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Charlie in our Product Team recounts his experience of learning how to play polo at Estancia Los Potreros in Argentina.

The signs were all positive.

“If you play golf or hockey then you have a real advantage” explained Lou, “as playing polo requires a similar technique and tempo”.

My eyes lit up. I’m a decent golfer, I thought to myself, playing polo should be a breeze.

I mounted my horse, Ayalla, a robust criollo and named after a former Argentinian footballer (surely another positive sign?) and trotted up and down the pitch honing my technique; reigns in my left hand, mallet in my right, lean to the side slightly, hit the ball, try not to injure Ayalla in the process, trot on, repeat. Easy.

Practice over, we launched into a 4 team round robin tournament with 7 minute chukkas. My team - the Ralph Lauren baby pinks - looked extremely strong on paper, combining experience with youthful exuberance:

1. Lou, a keen polo player and today’s referee - it’s always helpful to have the ref on your side!
2. Polly, one of the estancia’s riding guides.
3. Julia, a fellow guest who had ridden a lot when she was younger.
4. Me, Charlie, first time rider but with a golf swing like Cordoba’s very own swashbuckling, no nonsense Angel “El Pato” Cabrera.

On reflection, however, perhaps pink wasn’t the strongest choice of colour to strike fear into the opposition as the Ralph Lauren baby pinks lost all four of their chukkas. We had our moments but it was a tale of missed opportunities, summed up when I had a chance to strike first blood in a penalty shoot out for 3rd place and failed to hit the ball.

But as all sports stars say after a humiliating loss, “there were a lot of positives to take” and this morning was no exception. This had been a fantastic opportunity to take part in one of Argentina’s favourite past times in a safe and non-competitive environment. The day before I had ridden a horse for only the second time in my life but at no point did I feel out of control or scared as I chased down fellow guests trying to hook sticks (aka tackle). Guests staying at Estancia Los Potreros will all have the opportunity to play polo at some point during their stay and I would thoroughly recommend it.

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Meet our team

Real Latin american experts

  • Lina
    Lina Fuller - Travel Expert

    Lina's passion for the continent where she was born really took off when she moved to Córdoba (Argentina) to study, spending the holidays travelling between Argentina and her native Colombia.

  • Mary
    Mary Anne Nelson - Travel Expert

    Born in the Atacama Desert in northern Chile, Mary’s insider knowledge and dry sense of humour make her a highly valued member of the Tailor-made Holidays and Group Tour sales team.

  • Kathryn
    Kathryn Rhodes - Travel Expert

    Kathryn backpacked across Argentina, Chile, Bolivia and Peru before joining us. She has a degree in Philosophy and French and is a keen netball player.

  • Ben
    Ben Line - Travel Expert

    Ben fell in love with Latin America on a six month backpacking trip from Colombia to Mexico in 1995. Since then he has explored most of South America, including living in Peru for a year. He is now Head of Sales.

  • Chris
    Chris Rendell-Dunn - Travel Expert

    Anglo-Peruvian Chris grew up in Lima and spent much of his adult life in between London and Cusco as a tour leader, before settling permanently in our London-based Tailor-made and Group Tours sales team.

  • Juliet
    Juliet Ellwood - Travel Expert

    After graduating with a degree in Anthropology and History and having been fascinated by Latin America since childhood by the book featuring photos of Nazca, Juliet first visited the region in 2003. Since then, Juliet has visited the majority of countries in Latin America but has particularly extensive experience with Peru, a country she loves for many reasons but not least, its incredible archaeological richness and delicious food!

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