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 211