Beattys Overseas

Ah, POLO...  The Sport of Kings.  Or, Princes, like William and Harry and Prince Shivraj of Jodhpur.  Argentina dominates the professional sport, as its polo team has been the uninterrupted world champion since 1949 and is today the source of most of the world's 10-goal (i.e., top-rated) players.  Second only to soccer, polo is Argentina´s most popular sport, especially in the upper-crust circles. The jerseys worn by the national team are sold at sporting goods stores in BsAs, similar to the selling of Yankees jerseys or Lakers paraphernalia. 

When John visited Buenos Aires in 2005, he attended a polo school for a week, learning the basics of the sport and playing in a few games (called chukkas).  He's long since talked about the wonderful experience that was his week of polo, and I was anxious to give it a try, if only for one day.

Our friend Max recommended El Paso Polo Ranch, where his friend Jose runs a really lovely club & school.  
The Beattys with Jose, my professor!I signed up for a day of lessons, and we were picked up by a driver at 8am for the 90 minute trip to Mercedes, Argentina.  The drive was easy, and our arrival at the estancia (Español for ranch) was made complete with a huge cup of cafe from Alejandra, a lovely woman who runs the domestic areas of Jose's business.  When we met Jose, I explained that my riding skills are VERY rusty, and I needed some time to get re-acquainted with my seat.  He picked out a horse muy tranquilo (very calm) for me, and we rode around for a few hours while getting to know each other. 

I learned to 'Stick & Ball,' which is to say that I was taught how to properly hold the mallet atop my horse, swing it in a pendulum motion and hit the white ball as hard/far as I could.  I'll admit, I swung away like my life depended on it, and I missed the ball more times than I expected.  But, Jose brought me back to task, and the old "keep your eye on the ball" theory really works, in Polo just the same as Little League T-ball!  Within an hour, I was bringing my horse to a trot and whacking the ball in front of me.  We'd chase up to it, and I'd hit it again.  Let me give credit to Rosa, my pony* for the day, who was a total pro in dealing with my somewhat erratic mallet swinging; she actually knew when to toss her head to the left as I swung near the right of her head, and to side-step the ball a bit when we approached it so I wouldn't nip her ankles with the mallet.  She made my lesson a whole lot easier.  Thanks, Rosa!

* Sidenote on Polo Ponies, taken from Wikipedia: Temperament is critical; the horse must remain responsive under pressure and not become excited or difficult to control. Many are Thoroughbreds or Thoroughbred crosses. They are trained to be handled with one hand on the reins, and to be responsive to the rider's leg and weight cues for moving forward, turning and stopping. A well trained horse will carry his rider smoothly and swiftly to the ball and can account for 60 to 75 percent of the player's skill and net worth to his team.

Jose and me (I'm the one in white)When it was time for lunch and we dismounted, Jose asked me if my arm was hurting, noting that many of his female clients complain about the weight of the mallet.  Well, perhaps I was feeling competitive, or perhaps I was actually numb, so I denied any pain whatsoever. (Both he and John were impressed, and I felt sooooo tough).  But when we sat for lunch and I reached for my water glass, my right arm was suddenly shaking like a leaf and a very tingly.  Yowza.  Imaginably, sticking & balling was much more difficult after lunch, what with a spasming arm, so Jose and I worked on my comfort in the seat.  I was having trouble finding my canter and gallop so I went around the field a few times, only needing to show Rosa the whip, to find that natural gait which looks so easy & comfortable when watching polo.  One I found it, I agree that it's comfortable.  I cannot, however, deny that my rear-end felt horrible for the next 48 hours.

Note mallets atop the corrugated tack room roofIt was a wonderful day, and a perfect introduction to the sport.  For me, it was by no means a "Polo Lesson," as I barely mastered the motion of the mallet.  But, Jose is a studied coach with students of all ranges.  He trains some who are playing in the professional field and other students who, like me, just want a few hours on a pony, getting acquainted with the Sport of Kings.  If anyone is interested in more info on Jose and El Paso Polo Ranch, check out his website here.  John was an excellent photographer of my day (I call him my personal paparazzi), and we both enjoyed our day meeting Jose and his crew and spending time in the grass near horses. My day of polo is, by far, one of my favorite memories of our trip. 

- Whitney