Living in Neverland: Expecting Thrills, Getting Tranquility

My first 12 days in Argentina were not quite as…thrilling, as I had hoped. I had been living on a breeding/boarding/training farm outside of San Juan for 12 days, spending my time riding horses, doing barn work, and wandering the backroads.

Prior to my arrival, I was informed that this farm trains jumping and endurance horses and was full of hot-blooded thoroughbreds. Admittedly, I was a little intimidated at first as I have zero experience with jumping or endurance – unless you count wrangling in the morning at Spotted Horse Ranch where I occasionally jump some logs and ditches, and rounding up the horses can take a few hours. Despite my lack of experience, I was eager to work with a different breed of horses and acquire some new skills! So, with visions of soaring over jumps on a sleek, strong, tall thoroughbred in my mind, I eagerly awaited the sunrise to see where I was and begin my temporary work. (I had been picked up at the San Juan airport on January 17th at about 9:00pm by the most charismatic woman, the owner of the farm. Claudia is an amazing lady and instantly made me feel welcomed as she drove me to the farm and explained her lifestyle along the way.)

the screeching of the burrowing owls accompanied my walks

When I woke up and could finally see my surroundings, I was not disappointed. The farm was situated in the flatlands at the base of the mountains. While walking down the shaded lanes towards the stables, I was staring at the mountains in the distance, anticipating the rides that I would get to go on out there; I had been told that I could take a horse and ride in the afternoons!

Rodolfo with his pack

Like a lost dog, I wandered around looking for a friendly face, someone who could give me instructions and tell me what I was supposed to be doing. This person came in the form of Rodolfo, a man with seemingly only a single prized tooth, whose Spanish was unintelligible to me (at first), is probably around 65 years old, and is constantly engulfed by a pack of playful dogs. With minimal words and much gesturing, he told me that I could help by filling the water troughs and tossing hay to the horses. This took all of about 45 minutes, then I was bothering him again for another task. Instead of additional work, he busted out a mate set and we shared a few cups of the traditional tea. The entire time, dogs were swarming around our chairs and begging for attention. One little dog, named Pikachu, captured my heart and became my faithful companion for the duration of my stay.

Spotty and Pikachu, my two favorites

Post mate, Rodolfo and I gathered a few horses and led them to the tack room to be brushed and saddled. Then we sat and waited. He kept mumbling something about “…Mercedes….” and I had no idea what a Mercedes had to do with anything. Welp, it turns out that that is the name of the owner’s daughter and we were waiting on her and her friends to ride. Eventually they showed up and we all hoisted ourselves onto the tall horses. As I was getting on my horse, it was explained to me that he had run away with the previous volunteer and that she had fallen off, so I should hold the reins tight and be ready as soon as I got on. Noted. Braced for a battle, I swung up anddd…..nothing. Dear Maximo took a single step forward, a far cry from running away with me. Despite the anti-climatic mount, I remained on guard, ready for him to try anything. Still nothing, Honestly, I was a little bit let down, and also maybe a little relieved, I didn’t want to embarrass myself on the first day.

Gloria and the foals

We all rode over onto a grassy lawn where the other girls began riding their horses around the perimeter, walking at first, then squeezing their horses into a trot, then gentle canter. I followed suit, thinking that we were just warming up for the ride. An hour later, I realized that this was the ride. We would not be riding out into the mountains as I had envisioned, or flying over jumps. We were simply exercising the horses. The next day followed the same routine: water, feed, ride, hose them off, put them In their respective pens, then retire to the house until about 4:00pm, at which time we would do nightly feeding and watering, sometimes riding.

the vineyard right outside my house, with Spotty on guard duty

After three days of this repetitive routine, I contacted the woman who had arranged for my stay here to ask if it was possible to go for a ride in the mountains. Long story short, this never came to fruition. I am all about routine, and actually enjoyed the barn chores, but the riding had quickly grown monotonous. I had been spoiled over the past few years: riding in the mountains of Wyoming and hills of Cordoba. Riding circles on the patchy lawn and meandering up and down the dirt driveways had grown tiresome. For the first time, I found myself not really wanting to ride; I was happy to just do the barn chores, then go back to the house or linger by the stables to play with the dogs. When I was told to ride Princessa, a young horse that still needed some work, I was excited. I thought it would be a challenge and that I could have a project! As we were saddling Princessa, I thought that she would definitely provide the stimulation that I needed. She could not stand still as we put on her tack, was rearing back, and seemed opposed to having anything or anyone on her back. However, after a few minutes of lunging, she was infinitely more docile and allowed me on her back. One little hop and that was it. Following a few circuits on the lawn, I took her off down the lane. Nothing. Totally fine. The only real work to be done was her steering and responses to leg pressure. Once again, I was just a bit let down. These horses, while lovely, were not very much different than the calm quarter horses back home. I had been hoping for something different, to learn about a different breed of horses, and to improve my riding skills.

So, instead of riding, the highlights of my day were walking along the gravel lane in the early morning, and watching the sky change colors; playing with Pikachu and Spotty (my two favorite dogs) and watching their shadows as they tumbled along behind me; saying hello to Gloria the donkey every morning as I scratched behind her overly large ears. The things that I enjoyed the most while living in San Juan were the simple things. The morning walks, all the animals, and finally getting to town to buy a notebook so that I could better practice my Spanish. In addition to these things, the wonderful people that I met there made my stay so enjoyable. Every single person that I encountered was exceptionally patient and forgiving of my terrible Spanish; they were so willing to help me in any way that they could; and oozed kindness and generosity.

Easy A

Although these first couple weeks were different than I had hoped, they provided a gentle easing into Argentine culture, Spanish, and my travels on this continent. But now I have said “Adios” to San Juan and am focusing on the next phase of my travels. I am spending a few days in Cordoba city – hopefully buying a saddle! – then heading to Estancia Los Potreros, the estancia that I worked at last year. I am leaving one herd of horses and pack of dogs for another, and I cannot wait to get there! :)