Learn polo in Argentina at a real working estancia
Spend your polo holiday at El Venado, a fourth-generation family ranch in Las Pampas, just two hours from Buenos Aires.
Learn from Federico Cendoya, a 5-goal professional with 30 years of international experience, on two full-size Bermuda grass fields and the only all-weather arena of any polo school in Argentina.
We specialise in beginners, welcome players of all levels, and keep guest numbers deliberately small, so your coaching is personal, your experience is authentic, and your week is unforgettable.
Open all year round. No riding experience necessary.
Learn from Federico Cendoya, a 5-goal professional with 30 years of international experience, on two full-size Bermuda grass fields and the only all-weather arena of any polo school in Argentina.
We specialise in beginners, welcome players of all levels, and keep guest numbers deliberately small, so your coaching is personal, your experience is authentic, and your week is unforgettable.
Open all year round. No riding experience necessary.
The El Venado difference
Most polo schools in Argentina are purpose-built clubs. El Venado is something else entirely, a 148-year-old working ranch that has been in the same family for four generations, and home to one of the country’s most respected polo schools since the 1990s.
On 2,500 acres of Las Pampas, you’ll ride alongside gauchos, visit herds of over 200 polo ponies, and experience Argentine ranch life as it’s actually lived — not as a curated tourist version of it. Meals are made with local produce, wine flows freely, and the people around the table are guests from every corner of the world who arrived as strangers and left as friends.
It’s a polo holiday, yes. But it’s also the kind of trip that’s hard to explain to people who haven’t done it.
Katrina Lee, Australia.
I’d only been riding a few months and had no polo experience, but my lack of experience wasn’t an issue at all. Such safe, sensible and smart ponies! The warmth of Fede and Inés makes El Venado such a welcoming environment. I loved it so much I visited twice in six months — even though I live in Australia!
Meet Federico Cendoya
Federico Cendoya is a 5-goal professional polo player who has competed across four continents and coached players from complete beginners to seasoned amateurs from Pennsylvania to Peru, New York to New Delhi.
What makes Fede unusual at his level is that he actually teaches. Most high-goal professionals don’t. Fede’s one-on-one coaching method is hands-on, patient, and built around each player’s starting point — whether that’s never having held a mallet, or wanting to sharpen a handicap that’s been stuck for years.
He built El Venado Polo School into what it is today, and he’s still here, on the field, every day.
Guests Testimonials
“El Venado is without doubt a very well run and beautiful polo estancia. The whole team is fully dedicated to ensuring that players, regardless of ability, improve considerably. The atmosphere is professional yet relaxed, and the accommodation is of excellent quality. I would definitely recommend El Venado to polo enthusiasts wishing to improve their skills.”
“Life at El Venado is impossible to describe on paper. Calm but yet intense, cut off from the world yet international. There is no better scene than the sunset on the pampa while stick and balling on a perfectly maintained polo field. Federico makes everything possible to make you feel like a real friend. I really can’t recommend El Venado enough — as both a polo school and a vacation place.”
Ready to Play Polo in Argentina?
We welcome guests from all over the world, all year round. High season runs October to March but some of our guests swear the quieter months are the best time to come.
Group sizes are small and dates fill up. If you have a week in mind, the best thing to do is reach out and we’ll let you know what’s available.
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