Argentina: the heartland of polo. It’s flat land, ideal weather and depth of player pool makes it the sport’s superpower. The speed of the ponies, skill of the players and force behind the mallet is pure athletic theatre. What a spectacle for the punter who comes to watch players careering down a field at 60 miles per hour chasing a 3 inch plastic ball and dodging the muscular hindquarters of galloping steeds.
Dubai Gold Cup 2011 D3000 f/10; Exposure 1/250sec; ISO-100
For Argentina, polo runs deep. Hailed as the original polo country, it was British settlers in 1870 who, during their free time, began playing in the Argentine Pampas. It was actually in the 1850s when polo first arrived, along with the British when they came to Argentina to build the railways.
Then in 1888, Englishman John Ravenscroft founded the Hurlingham Club in Buenos Aires. Two years later, the Hurlingham Open Championship was born. The “Sport of Kings” had begun.
Dubai Gold Cup 2011 D3000 f/4; Exposure 1/1600sec; ISO-100 Aperture Priority
The financial structure of polo is unique. Super-rich patrons pay players to play. The clubs, meanwhile, make money from the green fees of the teams. More often than not polo players themselves do not make money from playing, unlike say footballers who command millions of dollars.
Make no mistake, this is an expensive sport. To compete in medium to high goal polo tournaments a player needs an experienced pro. To be a patron and sponsor a medium goal team a player will pay a pro anywhere from $3500 per game to $150,000 and up for a high goal tournament.
Dubai Gold Cup 2011 D3000 f/7.1; Exposure 1/125sec; ISO-100 Aperture Priority
A patron’s stable will include 18 – 60 of the finest horses at $35,000 plus each. One groom for every six horses will cost $2500 monthly.
Team players and pros require housing and vehicles for themselves (and their families) while they are playing in tournaments which can last anywhere from two weeks to two months. A patron can spend from $300,000 to $1,000,000 and up to compete in high goal polo at the tournament level.
High costs notwithstanding, the spectactors lap it up. Polo is played in 60 countries and each year the very best teams are invited to Dubai to compete for the winner’s trophy of the Dubai Polo Gold Cup. Here we see the freshly crowned Best Playing Pony of the 2011 Dubai Gold Cup.
Dubai Gold Cup 2011 D3000 f/7.1; Exposure 1/30sec; ISO-250 Aperture Priority
1 Response to Man. Mallet. Horse.