Vacancy: Argentina: Polo + Horse Breeding
Company: The Leap Overseas Ltd
Category: Equestrian
Dates: Jan, April, July & Sept (for 6 or 8 wks)
Cost: From £2920 - £4620
Age limit: 18 - 27 yrs.

Head to the Pampas to learn the secrets of horse breeding, training and the game of polo. Experience the Argentine rural lifestyle and sport at its best, in a land famed for endless grassy horizons and cowboy traditions. You will be staying at La Mariposa, a well known polo breeding farm and polo school two hours to the west of Buenos Aires. The estancia is a family-run business where life revolves around the barbeque, it has three polo grounds and all the facilities required for keeping around 100 polo ponies in breeding and training.

A typical day...Spend your mornings working alongside the gauchos, taking care of the mares, foals and yearlings and exercising the horses. Help with general stable work and maintenance, learn tricks of the trade and experience the magic as gaucho’s break in the young horses. You will also have the opportunity to assist the estancia’s visiting vets, who work taking care of horses’ health, treating wounds, giving ultra-sounds, vaccinations and keeping records of general horse care.

After lunch and the traditional siesta, when you can take a dip in the swimming pool and generally relax, you will learn to play polo, practice stick and balling, play ‘baby chukkas’, matches and possibly (depending on local polo schedule) try your skills in a friendly tournament.

There is plenty of time to sample traditional Argentinean hospitality, whether that’s chilling out with the gauchos drinking mate, taking tango lessons in town and attending shows at the local carnival. Immerse yourself in rural traditions with a trip to local bars or gaucho festivities (traditional dancing, auctions, rodeos, carnival - if available) and indulge your passion for polo by watching Argentine practices and tournaments (high goal season is March-April and October-November) in an unforgettable atmosphere.

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