Estancia Los Potreros
4 February 2022
The Riding
The Accommodation
Do you have any comments about the accommodation and food?
I love the rooms/cottages. They are from another time and age. I can see that some guests would not be happy (no TV, no mini-bar, no WiFi) but the peace and quiet here is invaluable to me. Imagine being woken up by the sound of a horse snuffling at the shutters of your room - then you open the shutters and outside, in the sun and beauty of the home paddocks, the youngstock and the foals graze and wander at peace. The rooms are cleaned to a very high standard every day. The meals are excellent and food is plentiful - especially the home-reared beef, which is so tender and delicious even non-carnivores like me love it. Guests are always free to ask for drinks and snacks if they are needed. Mealtimes are communal. I always travel alone, so this is a good way to get to know the other guests and the hosts.
Before Your Holiday
Did you have all of the information you needed to:
How could we improve the quality of pre-holiday information that we send?
Hard to see how you can - the briefing notes, the regular contact by phone and email, always very helpful.
One minor thing: it would be interesting to know what jodhphurs/trousers other riders in very hot climates take with them. I took lightweight UK jods but found that because they were a synthetic fabric my legs burned through them and I had to apply sunscreen before putting on my jods. The guides and gauchos wear cotton bombachas but there's not much call for cotton riding wear in Scotland!! It would just be interesting to know what has worked well for others.
Your information about long sleeves and bandanas for riding is spot on too. If you have fair Celtic skin like me, don't even think about short sleeves. Long-sleeved cotton shirts plus neckerchiefs/scarves round the neck area are perfect.
How could we improve the way we handled your booking and payment?
I can't think of any. It was all very efficient.
Do you have any other feedback for us?
I can't wait to be back there again.
Dilys who has been on 2 In The Saddle rides. Estancia Los Potreros - So good I went there twice! | Yes, but the "average" UK rider, whose experience is of riding schools, arenas, competitions and occasional hacking (but very circumscribed unless you live in certain areas) can have little idea of what to expect - it's as if you own, for a short space of time, your very own 60,000 hectares of ranch, free to roam the wide open spaces at will, without cars or other people. Riding across pampas grass is good for horse and rider, and the horses are well-trained and experienced on the rocky hilly terrain. You really can just sit back and leave them to it. In my normal UK environment I am not the most confident of riders, but there I feel absolutely confident. The landscape is varied and stunning. Every ride is accompanied by a gaucho and one of the English-speaking guides, who are fun company.
Guests who are not riders at all but decide to "try sitting on a horse" often have a wonderful experience. The back of a horse is simply the best way to experience that scenery.