Polo is a sport with a great presence in Argentina, but much less known in other countries in the world and in the region. It requires, first of all, skill in horsemanship and in handling the polo mallet – the instrument with which it is played – and, in turn, concentration on the ball and the location of each partner. We show you what you need to know about this discipline to sit in the seats of a stadium and applaud to the beat of the goals scored.
English heritage and the road to the top
Polo arrived in Argentina along with the English immigrants who arrived in our lands in the mid-1888th century and, surprisingly, they found horses and men equipped with the necessary virtues to play it. One of the most important clubs in the beginnings of national polo was the Hurlingham Club, founded in XNUMX by the English Fortune, Ravenscroft and the Scots Campbell and Robson, and which was later the first winner of the Campeonato Argentino Abierto in Palermo, the most important tournament globally prestigious. Currently, out of the best eight players in the world, seven are Argentine
When should you attend a polo match in Buenos Aires?
The Triple Corona, Argentina's elite polo season, begins in September and ends at the end of the year. It is made up of the three most internationally recognized tournaments: first the Abierto de Tortugas is held, then the Abierto de Hurlingham and, in accordance with the idea that the best is always saved for last, the year closes with the Campeonato Argentino Abierto in Palermo. , whose main field is known as the Catedral, by virtue of its history and uniqueness. In the three tournaments it is possible to find tickets with affordable prices as well as boxes with views and luxury services.
Passion and self-love as distinctive elements
The sport of luxury and large investments finds, only in Argentina, an element that reverses the paradigm: passion. The players do not participate in the argentine season to save themselves financially. On the contrary, it is the desire to participate in a big event that makes thirty-two professionals decide to compete every year for four months for the love of the team shirt.
When the spectacle exceeds the playing field
The admiration that polo arouses in Buenos Aires makes different icons of global culture come year after year to field number 1 in Palermo. Take for example Sebastián Vettel, five-time Formula 1 world champion; or why not Will Smith, Robert Duvall and Tommy Lee Jones—a polo fan since his days of yesteryear—. Likewise, local actors, models and athletes often say present on a daily basis.
Once the most exciting match of the day is over, it is time to enjoy the after-polo: giant market brands set up their stands and offer, on the one hand, coffee with cookies for the older ones and, on the other, drinks and snacks for the young (and for the not so young, too). In this way, a typical day of competition ends in a moment of relaxation in which the opportunity to have enjoyed the best polo in the world is celebrated.
7 tips to understand it
What do you need to know to understand this sport? Review its fundamental points with us.
- In a polo match, four players per team enter the playing field.
- In Triple Corona eight seven-minute periods (called chukkers).
- The teams swap sides every time a goal is scored.
- If the ball escapes from one side, it is the referee who performs the throw-in and, if the match ends tied, they will go to overtime to always determine a winner.
- Each quartet has a handicap, that is, a numerical rating for its playing level. La Dolfina has a 40-goal handicap, the maximum possible.
- The polo mallet can only be held with the right hand. Mariano Aguerre, former Palermo champion player, is left-handed but had to learn to play with his unskilled hand.
- Finally, it is essential to understand that athletes are indispensable, but that the difference is made by the horses.