Walk, Trot, Canter & Gallop

Prior to showing up at Estancia Los Potreros, I had been on a horse exactly three times over the course of 10 years.  To say I am a novice is an understatement of enormous magnitude.  The big draw of Los Potreros is that you go on two rides every day! By the end of my short stay, I had gone on four (amazing) rides and clocked in well over 12 hours of riding time.  I think that makes me an official beginner now!

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The Horses

Los Portreros has approx. 130 horses, with nearly 80 being used for riding.  There is a mix between the Peruvian Paso horse and the Criollo.  The Criollo has typically been used by gauchos because of their endurance.  The Paso is a breed of light saddle horse known for its smooth ride, it will spoil you (trust me).

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The Guests

The Estancia prides itself on catering to any level of rider and generally they fall into two groups.  First there are folks with lots of riding experience that are specifically looking for an equestrian holiday (which I didn't even realize existed). Then there are guests like myself that are just looking for a well-rounded tour of Argentina and figured meeting some gauchos would be fun. Warning: you will make lots of new friends!

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Riding 101

Before getting on a horse, new guests are given a quick tutorial by one of the guides.  There are various riding styles so they want to ensure you are clear on how the riding is done here in Argentina and more specifically at this Estancia.  For example, the reins are only held with one hand and should be relaxed when walking but not so relaxed that your horse thinks it can stop and snack along the way!

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The 4 Gaits

Horses (for the beginners out there) have 4 standard gaits or paces:

1. The Walk which is pretty self explanatory. 
2. The Trot which is a 2-beat diagonal gait and feels like you are just bouncing up and down....not very comfortable in my opinion. 
3. The canter is a 3-beat gait.  Though intimidating at first, if you relax your body and lean into it, the canter is completely exhilarating! 
   
4. Gallop is the fastest with a 4-beat gait.  I didn't' make my way to a gallop but certainly would like to try again one day.
   

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The Rides

Being on a 6500 acre property affords you some great advantages.  The most important being there is always a new trail to explore.  It will take nearly twenty rides before you start repeating any portion of the trails you hit. Along the way, you are treated to all sorts of discoveries - a rock when hit sounds like a church bell ringing, a hidden waterfall, a view of the city of Cordoba from the highest point on the ranch...each one makes you feel so thankful to be there!

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The Guides

All the tours were led by two guides - one is leading (and opening the gates) and the other is typically hanging in the back watching over the guests. Every single one of the guides is passionate about horses (of course) and they are the friendliest people you will ever meet!

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Behind the Scenes

Lou Begg, one of the owners, meticulously plans which horse is with which rider for both the morning and afternoon rides.  It's always a fun surprise to walk up to chalkboard before the start of a ride to see who your horse will be!

Lou is always navigating between the 80 riding horses to ensure no one horse is strained too much.  This level of care definitely shows!  Again, I know nothing about horses, but as soon as you get on a Los Potreros horse, you know they are well-trained and well taken care of. 

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Rebenque

Because of the large amount of riding horses and the minimal number of guests, you typically will never ride the same horse twice.  My first ride was with a Paso named Rebenque and I fell completely in love.  Rebenque took me on my first canter- which was such a high!  Lou happened to hear how much I loved my ride and surprised me with another ride with Rebenque before I left.  It was truly the highlight of my stay at Estancia Los Potreros, which was the already the highlight of my trip to Argentina.  I am definitely going back to see him and all my other friends at Los Potreros...it's just a matter of time!