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Gustavo Yanez has a passion for polo. He has been training polo ponies for 20 years and has exported over 160 low and medium goal polo ponies to Europe and Asia. He owns the Don Pepe Polo Farm and his family owns the 5,000 hectare La Clota Farm in the Altautenas near Cordoba. The farm has been in Gustavo's family for over 50 years, and it was his father who brought polo to the town of Villa Dolores. Gustavo works on his farm making polo horses and as manager at King Power Polo in Thailand. Don Pepe Polo Farm specializes in the following:
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Work on a Polo Farm in Argentina -- view application |
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The Polo Pony |
| Our philosophy is that the good polo horse must be ridden every day. When you start to make the horse, you must go very slowly. You must relax the horse until he learns about the polo. It is important to ride and play the horse with long reins, so the horse is not tense. When the chukka is finished, you should be able to put the reins on the neck of the horse, and it will walk back to the pony line. This is the properly trained horse. The process of making an Argentinean polo pony begins within the first 24 hours that the foul is born. This is the time of "imprinting." It is very important to be with the horse at this time, because it will remember you and help later when the training begins. The conformation of a good polo horse is also important. The polo pony should have a long neck and a short body. The chest and rump should be well developed and the withers should measure approximately 155-158 cm from the ground. For the first three years, the horse is left free. Sometimes, it will only be visited and touched for 1-2 hours per month. If the horses are played too early, sometimes they will later develop leg and bone injuries around age six. The horse is usually between 5-8 years old before it is ready to sell, and it must be able to change legs in the canter and to be able to stop quickly. More information on training a polo horse in Argentina. |
