Criollo Horses
Estancia Santa Elena
SANTA HELENA CRIOLLO HORSES
The Santa Elena ranch is located in the department of Cerro Largo on the banks of the Rio Negro, near the Mazangano Pass, a place from which you can clearly see the Sierras de Aceguá, which delimit the border with Brazil. The establishment is dedicated to cattle breeding, operating together with the estancia and cabin La Alborada, with the particularity that in these picturesque fields, a herd of Criollo horses is meticulously selected, an equine breed used by the firm for daily field tasks.
Our History
In the 80s, Gonzalo Arrarte Delmond acquired this beautiful estancia belonging to the Rhon family, to award it years later to his daughter Isabel. The old ranch was built in the early 1900s, having been a refuge and inn for caudillos and armies in times of the revolutions of the early twentieth century.
It was in the search for a horse that would meet the demands of the field work required by his company, that Don Gonzalo made several crosses between Arabian horses and Criollo. Finally, seduced by the functionality, rusticity and resistance of the Creole horse, he threw himself fully into this breed to work definitively with his renowned Hereford cattle. So it was that in the 80s, he acquired La Invernada, son of Chaparrón La Invernada, a Moorish stallion from the renowned La Invernada cabin of Plácido Martins, who left an excellent offspring.
It was in the search for a horse that would meet the demands of the field work required by his company, that Don Gonzalo made several crosses between Arabian horses and Criollo. Finally, seduced by the functionality, rusticity and resistance of the Creole horse, he threw himself fully into this breed to work definitively with his renowned Hereford cattle. So it was that in the 80s, he acquired La Invernada, son of Chaparrón La Invernada, a Moorish stallion from the renowned La Invernada cabin of Plácido Martins, who left an excellent offspring.
Years later, Isabel Arrarte and her sons Ricardo and Gonzalo Reilly, acquired several mares from Humberto Viñoles' La Cordillera cattle ranch, among which Cumba Cuarteador, a crawled rosilla daughter of Sacrificio La Invernada, stood out. They also acquired from the formidable stallion Facón Salvaje a zaino malacara son of Ocho Estudiante, a horse with Chilean ancestry, belonging to Mr. Anastasio Gamarra.
So it is that after a while, from the close of this squad, Encendida Salvaje was born, a tordilla mare with an excellent gait, and Sacrificio Salvaje, a crawled rosillo with a tireless gallop and great conditions for hard field work. The herd participates in functional marches and equestrian roots linked to the breed.
So it is that after a while, from the close of this squad, Encendida Salvaje was born, a tordilla mare with an excellent gait, and Sacrificio Salvaje, a crawled rosillo with a tireless gallop and great conditions for hard field work. The herd participates in functional marches and equestrian roots linked to the breed.
In 2013, the firm completed the purchase of Chifle La Invernada, a Moorish stallion, of historical descent. He is a son of Poncho e ́ Lana La Invernada and grandson of Mate Amargo. On the maternal side, it combines the recognized bloods of Halcón and Xingú La Invernada. In this way, several of the best bloodlines of La Invernada are combined, continuing a consistent path of selection.
Thus, in the middle of a dreamed landscape, in perfect harmony with nature, surrounded by native mountains and fields with a coast on the Rio Negro, the mothers and stallions are carefully selected that, through their offspring, make up the functional herds and herds of the Santa Elena and La Alborada ranches.
Thus, in the middle of a dreamed landscape, in perfect harmony with nature, surrounded by native mountains and fields with a coast on the Rio Negro, the mothers and stallions are carefully selected that, through their offspring, make up the functional herds and herds of the Santa Elena and La Alborada ranches.