Page 44 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Argentina

42  INTRODUCING ARGENTINA

Argentina’s Equestrian Sports

Although the horse is not indige nous to the country, it has
become an intrinsic part of Argentina’s national culture and
identity. Feats of horsemanship and the traditions that go
with equestrian pursuits are taken very seriously in all the
provinces. This is most evi dent in the popularity of equestrian
sports, ranging from gauchos competing in sulky races on
the Pampas plains to the exciting horse races that take place
in Buenos Aires’s famous hippo dromes. It is in polo, however,
that Argentina domi nates at an international level. Its polo Young rider in a show-jumping
team has pro duced some of the top polistas (polo players) competition in Córdoba
in the world.
Polo
Introduced by English immigrants in the 1800s, polo is
one of the most popular equestrian sports in Argentina.
Its polo team has been the uninterrup ted world cham­
pion since 1949 and the annual Argentina Polo Open is
one of the world’s most important polo competitions.
A player’s wrist
movement has to be
quick and flexi ble while
hitting the ball.
The mallet has a rubber­
wrapped grip and a leather
thumb sling.
Adolfo Cambiaso is regarded
by many to be the best polo
player in the world. With his
ten­goal handicap (the
highest rank possible), good
looks, and commercial savvy,
he is often referred to as the
“David Beckham of polo.”
Pato
Argentina’s official sport, pato is also known as
“horseball” and has been prac ticed since the
17th century. Pato is Spanish for “duck” and,
originally, games used a live duck inside a basket
instead of a ball. The modern version is played
with a ball that has six leather handles, which
the two teams try to insert into hoops placed
on poles located at each end of a field.

A horseball player needs a great deal of
practice to skillfully pick up a pato. The game
requires players to be excellent riders with a
great sense of balance and stability. They also
need to be able to move swiftly around the field.

The annual Argentinian Pato Championship is
usually held in November. Games are played at a
number of loca tions across Buenos Aires province,
and the final is held at Campo Argentino de Polo de
Palermo (see p113).

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