ARGENTINA: AN EXPERIENCE TO TREASURE

On 11 November 2001 Diane Thompson and I left New Zealand on an extraordinary adventure - to compete in the Argentine National Carriage Driving Championships. And what an adventure it proved to be! We went with the attitude that we would enjoy every moment, and we did - just about, anyway!

Our hosts, Selina and Miguel, Santiago and Tatiana Pavolovsky (Miguel and Santiago are twins) speak good English and are just the most fantastic hosts. We were living at their country club about 40 minutes out of the capital city Buenos Aires. This is the most beautiful place, with stables, a dressage arena, permanent hazards and cones - not to mention a golf course, swimming pools, tennis courts, etc, etc, etc. Orlando and Carlos were the two gauchos who looked after 'Flaco' (our horse). They speak no English but are just super fellows who had Flaco, looking good and harnessed ready for us each morning. Flaco, a purebred Arab, belongs to Eduardo Romero Oneto. He was a lively but lovely drive once Diana and I sorted out the language problem! (I'm sure Flaco, learned English more quickly than we learned Spanish.) Usually one of a pair, he went greenly as a single, but improved a lot with dressage training every day as well as fitness work. It was indeed a challenge to have this lovely willing horse anywhere near competitive in an FEI dressage test. (We competed in the Advanced Class where everything was at full FEI standard.)

On the Thursday before the event, we set off for Entre Rias with four horses in horsefloats, and the vehicles were loaded into a large carriage trailer. (Santiago was driving his pair competitively for the first time.) That afternoon we competed in a 'Hunting for Points' (Gamblers' Stakes) cone competition before the championships started the following day. With the cones set at 20cm, this was a challenge and we made a good but fairly nervous start. Everyone was watching to see how Flaco would go for us. Thankfully, the owners were really impressed, and many others commented on his calmness. It was good to get our initial appearance over before the main competition started!

There were eight hazards - all up to F bar two. Along with an FEI dressage test and twenty cone gates, that was heaps to remember. Added to that, the briefing was in Spanish, as were the signs for starts and finishes, and none of the stewards spoke English. It made life interesting, to say the least - especially for Diana!!

After practising in the practice dressage arena, we did a fair test: poor marks for presentation (as we had a marathon vehicle), and (lack of) extended trot were the major faults. Although Velstra gave us the highest marks of the five judges we were behind the leaders, but a good marathon could have put us in the middle of the field. As it turned out, we were sent out first in the marathon, which was very difficult as some of the young stewards weren't sure of themselves, we couldn't understand what we were being told, and Flaco was very keen to be on his way - a stressful combination! However, some of our time faults which accrued through no fault of our own were rectified later.

The hazards, including a beautiful water hazard, were open and flowing on the whole, with only two really tight ones. They were a mixture of man-made and natural - some with vintage cars, and others with flowers and horse-drawn vehicles. The course was nearly totally flat and it was fairly sandy underfoot. Luckily, it didn't rain and wasn't too hot. This beautiful property belonged to Wolf and Amely von Bucholtz, who were driving a team and a pair in the competition.

Luck was not with us on the marathon as a (new) quick release clip broke and we lost a trace in Hazard 3. We lost a lot of time and Di eventually had to get down and mend it with a lead rope. However, we did all the hazards and finished the course.

That night the von Bucholtz' put on a super dinner in the marquee at the venue (Teyu Cuare). The beef was barbecued complete with skin, on a huge rack over an open fire. Miguel, Diana and I managed to sneak off to one of the gaucho's houses to see the All Blacks beat the Pumas - just! We even had a beer in our hands, albeit an Argentine one! There was live music and dancing that went on late into the night. However, we eventually got to bed in our lovely hotel in Gualeguaychu.

The next morning saw an early start as the cone course was open only an hour before competition started. The course was long, testing, and had to be driven fast to avoid time faults. There had been no clear rounds, and I was the first of the advanced class to go, with all cones measured to 20cm. Flaco, went beautifully, and we had three down - two of them in the serpentine. (I wished Flaco had done a marathon before the dressage!) Our class was very even after the marathon, with the first three competitors needing to go clear to win. To our great delight Miguel went clear and became the Argentine National Champion. He was the only one to have a clear round within the time. We were -jubilant.

All competitors had stayed to watch, and straight after the finish of the cones, we had to parade into the arena and line up for a prizegiving. We didn't understand everything that was said, of course, but we were awarded three rosettes!! Very unexpected, as we hadn't won anything! When we had unharnessed and had lunch, there was a formal prizegiving without horses, with the winners of each class being given large sashes to wear, champagne, and a commemorative cup. As Barbara Larsen knew none of the competitors, she was given the task of selecting the turnout that made the best impression, with driving style being a major component in the marking. (She tells me she was somewhat horrifled at this task with Velstra sitting beside her!) When it came down to two turnouts and one was Flaco, she wisely handed over to Velstra for the final decision. What a thrill it was when we were presented with a head collar and lead reins as the winners! Another highlight for us was the positive comment from horse owners, judges and competitors about the way Flaco had gone.

It was sad to see Flaco loaded up to go home with Elena and Eduardo. We had thoroughly enjoyed our lovely 'red-headed' Arab horse, and it felt strange not to have him at the stables the next morning. However, we set off for Buenos Aires on Sunday afternoon feeling happy to be travelling home with the winner. Santiago's pair had gained a second in their first dressage test, and we hadn't disgraced ourselves, so all was well.

Our thanks go to Barbara Larsen, Laurie and Rosie Trist and Jayne Matthews for their marvellous support throughout the trip, and especially at the event. Now we could relax and do some more sightseeing. (Did I say relax? Not really. We were all up early the next morning to catch a plane to the lguacu Falls.)

We stayed on for about five days after the event. We had been taken cruising on the Delta, had gone south 500 (flat) miles to Miguel and Selina's beautiful Arab stud, had been taken to the theatre, to a carriage parade, to Eduardo and Elena's Polish Arab stud, out for dinner, etc, etc, etc. Santiago, Miguel and their families were just so good to us that we can never properly repay them, but we hope that one day they can enjoy our country with us.

It certainly was an experience to remember!!

Rosemary Smith


 IMPRESSIONS OF A WANDERING GROOM

To be asked to go to Argentina as a travelling companion and groom was a great thrill, but if you think I was just going along for the ride - forget it!

Although the care of the horses from feeding to washing was done by the gauchos, Rosemary and I were still pretty busy with the training of the horse. For a groom of very little experience, standing on the back of a carriage for two hours a day, every day for three weeks, was quite a task, and I often had to remind the driver that we were supposed to be on the right-hand side of the road! That wouldn't happen in New Zealand.

As the training progressed, I came to appreciate the skill and patience required to school a horse in dressage, and took great pleasure in being able to see the progress the horse made: when he dropped his head to the correct position, or responded to a touch of the whip to correct his bend. By the time we came to compete in the driving championships, I felt a lot more confident as a groom since I had a good grasp of what the horse should be doing.

In Argentina, the gauchos not only take care of the horse, but harness and exercise them before an events and consequently are paid, but of course this didn't happen to me! My first task at the event was presenting the horse for the vet check and as all the instructions were in Spanish I had to keep my wits about me. Also, as one of only two female grooms, I felt quite selfconscious among the professional gauchos. I came in for a lot of teasing and was jokingly told that I was expected to sleep in the carriage trailer with the gauchos! Needless to say, this didn't happen.

Apart from my duties as groom, I had an opportunity to ride one of the carriage horses. This caused much amusement and concern among our gauchos who had no idea if I could ride and didn't want to be around to pick up the pieces. However, the horse behaved beautifully and I had a pleasant canter around the track.

We were fortunate to be entertained by a number of people and visited their homes for barbecues and saw around two Arab studs. Their stables are something we could only dream about in New Zealand. We had a delightful cruise on the Parana River and during the last week were able to fly up to lguacu to see the falls. They are in magnificent rainforest and are among the most spectacular in the world.

Soon after returning to New Zealand, I was a groom at the Hawkes Bay Combined Drive, and there I was - out catching the horse, grooming it, and helping to clean the harness afterwards… oh for the gauchos of Argentina!

Diana Thompson
from left: Miguel & Milo (the dog who went on evry phase of the event with Miguel), Rosemary, Diana, Santiago, Rosie, Jayne and Laurie.

Flaco - a most demonstrative tail!
2001 Argentine National Championships
- 15 faults

The Winners: Miguel Pavlovsky (centre), Raul Aqueretta (left) and Eduardo Romero Oneto.

Rosemary and Diana with Orlando and Carlos.

The stables, with horses tied out during the day. The horse on the left was the winner: Miguel's 'Sequenden'.

The thatch roofed stables where Flaco lived.