Polo Anyone?

When I  think of Argentina, I immediately think of tango, wine, and good steaks.  I never thought of the sport polo.  Polo like football and tennis is a major sport in Argentina.  There is a whole industry built around polo in Argentina.

Argentina is most know for the breeding of polo ponies.  The horses used for polo are not the same as regular horses.  They are a cross breed thoroughbreds and criollas.  The Argentine polo pony although not considered an actual breed are recognized all over the world for being quick and strong.  I am not a horse person, but I must admit, when I saw them at my first polo match, they are a beautiful animal.  They appeared to fly across the field with almost no effort.  Just like tango dancers.  The horses are stockier and lower to the ground.

My friend Matthew suggested we go to an off season polo match.  I had never been before.  A group of us got together to go.  We walked over to the polo fields.  I don’t live that far from them.  They are across from the Hippodrome or the horse races.  Walking into the Polo fields is a unique experience.  Another world.

The fields are beautiful.  We watched them exercise the horses.  They are magnificent animals.  We walked around the restaurants and the booths of small stores.  Everything was geared towards polo, and people who have money.  There was a marching band that reminded me of the changing of the guard in London.

I didn’t realize that the first polo match was actually played in Persia.  The modern polo was made popular by the British who took it from a game played in Manipur (Now a state in India). Polo is an active sport in 77  countries but played professionally in only few, one of which is Argentina.  It is also one of the only sports where amateurs play along side professionals.

We had real seats.  But they were in the shade.  It was a cool day so we were cold.  Our view of the fields were excellent.  Matthew was the only one who understood the game and he would explain it to us.  He was great about keeping us up to date with what was going on.  There are two teams of 4 players.

It is a slow moving game.  It gave Amy and I plenty of time to check out the men.  We would use the zoom on our cameras.  A small dog came out onto the field.  It wanted to chase the horses.  It was actually more exciting than the match.  At least for us.  That and the cute guys 5 rows down.

The cold finally got to us, so we moved to the other side of the field to the bleachers and where the sun was.  By that time we were sort of bored with the game.  It was good, because it was almost over.   We watched them finished and then stood in line to congratulate the players.  Something you can actually do.

I think I am ambivalent about polo.  It was something I had to do since I live here.  I would go again since it is was fun to be with my friends.  It is not something I could become a fanatic about.  But then again, there were a lot of really cute guys there.

Deby Novitz moved to Buenos Aires in 2004 from California. She has a small bed and breakfast for tango dancers, she writes, does translations, teaches English, and of course dances tango. You can find more about her life in Buenos Aires on her blog  TangoSpam:La Vida Con Deby.

Tags: Argentina, Buenos Aires, expat life, Making Friends, Polo