Argentinians love their equestrian activities… horse riding, horse racing, polo, etc. Buenos Aires in particular takes pride in their elite polo teams, which compete worldwide. We were able to spend a day at one of the many polo clubs in the area to learn more about this popular activity. A typical match takes about 2 hours, and is divided into periods called chukkers. Given the length of play, horses have to be changed out every period. However, in the more competitive games, players will generally change their horses out every 2 to 3 minutes! Just one of the reasons polo is so expensive, we learned that, in professional matches, they will generally use about 100 horses per game and it costs several thousand dollars per horse to drive (or fly!) them to various matches.
First, we got to see a real polo match. They make it look easy!
An asado (argentine barbecue) for lunch and then it’s time for us to give it a go
Learning how to hold and swing the polo mallets:
Getting’ on the horses… I guess we’re really doing this. :-)
Heading out to the polo 'pitch’
Slammin’ one home!!!
As silly as it sounds, I (Jen) honestly thought the horses would be very happy to take us around, and just be totally agreeable and sweet. But actually, the horses we were riding were already involved in the polo game played earlier, so they were tired and grumpy. Mine seemed especially grumpy, because at one point he took off galloping, then stopped short so I flew off of him, over his head. I was actually quite lucky, landed squarely on my back, and just knocked the wind out of me a bit. I did get back on, but just trotted around the field while the real action was going on… my attempt at polo playing was over at that point! :-) As difficult as it was to play this sport, Scott was able to score a goal, which was pretty cool! All in all it was a great, fun day and we have a new appreciation for the sport (but are not looking to play again anytime soon) !!!
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