Because her father thought equestrianism was too dangerous, Patricia Ready managed to practice without his knowledge with a friend at the “Escuela de Carabineros”. It wasn’t until she married businessman Juan Carlos Yarur that she no longer had to hide her passion. The art gallery owner went further and the first thing she did was teach her two daughters to ride.
Virginia Yarur was the second daughter and was 4 years old when that happened. It was the beginning of a story that surpassed all expectations and has made her Chile’s top equestrian dressage rider for years, with participation in the Pan American Games in Mar del Plata, Guadalajara, Toronto, and now Lima.
She is briefly back at the Polo Club’s arena and must soon return to Wellington, Florida, where she has settled with her four horses, Finn, E Rava, Invencible, and Debussy. It’s an activity that would be entirely solitary if it weren’t for her trainer, Yvonne Losos de Muñiz, and Luis Pinto, who has been caring for her animals for over 20 years. Yarur is the only Chilean competing internationally in this event. Standing at 1.55 meters tall, she commands a 600-kilogram specimen, making it move at will in a dance of pure precision.
She says she has a good chance of qualifying for the Tokyo Olympics. She takes a deep breath and recalls her beginnings: “I was a crazy girl, and since I was 4 years old, I always wanted to be with horses. The only time I stopped riding was when I was expecting my children. My first horse was named Kafrún, an old, chestnut horse. Once he got sick, they took him away, and I never knew what happened to him. I have no idea where they took him, and I don’t want to know. Parents, trying to protect you, don’t tell you.”
—Looking back, do you have a favorite animal?
—I had a jumping mare named Rayén Malal. I had an incredible connection with her, and she was very daring in jumping. She ran a lot, and because she was small, she gained speed until a teacher, Don Tato Echeverría, caught me and said, “Young lady, you can’t jump like that anymore.” He then taught me to jump with the mare, to manage the timing and decide when to let her go. I started competing very young, at 9 years old, with big horses. I remember sometimes passing the first jump, and the horse kept running, and it took me two laps to stop him, and I would be eliminated. I was a small point on top of the horse. At that time, there were no ponies like there are now.
—How did you transition to dressage, which is so complex?
—My mother had some dressage horses, and one of them was a bit difficult. He was stubborn, didn’t want to go to one side, and would throw you off. He once threw my mother, and then she asked me to start riding him. At first, he resisted. I spent hours with him in the stall, sitting while he ate. And from then on, he never did anything to me again. I won children’s and junior dressage championships with him. His name was Cristóbal. My mother named him that. And one of my sons is named Cristóbal, don’t ask me why. That was the horse that led me to dressage.
—It’s not a well-known sport…
—It was innate; I liked being with horses. My life revolved around the Polo Club. My house was nearby, on Luis Pasteur, and I studied at the Ursulinas school. And it wasn’t just the horses because my mother made us take ballet, guitar, and flute classes; we never stopped, but for me, the horses were the important thing.
—You once explained that “dressage is a dance where your partner is your horse.” What does it take to master a 600-kilogram animal like that?
—It’s a process that starts with a list of stages from A to Z. It’s by repetition, making a specific signal mean something to the horse. You make the horse more elastic, build more muscle, and perform exercises more easily. Basically, you have to build an athlete because a horse doesn’t naturally have the muscle for these more difficult exercises. If you don’t do it right, you injure them. You have to make them trust you. Patience is crucial.
—What has been your worst fall?
—I’ve had millions. But my worst fall was with a horse that threw me off every day. He was a jumper, and I don’t know what had happened to him before. We bought him from the races, but he would charge at you if he could. He was dangerous. One time, in this same arena, he bucked me off, I fell, and fractured my ankle. I was on the ground, and he was standing over me, with his front legs raised. I got up, tried to run, and realized my leg wasn’t in place. Terrible!
—How did you recover?
—A traumatologist was there, saw me on the ground, and immediately took off my boot because imagine removing it when your foot is swollen. It’s funny because my mom was just arriving, looking, and I was on the ground. I was 18. The horse was named Proscrito. I named him that after a movie where a girl tames a horse with that name. But he was untamable. I sold him.
—How do you assess your performance in Lima?
—I was very happy. I took a younger horse, E Rava. The first day I was ninth, but the second day he bucked during the test, I stopped him, controlled him, but lost three exercises because he wanted to run. I didn’t get nervous; I thought, “Well, I’m in this situation and need to continue.” I kept my cool, talked to him, and he finally calmed down.
—Is the horse unpredictable, then?
—It can happen; it’s an animal with its own life. That day was cold, and he wanted to play, jump. It’s not that he did something wrong. I couldn’t touch him with my legs because he’d jump. You can’t get angry; you have to stay calm. A Peruvian woman told me, “You’re in Lima, and it’s cold and humid.” I calculated the usual warming-up time with my trainer, and it was short. If I had ridden him for 15 more minutes, it wouldn’t have happened. But how do you know the horse will be like that? You can’t predict it.
—Do you meet Eve Jobs, Steve Jobs’ daughter, who practices jumping?
—No, because they are different activities with different schedules. Dressage is first, and then jumping. I met the Chilean team in Lima because I competed abroad.
—And with Chilean equestrian representatives, did you have any contact or celebrations?
—I finished competing and returned to Chile. Equestrians are usually sent far from where other competitions are held. I’ve never been to the Olympic Village because I like to be next to the horses, and I can’t travel two hours every day. You have to be close for any emergency. That’s why I don’t go to the Village, because I’m too old for that (laughing)…
—How so?
—They’re all 18-year-old girls! They put you in shared rooms, and I’m not up for that anymore. I’ve shared official activities with the team. Since I started competing, I’ve always admired the athletes who go. I have always admired Erika Olivera, Tomás González; they’re the best. They’ve worked hard. Of course, none of the guys competing now hasn’t made sacrifices in training and diet.
—Have you made sacrifices too?
—I’m a mother of five and have to go on these trips, be here and there. The oldest is 31. One is 25, in London, another is 21, at home. The younger ones are 13 and 10, and I have to be on top of them all the time. It’s easier now with school WhatsApps, and I don’t miss a thing. Wherever I’m competing, I’m always on top of my children.
—Among equestrian powers, which one do you look up to?
—The United States, which didn’t bring the top riders to these Pan American Games; I meet them in Wellington. They went to Europe. In the US, the star is Laura Graves. It’s another level.
—How do the differences show?
—At my first Pan American Games in 1995, in Mar del Plata, I almost fell backward when I saw the US team arrive. Seven trucks. We came in a little old truck from Chile, praying nothing happened to our horses, and they arrived by plane, with trucks unloading blacksmith tools, with curtains on the stalls, and the veterinarian and physiotherapist appeared. It’s like NASA, another level. That’s why I had to compete abroad, and Yvonne, my trainer, helped me take the step.
—How did you meet her?
—In Guadalajara. She’s from everywhere. Born in Kenya, lived in Nairobi until 15. Her mother is German, and her father is Polish. She has Canadian nationality but is married in the Dominican Republic, so she competes for the Dominican Republic. It’s confusing. So, when asked where Yvonne is from, I have to explain all this. She rides wonderfully and is a great trainer. She taught me to ride correctly. We started in 2012. It was a big step because she taught me to sit on the horse and taught me technique, which hasn’t ended because you keep learning every day. In this sport, each horse is different, and the challenge
is ongoing.
—Who do you admire?
—My greatest idol is Isabell Werth from Germany. And especially Carl Hester, English. I always like watching him ride. My trainer is close to him, and one day she went to train with Hester and called me and said, “Come.” So I did. I stayed at his house in Birmingham for about 15 days. What I love most is that you never see him mistreating an animal. Nothing is forced. He will never allow a horse to suffer or be in pain.
—Does that happen?
—Absolutely. You see many riders using a lot of force. You can tell the horse is being forced. Judges also see this when scoring. The horse must be relaxed. Once, I got a lower score because my horse sneezed.
—Who follows in your footsteps in Chile?
—We are far from what’s happening abroad. There are no opportunities to travel and compete internationally. It’s not cheap. Fortunately, I have my family supporting me, and I always mention them. They don’t have to finance me. My parents know the sacrifice I make, that it’s serious, that I’m not fooling around abroad. But often, people have the resources to develop this sport but don’t want to invest in an international career, so they stay here. And you need to measure yourself against others. I’m the only one in dressage; there are more in jumping.
