Gaucho’s equestrianship

Gaucho’s equestrianship is impressive and a set of much needed skills to survive in The Pampas. To develop this ability (and to spend their time), all throughout the 19^th century it was usual for gauchos to practice different equestrian sports:

Crowding

In this game, two gauchos would race along a narrow track, spuring their horses to shove against each other until one man could crowd the other off the track.

Cinchada

An equestrian tug-of-war, tail to tail. The rope was tied to the gauchos’ saddles to prove the mounts were strong enough to help them survive in the wild.

Jumping the bar

A bar was placed above a corral gate with just enough headroom for a horse to pass. This meant that, as the gaucho galloped through, he had to jump over the bar and land back in the saddle.

Recado

The gauchos galloped across The Pampa while he undid his recado, a saddle made from multiple layers of different materials, dropping the pieces on the floor as he went. On his way back, the gaucho was supposed to grab the pieces back from the ground and reassemble his saddle, all the time riding at full speed.

Sortija

Carrying a lance or stick, a galloping horseman had to impale a small ring dangling from a thread.

Pato

A game resembling basketball on horseback, but ranging over miles of terrain. The object is to throw the ball through a net hoop, all while riding horses.

Polo

Gaucho’s horsemanship proved to be impressive to practice Polo, the exclusive sport brought to these lands by British immigrants. This set the foundation for the further development of this fascinating sport that keeps growing stronger to this day. Nowadays, Argentina is known as the capital of Polo and is the number one place people from all around the world visit to watch and play Polo.

To learn more about gaucho’s equestrianship and the way they live, book Gaucho Day and be a gaucho for a day!