Argentine - with the Gauchos

The Early History of Los Potreros

On 8 August 1825, William Grierson sailed across the Atlantic aboard the ship Symmetry as part of the first organised migration to Argentinafrom Leith, Edinburgh. Two and a half months and 7,000 miles later, he and more than 200 compatriots docked in Buenos Aires with the hopes of laying the foundations of a pioneering Argentine colony of Scottish farmers. The intervening years were fraught with immense challenges, but today nearly two centuries later, the Begg family have not been dissuaded from farming. In the central province of Córdoba amidst the rolling hills of the Sierras Chicas, lies Estancia Los Potreros, run by the direct descendants of William Grierson.

The Begg family first settled in the Córdoba region in the early part of the 20th century. Robin Glassford Begg and his wife Louie regularly came to holiday at Potrero de Loza, which was owned by the Keene family. They used to stay in the Muñecas cottage (or Dollshouse), which was built for them beside the main house. The Beggs later lived at Los Melados, which they rented from Guy Keene, and eventually built their own house on the land that they purchased, Potrero de Niz.

After Robin’s death in 1949, Louie began taking paying guests. They usually stayed for around a month or two. Before long Louie introduced the practice of keeping a guestbook, a tradition that is still maintained today. Over the years people have shared their lyrical memories of their time on the estancia, which has been described as ‘heaven among the hill tops’. Louie lived to see three centuries, passing away at the impressive age of 104. She and had three children Jean, Margaret and Robert.

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Polo Weeks at Los Potreros

So what’s all the fuss about?

Fun, fast and exciting, polo is a competitive team sport that combines good horsemanship with tactics and ball skills. Often too expensive or inaccessible to try at home, Los Potreros polo weeks allow you to try this fabulous game in a truly unique environment, whilst not breaking the bank at the same time. Argentina has the best polo players in the world and so what better place to start? If you have never tried it, we should warn you that polo is highly addictive, and it may be the start of an extremely expensive habit . . .

Who are the polo weeks for?

Our polo weeks are aimed at the beginner, novice or occasional player who wishes to learn how to play, brush up their skills or just have some fun in an informal and friendly environment. Half-day polo sessions are combined with stunning trail rides out into the estancia on our fabulous horses, so combining two amazing holidays in one!

What would a typical day look like?

After a hearty breakfast of bacon and eggs, we take the horses down to the polo ground. A short session on the ground covers the skills and tactics that are going to be focused on that day, and then we mount our polo ponies for a short ‘stick and ball’ session, followed by practice chukkas. Back to the estancia for lunch, a siesta and maybe a swim in the pool, followed by a sunset ride out into the beautiful Sierras Chicas. A candlelit dinner accompanies the tales of the day that get longer as the week goes on! The week culminates in an in-house tournament, often joined by players from the local area.

What’s included in the rate?

- transfers to/from Cordoba airport

- all food, drink and accommodation

- all horses, equipment and grooms

- daily ½ day polo sessions with tuition, and daily trail rides (with the exception of Sundays where there is no afternoon ride)

- in-house tournament to end the week

Riding

Polo is a fast and physically strenuous game. Riders should be secure and confident in the

saddle, and able to control their horse at all paces. Maximum weight limit of 14 stone.

Itinerary

The itinerary is flexible and subject to change. It should be noted that polo is weather dependent. If the ground is too wet to play, an alternative ride will be offered, and where possible the sessions will be made up during the week by playing twice per day.

What to bring

Guests should bring:

- their own hard hat

- a pair of light riding gloves

- suitable footwear (riding boots with a heel) and half chaps if wearing short boots

- at least one set of white riding trousers/jodhpurs (for the photos!!)

All other equipment for polo is provided

Capilla de Buffo

Tucked away on the edge of the estancia, hidden by vegetation you will find the Capilla de Buffo, a small chapel built to honour the late wife of an Italian immigrant. The chapel is a thing of beauty. Built in the shape of the closed holy thistle (a local flower) the creator Guido Buffo, has been compared to Da Vinci; renowned mathematician, seismologist and astrologist this memorial to his wife and daughter shows off his talents in lots of little details. 

On Sunday mornings, we like to ride down to the chapel and spend some time down their taking a tour and having an opportunity to witness something so unique and special. The memorial itself is filled with little symbols to honour both his wife and daughter, including circular metal discs on the floor which represent the star constellations on the night his wife died. Another fascinating element is every year on the birthday of his wife, a ray of sunlight, enters through the skylight on the roof and illuminates the alter.

Our Aberdeen Angus Herd

Our herd of Aberdeen Angus has been part of the estancia since the Begg family first settled here, although to begin with the cattle was bred primarily for personal consumption on the farm. Today the herd, much larger in size, is part of a commercial operation, every year developing the bloodstock further to produce an animal which calves easily and thrives on the poorer winter grass is a priority.

This year has been no exception and has been particularly exciting with the introduction of bloodlines which go directly back to Scotland and some of the original Angus cattle. Taking inspiration from our roots, we have focused these last few years in reintroducing traditional techniques into our daily life, by honoring the traditions that are historical to Estancia’s in Argentina.   

In the coming days and weeks we will begin to prepare for the annual cattle sales. The entire herd is rounded up from the adjacent hills and valleys and then the task of separating the animals begins. All cattle must be vaccinated and thoroughly checked before sale. Despite the blinding dust that begins to surround the corrals, the gauchos have exceptional skills in sorting the herd. 

Once the work is done the gauchos, guests, guides and neighbors sit down and enjoy a delicious asado on a long trestle table, ready for another day! 

The Modern Luxury of Responsible Travel

As countries around the world begin to relax their rules on quarantine, we can begin to think about turning our lock-down dreams into realities and begin to travel again. Over the last few months we have begun to witness a change in the natural world, perhaps a silver lining to such an overcast time. Air and water qualities have improved, wildlife across the world has begun to return to our cities and has begun to thrive in areas where they were once under threat, carbon emissions have started to drop and as a result so has air pollution.

This is a time to change how we travel, supporting hotels and destinations which have an ethos of responsible tourism and sustainable practices. Both of these are huge parts of life at Estancia Los Potreros. Still a working cattle estancia, we work hard to remain true to our original values.

We produce the majority of our energy through renewable resources mainly wind and solar all our farming is based upon organic principles. We try to minimise our impact on the land and allow nature to dictate our course, managing our herd carefully we prevent over-grazed and eroded land, ensuring we have sufficient grass for both our horses and cattle throughout the year. 

Located on a provincial reserve of the Sierras Chicas we have a farming style which continues to encourage the presence of incredible wildlife including the elusive puma, wild boar, foxes, hairs, and with regularly sightings of the Andean Condors, whose habitat lies across the Punilla valley, in the Sierras Grandes.Although we are known for our world class riding we have an incredible variety of birdlife year round, from the commonly spotted burrowing owls, field flickers and southern lapwings to visits from the more exotic peregrine falcons, black vultures and American kestrels. 

Supporting our community is very important to us, the majority of our staff are a part of our family. Many have followed in the footsteps of their elder brothers, fathers, grandfathers, and even great grandfathers, who have worked alongside the Begg family for generations. We have long supported the local rural school, with the help of our guests. By running a small shop on the estancia, we donate all the income to the school, which is where many of our gauchos studied, and is now attended by their children. 

Our commitment to responsible tourism was born out of a necessity, as our location is off the grid, and we have to be as self-sufficient as possible, but now more than ever we are working on minimising our impact on our environment. Although this doesn’t mean we are for-going luxury, we are redefining the way we live. Even mealtimes celebrate each season of fruit and vegetables accompanied by tender delicious beef from the estancia.

One of life’s great luxuries should be to leave a positive impact on the places we love to visit, helping them to protect their culture and history but more importantly ensuring we will be able to visit time and time again for years to come.

Through the Guides Eyes...

The world has been hugely affected by the ongoing pandemic of 2020 and it is something I am sure many of us will never forget; from the shortage of toilet paper to the extensive period of social distancing, disruption has been widely felt and Argentina is no exception. Although life on a working cattle estancia continues one of our guides Sammie has decided to share with us an insight into quarantine at Estancia Los Potreros.

‘Que estamos separando? What are we separating?’

´Las lindas de las feas. The beautiful from the ugly´

A year ago today, if you’d told me that I’d be chasing cows around a corral on foot, separating the ‘good looking’ from the ´ugly´ ones I´d have thought you were mad; but here we are. 

For many across the globe, COVID-19 has put a halt on life, but work doesn´t stop on a farm. This week we pregnancy tested our Aberdeen Angus cows. With the horizon still aglow from a tangerine sunrise, six of us tacked up our horses and headed out to the campo in search of cows in order to herd them to our cattle station. With my ´compañero´ Pachi we headed out across the sierras. ´Go over that hill, and push any cows you find, over the other hill´ Pachi (unhelpfully) instructed; hills, that I might add, are as high, if not higher than Ben Nevis.

Wanting to prove my worth, I cantered over the crest and found some cows scattered over the rock and crag. My horse, Muchacho, much better versed in cow herding than me, and certainly more sure-footed, found his way through the difficult terrain. Nearly six months have passed and I still can´t whistle like the gauchos, but I have learnt to copy their various calls (and Spanish vocabulary that I definitely wasn´t taught as school). Pachi and I reconvened and pushed our cows together. Eventually three distinct lines of cattle from opposing directions converged and the six of us pushed the whole herd to the cattle station. 

Once the cows were separated we quickly took up a station each in order to start testing. Georgie on her horse in the corral pushed 10-15 cows into a smaller corral; Pachi then moved one into the shoot; a gate was then shut behind it (my job); Headman Dani clamped the head; Kevin read out the number to Georgia on his chip reader; the vet entered and inserted her arm to ascertain how far along the cow as with her calf. The cow was then released, and the process started again, only stopping for an asado lunch, cooked by Daniel. 

Work was over for the vet, but not for us. Dust and sweat mingled on our brows, as we then began to separate the female from the male calves, on foot. It was only halfway through this process that I realized the gauchos had rebenques, and we didn´t. Great. If you want to picture what this looks like, all you need imagine is a game of dodgeball, but with live cows. 

Soon we had released all the males, and the next task was to find the 70 best-looking female cows, who were to be the estancia´s future mothers. Previously unbeknown to me, there are certain things you look for in a cow: normally short legs, but here longer ones so that they are able to easily traverse the rocky terrain. Also, a larger build and a ´nice face´ (I still don´t know what this actually means, but the gauchos seemed to). The rest were released, and these 70 would remain in the corral for the next three days to be weaned from their mothers (who would wreak havoc on the estancia trying to find them for the next 72 hrs.)

We rode home as the sun began to set, exhausted and filthy, but soaring in spirit. I reflected on the day, and my life here, wondering what the world will look like when our new calves enter it, and whether, after all of this, I´ll leave Los Potreros more fluent in Spanish or cow?

A day at the cattle sales

The annual cattle sales are one of the major events of the estancia year. Preparation starts a few months before when the animals are selected for sale, and a few days before the auction they are tagged and then transported to the auction yards, about an hour away from the estancia. It is always exciting to visit the auction and see the auctioneer in action.

This year there were over 2000 animals in the auction which are split into lots during the day. We had to wait until into the afternoon for our animals to come through, but the auction is a fantastic place for people watching.

There is nothing more exciting than watching your own animals go to auction, especially when the bidding hots up! We were literally holding our breath, and were rewarded with not only the best price in the auction for the day, but the best price in the country! We celebrated in true 'gaucho' style with a coffee and an empanada . . .