Recently, I had the unique opportunity to try playing a sport I didn’t think I’d encounter in Argentina: polo. I had always associated polo more with the British, so I didn’t realize it was as popular here as it is. A student at di Tella who plays polo invited the exchange students to join her for a day, so I decided it would be fun to try out. She drove me and two girls from Colombia about an hour outside Buenos Aires, where her polo teacher worked. None of us (except the polo player) knew anything about polo, so we started from scratch. The best way I can describe it is croquet meets soccer on horses. Polo games are divided into periods called chukkers, and the teams’ objective is to use their mallets to get the ball between the poles of their designated goal.Â
We were first given our helmets and then introduced to our horses. My horse’s name was Poncho, but I kept mistakenly referring to him as Pancho. That is the Argentine term for hot dog, so I have no idea why my brain was so determined to rename this horse. Then we headed out to the field, where the instructor showed us how to properly guide the horse and use the mallet. By far the hardest part for me was controlling the horse. Poncho was very spirited, so he was content to just do whatever he wanted (which was usually eating grass) and not what I wanted. I would hold the reins all the way forward and nudge his sides with my feet, and he still wouldn’t move. I have to respect his determination, but it certainly didn't make my job easy.
I eventually started to get the hang of it, but then I had to figure out how to coordinate that with actually hitting the ball. I had to stop Poncho next to the ball to hit it half the time, so I don’t think I have a natural talent for polo, but I still had fun. At the end, I was allowed to try a trot, but I could not figure out how to keep my butt in the saddle, so I just bounced up and down the whole time. I thought I was going super fast, but when I watched the video, I realized I was going quite slowly. I guess we all have to start somewhere.
After the lesson, we headed to watch a polo match and eat medialunas (croissants with a delicious glaze), which was quite a unique experience. Unlike me, the polo players actually did go extremely fast on their horses. I could literally feel the ground shake when they went by. That chaos combined with all the mallets made me very anxious that someone would accidentally get whacked in the face. Maybe that’s an occupational hazard. I had no idea who the teams were, so I just rooted for the team wearing pink, since that’s my favorite color. Unfortunately, they lost, but it was still a great experience. I may not be very good at polo, but I would still do it again.Â
In terms of upcoming adventures, after my midterm tomorrow, I will be heading to Salta and Jujuy in northwestern Argentina. They are known for their beautiful red rocks and mountains, so it should be a great time. More updates to come soon!