NEWS

How did you come to work for Mariano Aguerre?
“When I first came to Florida in 1998 I worked in show jumping for about two years, and then I spoke to Nick [Manifold] because I wanted to get out of it and he found me a job with White Birch polo team. I’ve been with the same organization now for almost 20 years. Team Owner Peter Brant has always been a great sponsor and he has always provided us with the best horses, and the best care for those horses, as well as his grooms. This is also where I met my boyfriend. Ñaca and I worked for Peter until Aguerre asked us to take over caring for his string and that was well over a decade ago.”

Do you feel like you benefited from starting at the highest level?
“I think you are a good groom whether you are working at the grassroots or the highest level, it depends on what you put into it. I think everyone has a role in polo and I try to be as professional as I can no matter what I’m doing. I truly enjoy what I do, the pressure and excitement of it all. It’s an adrenaline rush. I enjoy setting goals and having the responsibility of getting top horses playing at the top of their game. I think high-goal polo just suits my personality.”

What is an average day for you?
“We start at 4:30 in the morning by throwing the feed for the horses. While they eat, the boys all drink maté and I drink my coffee. I’m probably the biggest maté drinker in the barn, but I have to start with coffee. Then we do stalls, exercise them, clean the horses off, throw shavings if we need to, prepare them for either singling, practice or a game, depending on what they have that day. We have a huge white board in the barn that says exactly what each horse needs for each day of the month.”

Have you had a horse in your career that has stood out to you?
“Most definitely Califa, he has been my pride and joy. Once I met him, we bonded right away. He was a gelding that was inducted into the [Museum of Polo] hall of fame. It was a very exciting time for us. You just know there’s something about a good horse, you can feel it in your heart. Three years ago, we went to visit Aguerre’s farm in Argentina and that is where Califa is retired. We stayed in Mariano’s house and Califa was grazing in the pasture right outside the window. I would wake up and see him every day—it was such a reunion. I couldn’t have asked for anything better.

What has been the hardest obstacle you have had to overcome?
“Being a female in the sport is kind of tough. It’s a lot of physical work, and you have to constantly prove yourself to other grooms. A lot of people have a tendency to put female grooms down or treat us as underdogs. I’d like to advocate for more females to break into the sport because we are more than able. In our barn, we have a great system where I do all the beautification and nutrition and the boys do most of the riding and training. I focus on ground work and polishing of the horses.”

What do you consider the most important aspect of horse care?
“Nutrition. It is such an essential part of the recuperation and stability of a horse during a tournament. You can’t go wrong with great hay. If you have good forage, the rest just falls into place, but you have to start with the basics. Also, good management in your barn. We manage each horse as an individual and keep an eye on everything. We stick to what works for us.”

What do you love most about grooming?
“I love being with horses. I get along better with horses than I do with people. They are our buddies and I suffer withdrawal symptoms when they take one away from me, when it gets sold or shipped to Argentina. I feel like a mother sending her kids off to college. My favorite part of the day is night check when it’s just me and the horses. It’s true one-on-one time with them. Also, feeding time. The sound of horses munching is the most satisfying sound to listen to in the morning.”

Who are some of your biggest mentors in polo?
“Mariano Aguerre, of course. I gravitate towards horse-loving people. He is an exceptional horseman and understands what his horses need. He makes our lives easier through his knowledge. Another outstanding mentor for me was Sunny Hale. How she motivated me to keep going and to work hard was amazing. She would stop by the barn and just say ‘go girl!’ and make me feel like I could do anything.”

What is it like working with your significant other in the barn?
“We have been working together now for almost twenty years and by now I think we know what works and what doesn’t. We don’t bring the relationship into the barn, we just work. It’s at the point now where we don’t even have to talk to each other, we just know what the other is thinking and can work off of that. It makes it hard when others come to work with us, because we are so used to not saying anything.”

Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
“I really hope that we will still be with Aguerre and that he will still be playing. His son is on his way up so we’ll probably be with him. I would like to keep grooming as long as I can, it’s all I know. I know there are some grooms that are waiting for the day they can retire, but I can’t ever imagine not grooming. Right now we will just follow the path as it leads us.”

Do you have any tricks or tips that you can share?
“Just the other day, I figured out something new that could help me. I normally french braid Chomba’s tail, she’s an older mare that hates to have her tail pulled*, and to do this I use hairspray. One of Aguerre’s saddles kept slipping, so I took the hairspray and sprayed the saddle and the horse to make it sticky. It worked wonderfully. I used it on my work saddle the next day and it made a huge difference.”

What is some advice you would give to other grooms in the industry?
“If you do your best, be confident in what you do. Because if you are consistently being consistent in what you do it will only get better. There will be hard days, but don’t be down heartened because of it, the next day will be better, and horses just get better the more you work with them. My father told me the day that I left home that I should keep my head down, not hide anything, and work hard.”

*To “pull a horse’s tail” means to pluck the hairs of the tail in order to obtain a desired shape when braided in the traditional polo style.