Polo in Argentina

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Polo is one of the most popular team sports in Argentina .

Argentine Olympic team from 1924

history

Polo is one of the oldest sports in human history and is still played today. It came to Argentina in 1873 by the English who came to the country to build the railroad, among other things. The mallet , which is said to have been brought by a Thomas Taylor, is on display at the Venado Tuerto Polo Club today . The rural residents, mainly the gauchos , played pato , which is somewhat similar to polo, so that the new sport quickly gained popularity. There were also horses on the huge estancias (farms) in the pampas and plenty of space for polo fields. The economic upswing during this time probably also contributed to the popularity of the sport.

The first polo match took place on August 30, 1875 at the Estancia Negrete in the province of Buenos Aires between English and Irish players. Since there was still no fixed set of rules, the Campo team had five players and the Ciudad team six. The first polo club , Flores Polo Club , was founded in 1880. This was followed by the Lomas Polo Club (1885), the Belgrano Polo Club (1886) and the Hurlingham Polo Club (1886). In 1893 the first Argentine Open was held. Today the Open is played in eight chukkas of 7.5 minutes each, in the beginning there were three game segments of 20 minutes, later four of 15, then six of 10, finally the current division prevailed. The players were also initially allowed to play with their left hand. In 1895 an Argentine team traveled to London , their success there was the basis for the high reputation of Argentine players and teams to this day. Argentina won Olympic gold in 1924 in Paris and in 1936 in Berlin .

See also: Olympic Summer Games 1924 / Polo and Olympic Summer Games 1936 / Polo

player

Between 1911, since the introduction of the player handicap , and today 42 players in Argentina have achieved a handicap of 10 (as assessed by the Asociación Argentina de Polo ). This rating may differ from the handicaps of the same players in the US and England, as the polo associations there have their own criteria. The handicaps are updated twice a year. In 2017, only a few players in Argentina had the “perfect 10”, including the Uruguayan David Stirling, a foreigner.

Players with handicap 10 in Argentina in the past:

Player with handicap 10 in Argentina 2018

Probably the most successful player in the past was Juan Carlos "Juancarlitos" Hariott (Jun). His polo career lasted 36 years, from 1952 to 1988. He held his handicap of 10 for 20 years and won the Argentine Open 24 times. As the only Argentine polo player to date, he received the Olimpia de Oro ("Golden Olimpia"), an honorary award from Argentine sports journalists, five times he received the Olimpia de Plata ("Silver Olimpia"), namely in 1970 and 1975 to 1978. His team was Coronel Suárez , in which he played in 3rd position. His contemporary Gonzalo Tanoira said of him: "If the Heguys or I get a 10, then Juancarlitos is a 13 or 14."

Something similar is said today about a still active player: Adolfo Cambiaso (Jun). When he first took part in the Open in 1992, he scored 46 goals for his team Ellerstina . In 1998 he scored 67 goals in the Open and holds the record with the highest number of goals in a match (16 goals, the first time in 1992, then twice) and the total number of goals scored in the Open (535). When he was 17, he was given a handicap of 10 in the USA, and two years later in Argentina as the youngest player to date. Since 2001 he has been playing with the team he founded, La Dolfina , which has won the Open four times so far.

The Heguys are a family that is very closely connected to polo. The first of this clan, Antonio, won the 1958 Open with Coronel Suárez-Los Indios . His sons, Horacio and Alberto Pedro, members of Coronel Suárez , reached the "10". Alberto Pedro played a total of 28 times in the Open. The third generation also play (s) with a perfect handicap and all of them (Horacio (Jun), Gonzalo, Marcos, Bautista , Eduardo, Alberto (Jun) and Ignacio) each won the Open several times.

Among the players, Marianela Castagnola, a cousin of Bartolemé Castagnola, María Chavanne, María Cerrutti, María Bellande and Paola Martínez deserve special mention. The former became the first woman to win the Copa República Argentina , the last four formed the first all-female team to have a chance to win the Copa Comienzo .

Carlos and Guillermo “Memo” Gracida, who come from Mexico, are the only foreign players who were rated with a “10” in Argentina .

Teams

The first great team in Argentine polo history was Hurlingham . She was the winner of the first Open and won this tournament 15 times.

In the 1940s, El Trébol and Venado Tuerto were dominant. El Trébol won all the Open between 1939 and 1943, four of them with the same line-up: Luis Duggan, Julio M. Menditeguy, Heriberto Duggan and Carlos Menditeguy. Then they were replaced by Venado Tuerto, who won all tournaments from 1944 to 1950.

The first team to achieve a perfect team handicap of 40 was Coronel Suárez , made up of Alberto Pedro and Horacio Heguy, and Juan Carlos and Alfred Harriott. Overall, Coronel Suárez, in various line-ups, won the Argentine Open 26 times and the Triple Corona four times between 1952 and 1983 (winning the Tortugas Open , Hurlingham Open and Argentine Open in one year).

Other teams with the highest possible handicap were La Espadaña and Indios Chapaleufú . La Espadaña was successful in the 1980s, predominantly in the cast: Carlos Gracida , Alfonso and Gonzalo Pieres (Sen) and Ernesto Sportwetten. They won the Open six times. Indios Chapaleufú dominated the 1990s. It was the first team that consisted only of brothers: Bautista , Gonzalo, Horacio (Jun) and Marcos Heguy. Her cousins, Eduardo, Alberto (Jun) and Ignacio Heguy as well as Milo Fernández Araujo formed Indios Chapaleufú II .

In the recent past two teams should be mentioned: Ellerstina , who played for many years with the brothers Gonzalo (Jun) and Facundo Pieres and their cousins ​​Matias and Pablo Mac Donough , and La Dolfina , consisting of Adolfo Cambiaso , Lucas Monteverde , Mariano Aguerre and Bartolomé Castagnola . Both teams are currently the only ones with a team handicap of 40, Ellerstina with Gonzalo (Jun) and Facundo Pieres, Pablo MacDonough and Juan Martin Nero.

The Argentine polo players were also successful at the Summer Olympics : in 1924 the Argentine national team , consisting of Guillermo B. Naylor, Juan Miles, Enrique Padilla, Arturo Kenny, Jack Nelson and Alfredo Pena, won Olympic gold in Paris. In 4 games they made 46 goals with 14 goals conceded. In 1936, at the Berlin Olympics , the national team played 11-0 against Great Britain , this time with Luis Duggan, Roberto Cavanagh, Andrés Gazotti and Manuel Andrada .

Horses

They say the horses make up 90% of the game. Mainly the Polo Argentino is played, a breed from Argentine criollos and the English thoroughbred . Criollos were characterized by their modesty, endurance and stamina. The English horses contributed their speed and were easy to steer. Originally, the height of polo horses was limited to 142 cm, then to 147. Today, the ideal height is 156 cm.

According to the Argentine Polo Horse Breeders Association (AACCP), around 3,000 foals are born every year. The best of them start playing at the age of 5 until they are 12, at most 15 years old. Mostly mares are played, more rarely geldings or stallions. On the one hand mares are said to have better playing characteristics, on the other hand they can also be used for breeding.

Many players are also active as breeders, especially the offspring of horses that have played in the tournaments mentioned below can be sold at a profit. The first cloned polo horse was born on April 22nd, 2010 in the USA. The stallion is descended from Califa , one of the better-known horses of the Argentine player and breeder Mariano Aguerre , who also owns the newborn foal.

Average polo horses cost between $ 5,000 and $ 15,000, top animals can be worth up to $ 200,000, like the legendary stallion Aiken Cura , who belonged to Adolfo Cambiaso . Due to the importance of the animals for the game, the AACCP publishes every year a detailed list of all horses that are played in the Argentine Open, including information about ancestry, breeders and owners.

Every year at the Exposición Rural ("La Rural") , an agricultural exhibition in Buenos Aires, awards are also given to the best breeds in the "Polo horses" category. The best horse in the Argentine Open is honored annually with the Lady Susan Townley Prize.

Tournaments

The Campeonato Abierto del Tortugas Country Club ( Tortugas Open Polo Championships) is the first major tournament of the Argentine season in terms of calendar. The number of participants is limited to six teams, Ellerstina won in 2010 .

The Campeonato Abierto del Hurlingham Club is played in Hurlingham, a suburb of Buenos Aires, in October and, together with the Argentine Open, is the oldest polo tournament in Argentina to date. In 2010 the 117th edition took place, the winner was Ellerstina.

The Open Argentine Polo Championships (Span. "Campeonato Argentino Abierto de Polo") have been played since 1893. Since 1928 the venue of the Campo Argentino de Polo , also popularly known as the Polo Cathedral, has been in Buenos Aires- Palermo . It takes place in November / December and is the most prestigious tournament. The number of participating teams is limited to 8. Most of the time it is a purely Argentine matter. Ellerstina and La Dolfina contested the final in 2010, which Ellerstina won.

Adolfo Cambiaso said of the tournament: “It is every player's greatest ambition to win the Open. In Palermo feelings intensify. If you win you are the happiest person in the world, if you lose your unhappiness overwhelms you. There is no other tournament like this in the whole world, it is the best field in the world and that is what is so great about it. "

In addition to Argentine celebrities, the rich and beautiful from the rest of the world can also be seen there regularly: Sarah Ferguson is known as a polo fan, American millionaires and Arab sheiks travel to see polo and buy horses. The singer Madonna was also spotted at the Open with her children in 2008 during a South American tour.

All three of the above competitions form the so-called Triple Corona (triple crown). So far, four teams have won the Triple Corona: Coronel Suárez (four times), Santa Ana (1973), Ellerstina (1994 and 2010) and La Aguada (2003). The handicap of the teams for these tournaments must be between 28 and 40, the level is higher than for the important tournaments in England (maximum team handicap 22) or in the USA (max. 26 at the US Open).

Other important tournaments are the Jockey Club Open , Copa Cámara de Diputados , Copa República Argentina and Copa Provincia de Buenos Aires .

An international tournament that no longer takes place today was the Copa de las Américas , which was played between Argentina and the USA. Argentina won 6 out of 8 games in 1936, 1950, 1966, 1969, 1979 and 1980.

Polo in Argentina as an economic factor

Polo has become an economic force in Argentina, especially in tourism . The sport is increasingly attracting foreign visitors who come to the country to attend a tournament or to take lessons in a polo school to improve their own handicap.

Another branch of the economy that is related to polo is the breeding of polo horses and the export or sale in their own country.

Most of the clothing and equipment used by polo players also come from Argentine companies. La Martina and La Dolfina are leaders in the field of outerwear (jeans, jerseys) . La Martina clothing is now also available in Germany and has a certain popularity even among non-polo players. The other equipment (helmets, mallets, saddles , boots ) is mainly produced by smaller Argentine manufacturers .

Another factor is the sponsorship of tournaments and / or teams. The sponsors include companies from various industries, including television broadcasters, car manufacturers, watch manufacturers and hotel chains.

Associations

  • Asociación Argentina de Polo (Argentine Polo Association)
  • Asociación Argentina de Jugadores de Polo (Players Association)
  • Asociación Argentina de Criadores de Caballos de Polo (Association of breeders of polo horses)

Individual evidence

  1. Premios Olimpia  ( page no longer available , search in web archivesInfo: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.aapolo.com  
  2. Player profile on AAP ( Memento of the original from July 7th, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.aapolo.com
  3. La Nacion of August 31, 2008 "100 questions to A. Cambiaso"
  4. Interview with Alberto P. Heguy
  5. La Nacion of December 18, 2008 "Un campeón perfecto"
  6. Interview with M. Aguerre about horse breeding ( Memento of the original from April 21, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.poloargentino.com
  7. Pace magazine from April 28, 2010 ( Memento of the original from May 26, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.pace-magazin.com
  8. Obituary for Aiken Cura ( Memento of the original from March 3, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.polomag.com.ar
  9. List of horses ( Memento of the original of April 21, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.poloargentino.com
  10. La Nacion of July 31, 2008 "Gran Campeón Polo Argentino"
  11. List of the award-winning horses ( Memento of the original from April 21, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.poloargentino.com
  12. List of the winning horses
  13. La Nacion of December 14, 2008 "Un brillo con el sello de La Catedral"

Web links

Commons : Polo in Argentina  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

literature

  • Pablo Vaca: Lo mejor del polo argentino. Ediciones B, Buenos Aires 2005, ISBN 987-1222-13-0 .
  • Horace A. Laffaye (Ed.): Profiles in polo - the players who changed the game. McFarland & Comp, Jefferson 2007, ISBN 978-0-7864-3702-3 .