Yerra 2009
That time of year again already, and we are at the annual cattle branding. The usual doses of machismo and rivalry were very much in evidence, along with of course plenty of Fernet Branca . . .
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Yerra 2008
The annual ‘Yerra’ at Estancia Los Potreros is always a much-anticipated event, by staff and guests alike.
Usually taking place over a weekend in early March, the yerra is the branding of the calves before they are sent off to market. Robert Begg (Kevin and Robin’s father) is a strong believer in keeping rural traditions alive, and so the yerra is completed in the same way that it has been done for centuries in Argentina.
Calves are released in pairs into a corral, where a team of gauchos await, lassoes at the ready. The calves must be lassoed by their front feet and brought down for branding. The yerra is a real community event, with workers from the neighbouring estancias coming to help for the weekend, in return for the promise of the party at the end, where an animal is slaughtered and cooked on a traditional ‘asado’, with plenty of wine to wash it down.
There is always exciting action to be seen, with the natural macho spirit of the gauchos very much to the fore. The honour of putting the brand on the calf lies with the ‘dueño’ or senior member of the family, or in his absence the farm manager.
Always as interesting as the events themselves are the people . . .true country folk for whom participation in the yerra is as much a rite of passage as a job to be done.
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Just another New Years Eve . . .
Happy New Year to everyone, and wishing all a peaceful and happy 2008!
We are in the middle of a hot, dry summer, and New Years Eve was no exception here on the estancia. The traditional morning polo game was followed by an afternoon ‘photo shoot’ for our guests. This involved herding our ‘chucurros’ (unbroken young horses) up a track at a flat out gallop as the sun sets behind. Sounds great? Well - as usual the horses were smarter from us, and as you can see from the photo there wasn’t much galloping going on . . .in fact they were more interested in the large group of tourists stood like a bunch of ninnies in the field with their cameras out!
In fact the only galloping going on was by our trusty gaucho, who also saved the day photographically as we eagerly snapped up photos of him and his horse looking just a little worn out!
Saturday, October 27, 2007
Any ideas what the girls are up to?!!
Ann and Annie are taking part in the traditional gaucho game of ‘Sortija’, in which they have to pass a small stick through an even smaller ring . . .whilst galloping!
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Round corral techniques
The increased use of round corrals or pens has often been credited to Monty Roberts, due to the way that he brought natural horsemanship techniques to the forefront. One of the principles underpinning natural horsemanship is that the trainer mimics and uses natural horse behaviour to bring on the young horse.
Here, Humi has already established himself as the ‘leader of the herd’ with this young mare, and he has asked her to stop and come to him just using body language.
Saturday, October 20, 2007
Nice moves
A lassoing practice session in the corrals results in some interesting techniques and some rather bemused looking calves. Despite this, one of our guests Ingrid managed to ‘catch her cow’ first time round, much to the embarassment of our experienced gauchos who took just a little longer . . .
