I’ve always loved horses. Ever since I was little, I’ve felt a deep connection to them. Growing up in a city didn’t provide much opportunity to ride or even be around them. My grandmother’s brothers kept horses, but women weren’t allowed to ride them, let alone little girls. There was still a part of me that stubbornly believed that one day maybe I’d own my own horse.
It wasn’t until I started working in Torres de Paine that my dream could finally become a reality –and all because of being able to ride with the gauchos working there.
The gauchos of Torres del Paine
Ten years ago I moved to Patagonia to begin a new life in Puerto Natales, with Torres del Paine National Park on my doorstep. This was somewhere that I knew there would finally be the chance to indulge my love of horses. Not a place for a short guided walk on the sands on a holiday, but somewhere with wide open pampa and horizons that stretch forever. This was the home of the gaucho, and it was to them that I looked for my inspiration.
I worked at EcoCamp, with its glamping domes that are overlooked by the famous Towers. Every opportunity I had, I’d go with guests to Hotel Las Torres, which offered horseback riding excursions. It was something I could finally do – not as a tourist, but as part of my life. It was often just short, hour-long rides, but each time I felt more connected to the animals and the land.
I’d watch the horses arrive from the stables in the early morning to pick up their ride, and I’d be in awe every time. It felt so special to see these beautiful creatures, and I’d try to learn everything I could from the gauchos who worked with them. They were always really open to teaching me, and I was able to learn a lot. With grace, they encouraged me to spend as much time in the saddle as I could. I was amazed. It was completely the opposite reaction I’d had when I was a child – and a far cry from the traditional idea of the macho cowboy.
Working at Explora
After my time at EcoCamp, I moved to Explora Torres del Paine, the park’s first luxury lodge. While I moved for professional development, the fact that Explora has its own stables was definitely at the back of my mind when I applied.
Just like at EcoCamp, whenever I had free time, I’d go to the stables and just drink mate with the gauchos and hang out. My manager knew that I was pretty horse crazy, and thankfully he encouraged my passion. If it was ever quiet, the gauchos would suggest going for a ride without the guests. Thanks to their help, I steadily built up my confidence.
Hiking in Torres del Paine is great of course, but it feels completely different from the saddle. Riding here is all about the connection between you and another creature, and your joint experience of the environment. For me, it’s almost a spiritual thing rather than something just recreational. When I ride, it’s about respecting the horse and the moment – we decide together what the ride will be like. That’s what makes every ride here unique.
A dream realised
It’s probably a sign of how far my equine obsession went that when I got married six years ago my husband and I were both on horseback. We hitched our reins together as Estancia Pingo Salvaje, a ranch at Laguna Sofia near Puerto Natales. When we bought some land, I knew that I was one step closer to finally being a horse owner myself, and not just borrowing horses from other people’s stables.
I started taking formal riding lessons after our daughter Naomi was born. I felt like it was the right time to build my confidence. For about 18 months I worked with a trainer here in Puerto Natales. My instructor knew that I wanted a horse of my own and was always quick to tell me when one was for sale locally, but I never found one that I connected with in the same way I did when I was riding in Torres del Paine,
When Naomi was three I was back at Laguna Sofia, giving her her first ride on a horse. She was fearless – she was small but an absolute natural, and immediately comfortable in the saddle. I was impossibly proud of her. At the end of the ride the ranch owner told me she’d heard of an 11 year old pony for sale called Muñeca.
She wasn’t what I had imagined for my first horse. She was a little wild, and it was clear she’d had a difficult life that made her wary of people. I remember thinking at first that it might be difficult to connect with her, but there was something about her that I felt drawn to. My time with the gauchos in Torres del Paine had led me to this moment and it felt like we could learn to be together.
It hasn’t been an easy journey, and there were moments when I wasn’t sure I’d be able to do it. But with a lot of patience and love and care towards her, we’ve grown to trust each other. Perhaps she’s not quite the perfect ride but she lets Naomi get near her without being afraid, and that means everything to me. Every difficult step we’ve taken together has been worth it.
A new horse and a foal
In the winter of 2024, a friend called to let me know about another horse, a mare named Manzana. I’d seen Manzana before and had always admired her calm nature. I remember thinking that if I ever had another horse, she’d be perfect, but at the time, we didn’t have the resources to adopt her.
Fate had other ideas. A few months later we heard that Manzana was being sold due to the owner’s financial struggles, and he didn’t want to sell her to anyone who would have her working in the fields. After a kitchen table conference, we knew we had to buy her as a companion for Muñeca.
When Manzana arrived, I noticed something different about her—she seemed bigger and fuller than the last time I saw her. I was told that she’d just had a good winter of grazing, but only two months later she surprised us all by giving birth to a beautiful foal! I christened her Jolie, from the French for beautiful.
Manzana’s calm nature had already been a perfect balance to Muñeca’s more anxious temperament, but Jolie’s arrival has made us all into an unlikely family. And watching the two of them with Jolie has been one of the greatest joys of my life. As I write this now, I can hear them playing together outside and running together. It’s like living in my own wellbeing retreat having them here.
Life with horses
Having three horses has changed our family in ways I never expected. Naomi has developed the connection with the horses that I had desperately wanted when I was a little girl. She’s still young, but she’s gentle with them, and I love seeing how she understands when they’re uneasy. It’s a beautiful thing to witness.
When Jolie arrived, she was perhaps a little bit jealous at not being the baby of the family anymore, but if we haven’t ridden for a while she’ll tug at my sleeve and ask when we’re next going out. That’s when I know how much this means to her too.
It’s a cliche, but working in Torres del Paine and spending time with the gauchos there really did change my life. Their open attitude to women riding horses was a world away from what I experienced as a girl, and I’m thrilled that my daughter gets to grow up here with horses right outside the door, galloping freely in the fields.
And now I love helping Swoop clients who are just as eager to get themselves to the stable door and experience the area from the back of a saddle. Because like me, they know that horses are more than just animals: they’re part of our lives and our families.
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