horse , but when I watch it being played I realize that it is better than what I thought . I think that ideally they should be played first by medium-goal players and then by high-goal . For those horses that did very well during the first year , it is good to make space for them in the fall season to play them on the farm without the bustle of Pilar , and take the usual heat off them a bit ; I think it does them a lot of good . If the horse is fit and ready to be played by a highgoal player , the best that could happen to it is that somebody should tighten the screws on it a bit so that it knows what it feels like to play at that level . There is a lot of difference between medium and high-goal polo , and that is why it ’ s very easy to make a mistake and believe that a horse is ready and then be angry when the player says he doesn ’ t like it , when what is happening is that it ’ s never played at that level . One must understand that many players arrive from abroad with horses that are fully fit and get on to these and find a difference in timing which makes it harder for them to adapt to the speed that the player demands .
Juanpi When the horse is really tame and ready to play , I like to lend it to good players to mount . In my case I hand them to Eduardo , Nacho or Miguel Novillo Astrada because I think the ponies are ready , and it is they who tell me whether or not they are truly finished . I have probably been working with a horse since break-in and they ’ ve only watched it perform in practice matches . But I like to listen to various opinions . In my case I prefer to let the horse loose when it is doing well , before it gets bored or starts feeling some pain or other . The high-goal players are the ones who give the horses their finishing touches , not only on the field , but also as regards their care and everything surrounding their upkeep in each player ’ s organization . The ideal situation is that a high-goaler should play them so that they feel fully the rigors that level demands , but the final change will occur when they receive high-goal-care treatment . Our work is long term , and we try that the ponies be played by the highest possible handicap-level players before they go to those who are to play the triple crown . It is a combination of pilot ; level and practice matches .
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