November 25th - 11:07pm

<p>Polo game today! Meg and I slept in a bit which was beyond incredible. I was still up at the usual time but was able to make myself go back to bed for a few hours. We headed out with Rodrigo to go watch the games. The first one was both teams weve seen before. Two different teams from La Agueda (spelled so wrong) but with different sponsers. It was a great game that was neck and neck the whole time despite one team being a 33 goal team and the other a 38. At the end of the 8 chuckers it was tied so they went into overtime and have to say it was the craziest playing Ive ever seen. Everyone played so hard and both teams fought hard. I dont remember which team it was that won in the end but they had orange polos. It was super sunny in the stands despite the day starting off looking like rain. Im sure I am so sunburned from it but whatever. It was worth it.
Between the games I went over to the La Dolfina tent with Megg to get a polo shirt for my brother for christmas. Turns out the guy that invited us back to their team area last week was there again this week. Somehow he remembered us and told us we had to come back after the second game this week since we hadnt last week. So got the polo shirt then headed to the other field to watch the next game which was Ellerstina vs La Natividad. It cooled off a bit so the weather was awesome and then the game itself was incredible. Ellerstina really showed off what a 38 goal team can play like. Some of the shots they made were just amazing. The force of the hits were also demonstrated as a ball was hit and shattered on impact. Still went flying though! A decently close game but in the end Ellerstina came out on top. It will never cease to amaze me how good these guys are on the horses. The stick and ball skills in and of themselves are incredible but the things they can do with are horse, amazing. And then to sit the spins, stops and runs they ask for without toppling off every other minute. Heck its not like they even sit anything though, usually theyre leaning half off the horse reaching for the ball. Craziness.
After the game we did end up going to the La Dolfina area to chill for a bit and it was quite fun. The guy's name that we talked to was actually Leo and he turned out to be pretty cool. He knew Martin and spoke english so we were able to chat for a bit. Definitely a very funny guy with some great quotes from the night. Apparently he use to work in the barns when he was more into playing polo but found the constant dirtiness a bit much "I want to be clean! And sexy!". He also said he asked Martin at one point if he'd ever played polo and apparently got the reply "I dont like games much, I like disipline." Not sure Ive ever hears a truer statement than that! So all in all a very fun day with some great people! A bit of a late night in but it was worth it. And a huge thanks to Rodrigo for driving Megg and I there and back!

If I ever move here, I want that apartment in the last picture behind the scoreboards!

November 24th - 7:42pm

Another long, but good, day to finish off the week. We took Benito, Quantum and Garufa to the show at the Hipico today. Benito was competing in a class for Series 2 horses that didnt qualify for the finals Friday. Though really the real finals are Sunday. Horses that did well Friday come back to do the last rounds on Sunday to determine the winner of each of the series. Both days are suppose to be on the grass field but the rain Thursday moved Fridays classes inside. That was the what Puccini and Justinian were doing yesterday. Benito jumped well in the "Last Chance" class over some very large jumps. He had two rails which was a bit dissappointing but it happens.
Afterward we had a decently long wait for the free jumping competition to start that Garufa and Quantum were in. Garufa was first to go in the 3 year old class. He was pretty unphased by the crowd and new area. Once he was in the chute, he trotted around it a few loops then they stopped him and built up the first jumps. He figured out quite quickly that all he had to do was go around, jump the jump then he could stop and grab a bite of hay that were around the front as decoration. Jump, eat, go again. Each horse got eight goes and Garufa's last one was incredible. Tight front end with a powerful hind. That style earned him a solid third place
In the four year old class next it was Quantum's turn. Quantum is one of my favorite young horses in the barn. Always so calm and just nice to work around. Plus he's a fantastic jumper. His first could goes in the free jump were good but not spectacular. As the jumps went up though he improved with each go. By the final times around the jump was up to a sizeable 4' oxer and he was jumping incredibly. With the first couple just ok jumps and the final two great goes, Martin thought he might have earned a 4th or so out of the 20 or so other young horses competing. As they announced the placings, however, 4th went to another horse. As well as third. And second. Turns out the last two incredible jumps were all it took. Quantum had won it! Great end to the show day!
After we packed everyone up super quickly and carted them home. Didnt get in till 9:00 or so definitely a long day. We went up to Rachel and Martins for a bit to grab a quick dinner of Thanksgiving left overs then right off to bed. Cant sleep the day away tomorrow! Weve got more polo games ti go watch!

November 23rd - 9:09pm

Up at 5:30 for the horse show this morning. Meg went with Martin and they took Justinian and Puccini for the series finals at the Hipico. Justinian went double clear in his first round with a rail or two in his second at 3'9" (I believe). Puccini had a slightly more difficult day from the sound of it but not sure the details. But either way, today/this weekend marks the end of the series that has been going on since I arrived. Crazy to think about!
Since two horses do not require three people to tack up/groom/ride them I stayed home and worked the horses here. The ring was very wet so Rodrigo and I just took all the horses out on the road. I was on Herodes, Pastrocito, Nacar, Boss and Benito. All five of them were very well behaved and seemed to enjoy getting out of the ring. I know I did at least. Ive never been one to live 24/7 in the ring. I enjoy trail riding and even cross country schooling (gasp!) just to get out sometimes. So today was my day to get out. Super fun stuff.
The afternoon was kind of a whirlwind of getting all the normal stuff finished, getting horses ready for tomorrow and closing up the barn. Right before six though Martin called and asked me to get Holandesa and Herodes ready for the neighbor trainer to come sit on. So with almost everything finished I drug those two horses back out and threw tack on them. Im sure the guys thought I was crazy as I was frantically scurring around the barn getting them ready. Nicolas (I think thats his name at least) arrived just as I was finishing with Herodes. Hopped on and took him for a quick walk/trot/canter down the road. Then the same for Holandesa. Dont know if he was looking for something for a client or what but either way I believe the horses were good for him.
So with the last bit tacked on the end it managed to be a decently long day. And despite my promises to myself I was just going to take a shower and go to bed, I sat up chatting with Megg for a bit. So barely getting to bed before 9:30. Another show day tomorrow so another early morning!

November 22nd - 11:11pm

People have always told me that holidays away from home, family and friends are the hardest. To a point I agreed with them but mostly I thought it couldnt be much different from your average day away. Once again with this job, I was wrong. Totally wrong. Dont know if it was the weather (rainy), the lack of sleep (up during the night several times the last few days), Thanksgiving or a mix of all three but it was, without a doubt, a craptastic day.
Ive been homesick before in the time Ive been in Argentina. Anyone who is away from home is at some point or another but today was a whole other level. Even when Ive wanted to see family, I could push myself and come up with why I wanted to stay. If someone had offered me plane tickets home today, however, I would have been hard pressed not to grab them and run. Everything from working with the horses to trying to communicate with the guys took on a whole new level of frustration. Especially with Rodrigo. Hes a great guy sometimes but every so often his ability to constantly find fault with anything grates on my nerves. Add in the fact that I almost never understand what correction he's trying to make and it can be a recipe for diaster. Usually I can breath deep, try to understand and do what he wants but its not always easy. Today fell into one of those not always easy days. Somehow or another the day managed to come to a close with only a few tears thank goodness. Considering how I felt, that is a near miracle.
After work, however, the day picked up. Megg and I went over to Martin and Rachels for thanksgiving dinner. Its not an Argentine holiday but they celebrate it anyway. Some of their friends came over which was quite fun. Phillipe, Pampa's owner, was one of the friends and as always, he was hysterical. Definitely one of my favorite people in Argentina. He and Mono are tied in that at the moment. The food was amazing and the people even more so. It wasnt quite the same as being at my grandmothers house with my family but it was still very nice. Definitely not a bad way to end a day and it did serve to pick me up a bit. Two more work days this week with horse shows on both of them. Then the Argentine Open again. Just have to remind myself, as much as I might hate days like today that leave me sapped for energy both physically and emotionally, I am living a sort of fairytale life. I ride 6 days a week and spend my days off exploring one of the biggest cities in the world. Cant complain too much but I will be keeping my fingers crossed (and wishing at 11:11) for a better day tomorrow.

November 21st - 8:14pm

Another long, hot day. Definitely noticing a trend as of late with that. The cold days are long gone and the cool ones are becoming fewer and fewer. The hardest part for me is the nights though. It stays hot until fairly late in the night which can make sleeping a bear. General tiredness means Im sleeping anyway but not always the most comfortable thing ever.
Megg has been getting progressively sicker with some sort of bad cold and wasnt able to ride in the morning as a result. Looked a lot like death warmed over (as I told her on more than one occasion). She stuck around in the barn helping tack up and get horses to the walker to be ridden though. It was a big help since we're now down Walter and Carlos. The new guys are nice and try hard but theyve never worked around horses before and have no idea how to tack them up. Theyll learn quick enough but in the mean time, we're a bit slow with getting horses to the ring.
Today, though, I was on Picaro, Geologo, Benito, Puccini and Virtuoso warming them up for Martin. He had lessons with Mono today so the last three were for that. Tgey also free jumped Garufa and Quantum in preparation for the free jumping show this weekend. After the lessons were finished, I rode Skyline, Nixon, Jour, Nacar and Herodes. So was on 10 horses today. Not a bad days work. Nothing terribly exciting happened with any of them. Just flat schools all around. Tomorrow its suppose to pour from 8am to 8pm so we'll all be on the ground inside all day more than likely. Lots of ears/noses to clean up, manes to shorten and maybe a horse or two to clip. Not a huge fan of rain but fingers crossed it cools everything off a bit at least! I know it is going to get much hotter but for now at least, Im still hoping for more cooler weather!

November 20th - 8:24pm

Good day. Long, hot day. But good day. Warmed up Cor Lit for Martin. Then had a brief flat lesson with Benito. Flat schools for Nixon and Jour. To end the day we had two jumping lessons on Nacar and Holandesa. Martin set out a cavaletti then tree strides to an x-rail followed by 5 longer strides to a jump. The jump started as a small vertical then worked its way up. We were suppose to canter directly in, knowing the striding and get it done. For the most part, I was decently capable. Five strides, however, is just enough space to totally mess up a jump though. As always with riding, it was a matter of constantly checking and correcting to get to the last fence just right. Stop any drift, lengthen or shorten a stride if need be and any number of other things. Nacar was quite well behaved though and one jump in particular felt super nice. Gave the release he needed while holding my body over top of him and my leg. Usually I try to lay out over his neck for whatever bizare reason. Martin often tells me that if his neck had paint on it, Id be covered. But Im trying to improve and feel like I am slowly but steadily. Ended up at just about a 3'3" oxer with Nacar and about a 3'9" or so oxer with Holandesa. She has such a different feel than Nacar on the flat and over fences that sometimes I feel myself struggling to make the switch between the two. Shes a bit quicker to the fences with a slightly shorter stride and uses herself more over the fences. Eventually, though, I got some good goes out of her. Struggled a bit with her to get to my distances and power off the ground as the fences went up but think I know what to change/do differently for next time.  All in all I was decently happy with the jump work. Would have loved to have had more consistency through my work but I know that takes even more time and effort than Ive already put in. Just have to keep pushing.
We built a free jump up in the ring again for tomorrow. Going to be a super busy day with Mono coming and whatever free jumping is happening!

November 18th - 10:05pm

Absolutely incredible day today. We got up early and headed into town with Martin to watch Twilight do day 2 of the dressage show. He went well for the owner and I believe ended up 2nd in his class again. We checked out the Pessoa tack store, watched some other horses and then headed out to start the walk to the polo fields. This weekend was the first weekend of the polo games to determine who will play in the Argentine Polo Open in a few weeks. Super exciting stuff.
The weather was amazing so the walk was quite enjoyable. We went through a park with a beautiful pond and hung out for a bit just talking and people watching. Some of the trees were blooming blue and were truly breath taking to see in a group together. Just stunning. So we walked through the park then down Libratador. The polo fields were easy to find again but since we were about an hour early, we just kept walking till we found a little cafe where we had lunch. Super great place and a very nice waiter who didnt make fun of us for our rather interesting spanish skills!
After we headed back to the polo fields and got in line to pick up the tickets for all the weekends that Megg had preordered. While we were in line this random guy came up and offered us two tickets for free. We tried to tell him we had already ordered ours but it was pretty useless and we ended up with the tickets. We had the tickets for the cheapest seats in the stadium and the ones he had given us were for somewhere else so we figured we'd give his a try. Gave our tickets to two people outside the game and went in with his. And at this point I dont even know where to start describing the atmosphere. There were fancy booths set up with polo magazines, polo tack shops, a bar, resturant, mercedes cars for sale, team lounges and all sorts of other tents/pavillions set up by sponsers. I am dying to buy a polo shirt of one of the teams. I know Ellerstina or La Dofina are arguably the two best teams but I loved the hot pink polos. Definitely want to get one for me and maybe some for my brother. The matches themselves were even more incredible. Game 1 was Ellerstina (38 goa team) vs a 35 goal team whose name escapes me at the moment. Begins with A and wears orange. We had some awesome seats near center line as a result of the guys tickets. The level of stick and ball skills as well as horsemanship was incredible. Again what gets me the most is how the teams as a whole move. Without even looking, they know where their team mate will be and can shoot the ball back to them, gallop past it or whatever knowing a team mate is right there behind them. Just insane. One guy fell off in the match. Not a big deal and he was ok but his horse galloped madly back to the trailer and ran over a guy on the ground. He ended up being rushed out by the ambulance. About that time the rain started to go and once again we were treated to some incredibly kind people who offered us their umbrella to sit under. So nice of them. After the game  we hopped down to one of the resturants and had a glass of champaign with Rachel and Martin before the second match started. Then, in true Katie and Megg fashion, we got some ice cream. Truly amazing stuff in this country!
We headed up to find our seats at this point and got the true suprise of the day. The tickets the guy had given us were not only better seats, they were the absolute best seats in the stadium. The only seats under a roof (and it was still raining!), basically on centerline and up high enough to see all the action. Tickets for these seats are beyond pricey. Our ticket actually read "Not for Sale" and "By Invitation Only" so I can only imagine what they cost. But one of the people working at the stadium lead us up to the seats and there the guy was, just hanging out with his friend. He asked how we were, what we thought of the game and absolutely refused to let us buy him a drink or anything for the free tickets. Then at the end told us to have a nice day and left. Totally insane. But watching the game from there was incredible. You could see how all the plays worked out, exactly how the game was going and all the little details. Just incredible. Dont remember the name of the teams at the moment but one wore white and the other had green polos. Megg decided she wanted to cheer for one and I had the other by default. It ended up being really fun (and Im sure funny to watch) as we got into cheering for our teams that we'd never heard of before the match. But it was a great game. Meggs team (the white team) ended up winning which was actually pretty well deserved since they took some hard hits during the game. One player was thrown and stepped on while another was hit hard in the face. Both were patched up on the field and played through the pain (and copious amounts of blood loss in the second players case). It was a fantastic game to watch though. And from such incredible seats. After we went over to Martins moms house and met up with them their to catch a ride home. As always it was great to see his mom and just hang out for a bit. So today had a great show, great weather, a great walk, incredible polo games and everything inbetween. Definitely a day to remember for many, many years.