With the summer hiatus behind us polo is back on in Argentina! Actually, the Argentina Polo Tour has been played since the beginning of February but as I was deep in the pampas helping with the startup of a ranch for the breeding and training of polo ponies I missed the first stage (and the beaches) in Pinamar. The second stage upon us now, it was time to make the commute back to Pilar and Buenos Aires for some polo. I started my journey with one eye on the weather as there were a few ominous clouds hanging in the sky, seemingly making the same commute as I. Forty minutes into my journey something else caught my eye…a police check-stop? Oh, no…this was sure to slow me down…wait…this wasn’t a check-stop…the policeman was hitch-hiking…looks like I was to have some company. We chatted of our countries as we drove, he was the sort that when I did not understand what he was saying in spanish he gently helped me along by repeating what he had said louder and faster each time, I couldn’t help but laugh.
I left him at the side of the road many kilometres later with a wave and a smile, grateful for having had the company and the conversation which seemed to shorten the journey. Five hours later, having left the drizzling clouds behind and survived a missed exit and almost being ridden off on the highway, I arrived at the beautiful Hurlingham Club. Old school elegance at it’s best, beautiful ivy covered buildings, a rolling green golf course, grass tennis courts and thick, spongy, smooth polo fields, what a fabulous place.
I arrived at field two for the first game (Amadeus [16 goals] vs Techno Polo [16 goals]) at mid-first chukka just as a penalty 4 was being called. During the attempted conversion another foul was called and it was Techno Polo tapping in the penalty 2 for the first goal of the day. I made my way around the polo field to find myself a spot in the shade of a tree with the sun behind me to best watch the game.
The atmosphere was so pleasant, almost like a picnic, people scattered around the field watching from under the trees and the backs of trucks sipping mate and chatting whilst they watched the game. The Argentine Open being the last polo I watched the first thing I noticed was the difference in the pace of the game, not the same, but not a surprise as the lowest rated players on the Open teams are 7 goals. Also noticeably absent was a second umpire, for these medium goal games in Argentina only one mounted umpire is utilized. That has to be a difficult job! Now something that I noticed as similar to the Open, although obviously not the same, was the high quality and level of fitness of the horses. The depth of quality polo horses in this country is most impressive. Anyways…back to the game…this was one of those games where both teams seemed to have difficulty finding their pace, both squads seemed to try and control the ball and find an opening before releasing it but were not really finding that opening before losing control of the ball. The one exception being Guillermo Terrera (Amadeus) who was the early aggressor of the game, when he got the ball he seemed to just go with it, making an opening rather than waiting for one. That being said, Techno Polo was operating fairly well as a foursome, with Tomas Pieres controlling the action and Frank Dubarry being aggressive and very involved at the front end of the offense. The teams traded goals back and forth, neither really getting rolling for the first four chukkas. The teams took the field for the fifth chukka with the score 8-7 in favour of Amadeus. I found it strange that despite the game’s pace being somewhat halted that there had only been 3 penalty goals so far. I wondered if and when this game would open up. I didn’t have to wait long for an answer, all it took was for Pablo Llorente to heat up a little and Amadeus was off to the races! The combination of Llorente and Terrera were lethal, ripping off runs to goal…Llorente at speed through the goal with the ball…more pressure from Amadeus, a converted penalty….another…Terrera now, out of the air, out front, another goal…chukka 5 ends 12-7 for Amadeus. Chukka 6 begins with more of the same, Llorente to goal, looks to be wide, ohhhh a lovely tail shot…Llorente to goal again, off the post, Terrera finishes it…more pressure, another penalty called and patron Robert Kofler puts the finishing touch on the game with the conversion to end the game at 15-7 for Amadeus.
A casual stroll across the field and I was at the grandstands of field one and ready for the next game. The game between Sainte Mesme (14 goals) vs Ferne Park (16 goals) had not yet begun but there were 2 goals from handicap on the board already, Ferne Park faced an uphill battle.
A battle was exactly what this game was, from the opening throw-in it was on, these two teams went right at each other, there was no feeling each other out, they were running, bumping and striking the ball with ferocity. The #1, Robert Strom (I believe the son of patron, and the #4, Birger Strom) was the first to strike for Sainte Mesme making it a 3 goal hill for Ferne Park to climb. Joaquin Pitaluga converts a penalty 3 for Ferne Park to end the first and does the same to begin the 2nd chukka but Sainte Mesme isn’t letting up and is working very well as a foursome, closing the 2nd chukka 5-3 and maintaining their handicap difference of 2 goals. Nordheimer, the #2 for Sainte Mesme makes a beautiful play stealing the ball from Pitaluga and finishes at the goal, Ferne Park converts a penalty but Sainte Mesme scores again from the field and goes to halftime having advanced their lead to 3. Both teams are playing hard but things aren’t flowing for Ferne Park as the foursome for Sainte Mesme seems to be a better balanced team. Chukka 4 only proves this out as the #3 Von Wernick and the Sainte Mesme squad keep applying pressure to Ferne Park who are starting to look frustrated and become more disjointed as a team falling behind by a score of 9-5 by the end of the 4th chukka. Ferne Park must have had a productive chat in the 4 minutes between chukkas as they came out for the 5th on fire. Miguel del Carril and Pitaluga attacked with a two man game, whichever gained control of the ball laced it to the other streaking downfield and Ferne Park produced 5 consecutive unanswered goals from the field…wow…suddenly it was 10-9 in favour of Ferne Park…what a comeback! Sainte Mesme did not wilt under the pressure however, they pressured back, the game beginning to grind, both teams digging in their heels. Finally Ferne Park fouls defending their goal and Sainte Mesme ties it up with the penalty conversion. The action is furious now, the crowd into it, questioning what happens if regulation ends with a tie, the answer is overtime but with seconds left on the clock Ferne Parks’ #4, Eden Omerod, manages a shot that only just crosses the goal-line before it’s crushed with a back shot and Ferne Park avoids overtime and overcomes the 4 goal deficit in the last 2 chukkas for the win!
As I write this, the rain is falling and the game for Friday the 18th looks to be cancelled but I’ll be back when the action resumes.
Thanks for reading.
Chau for now!
Dylan Foster