Sunshine Coast Polo
Gympie Mary Valley Polo Club
Argentina – the place to go for polo and tango.
Whether it’s the thrum of horses hooves in a polo match or the exhilaration of tango rhythms, you’ll find your beat in Argentina.
Argentina is regarded as the Mecca for polo and tango, but as a country it has a lot more to offer.
There is its natural wildlife habitats, beautiful scenery and the amazing architecture in its cultured cities, shaped by Spanish, Portuguese, British and French settlers spanning two centuries. Late at night Buenos Aires comes alive with hustle and bustle everywhere as families and friends converge on restaurants and cafes. The excitement is especially palpable watching professional tango in the French café-style bars or catching the Argentine polo open in November.
Always described as the sport of kings, polo is now played by ordinary folk such as me who have a love and passion for the game. It was Sir Winston Churchill who once infamously said “playing polo is a passport to the world”.
As an amateur polo player I went to improve my polo skills with an Argentine professional at the Mariposa Polo Farm close to the old country town of 25 de Mayo in the province of Buenos Aires.
The area itself was beautiful with the most amazing sunsets and is increasingly known for producing polo professionals and breeding excellent ponies. It was only when I arrived that I learnt that the town of 25 de Mayo was named after the 25th of May 1810, the starting date of the Argentine war of independence when Buenos Aires denied recognition of the regency of Spain.
I arrived in the late morning and by the afternoon was playing chukkas (the divisions of time in a polo match) at La Mariposa Polo Farm. From then on, and for 16 days, playing polo never stopped. The tuition was friendly,
relaxed but firm, with serious professional coaching each morning practising stick-and- ball, and in the afternoon playing six chukkas with local teams organised by my host and professional polo player Mariano Darritchon.
The teams were mixed, with international players from Australia, Britain, Canada, Germany, the US and local Argentine players. Depending on the rules of a particular
There is its natural wildlife habitats, beautiful scenery and the amazing architecture in its cultured cities, shaped by Spanish, Portuguese, British and French settlers spanning two centuries. Late at night Buenos Aires comes alive with hustle and bustle everywhere as families and friends converge on restaurants and cafes. The excitement is especially palpable watching professional tango in the French café-style bars or catching the Argentine polo open in November.
Always described as the sport of kings, polo is now played by ordinary folk such as me who have a love and passion for the game. It was Sir Winston Churchill who once infamously said “playing polo is a passport to the world”.
As an amateur polo player I went to improve my polo skills with an Argentine professional at the Mariposa Polo Farm close to the old country town of 25 de Mayo in the province of Buenos Aires.
The area itself was beautiful with the most amazing sunsets and is increasingly known for producing polo professionals and breeding excellent ponies. It was only when I arrived that I learnt that the town of 25 de Mayo was named after the 25th of May 1810, the starting date of the Argentine war of independence when Buenos Aires denied recognition of the regency of Spain.
I arrived in the late morning and by the afternoon was playing chukkas (the divisions of time in a polo match) at La Mariposa Polo Farm. From then on, and for 16 days, playing polo never stopped. The tuition was friendly,
relaxed but firm, with serious professional coaching each morning practising stick-and- ball, and in the afternoon playing six chukkas with local teams organised by my host and professional polo player Mariano Darritchon.
The teams were mixed, with international players from Australia, Britain, Canada, Germany, the US and local Argentine players. Depending on the rules of a particular
If you want to see original tango dancing, then you must visit Paris-style Café Tartoni, which popularised tango from about 1858, and where the great writers of the day wrote their works in the Salon Fumadores.
Tango and its captivating music is found everywhere in Buenos Aires, from street
buskers to more professional shows that passionately display the unique dance. Buenos Aries has its own avant-garde art and theatre culture, with a most spectacular opera house not unlike those of Paris or London. The shopping is also excellent for high quality leather goods and reasonably priced handcrafts.
One question I asked myself was why the Argentineans are so good at polo? My research showed that British settlers in the Argentine pampas started practising the game during their free time before it became formally organised in the 1870s in public clubs.
The sport spread quickly between the skilful gauchos and the many clubs in some of the main towns all over the country. Its future was cemented in Argentina and it fully captured the public imagination when Argentine teams won gold medals in the Olympic Games in Paris in 1924 and Berlin in 1936.
Polo in Argentina is quite different from the British experience, where the game was introduced in the 1850s but used for cavalry training. It was played mainly by retired upper-class members of the military and did not spread to the greater population until much later. This created the perception of polo as a rich man’s sport restricted to the elite. Like many sports, there is a lot of money involved at the highest levels, but as a pastime it is not expensive to get started and play in amateur clubs.
If you go to Argentina, there is something for everyone. Whether you play polo, dance tango or just go touring, you will have a fantastic experience.
Niall Coburn is a Brisbane lawyer, author, surfer and polo player.
Tango and its captivating music is found everywhere in Buenos Aires, from street
buskers to more professional shows that passionately display the unique dance. Buenos Aries has its own avant-garde art and theatre culture, with a most spectacular opera house not unlike those of Paris or London. The shopping is also excellent for high quality leather goods and reasonably priced handcrafts.
One question I asked myself was why the Argentineans are so good at polo? My research showed that British settlers in the Argentine pampas started practising the game during their free time before it became formally organised in the 1870s in public clubs.
The sport spread quickly between the skilful gauchos and the many clubs in some of the main towns all over the country. Its future was cemented in Argentina and it fully captured the public imagination when Argentine teams won gold medals in the Olympic Games in Paris in 1924 and Berlin in 1936.
Polo in Argentina is quite different from the British experience, where the game was introduced in the 1850s but used for cavalry training. It was played mainly by retired upper-class members of the military and did not spread to the greater population until much later. This created the perception of polo as a rich man’s sport restricted to the elite. Like many sports, there is a lot of money involved at the highest levels, but as a pastime it is not expensive to get started and play in amateur clubs.
If you go to Argentina, there is something for everyone. Whether you play polo, dance tango or just go touring, you will have a fantastic experience.
Niall Coburn is a Brisbane lawyer, author, surfer and polo player.
tournament, a game might have four, six or eight chukkas, which each last for seven minutes of playing time, and at the conclusion require the player to immediately mount another pony and return to the field for a new chukka. The playing was of a high standard with excellent ponies, many of which had been bred and trained at the farm. The playing was helped by the skilful and friendly gauchos who not only looked after
the ponies but prepared them and the tack for the game. They also made ‘matee’ (green tea), served in a wooden bowel sipped through
a small silver pipe and shared communally.
Matee is supposed to be a relaxant before and after playing, and it takes a while to get used to the taste. If you have never tasted matee before, the gauchos look forward to giving it to you and laugh at your initial reaction. My only relief was the famous siesta which players and staff looked forward to, given that dining and conversation inevitably finished close to midnight. On a few occasions dinner was accompanied by talented guitar playing, similar to that of the Gypsy Kings.
Besides playing, I had the opportunity to go to the famous Ellistina Polo complex and see the stables and world-class horses being trained. These polo fields have a reputation as the world’s best – the grass is maintained daily and it feels like lying on carpet. While at Ellistina, I was introduced to former 10 goaler and world champion Ganzalo Pieres, who was practising stick-and-ball. He was impressed with the popularity of polo in Australia.
On my way home I did the compulsory stop in Buenos Aires, watched the Argentine Open and toured the city, learning of its historic achievements.
If you drive along Avenue 9 de Julio, the widest in the world, you get to the Obelisk, a legendary and functional metropolitan centre inaugurated in 1936. On the opposite end of the spectrum you can visit the yellow-and- red workers’ houses at La Boca that show the unusual early settlements still occupied today.
Matee is supposed to be a relaxant before and after playing, and it takes a while to get used to the taste. If you have never tasted matee before, the gauchos look forward to giving it to you and laugh at your initial reaction. My only relief was the famous siesta which players and staff looked forward to, given that dining and conversation inevitably finished close to midnight. On a few occasions dinner was accompanied by talented guitar playing, similar to that of the Gypsy Kings.
Besides playing, I had the opportunity to go to the famous Ellistina Polo complex and see the stables and world-class horses being trained. These polo fields have a reputation as the world’s best – the grass is maintained daily and it feels like lying on carpet. While at Ellistina, I was introduced to former 10 goaler and world champion Ganzalo Pieres, who was practising stick-and-ball. He was impressed with the popularity of polo in Australia.
On my way home I did the compulsory stop in Buenos Aires, watched the Argentine Open and toured the city, learning of its historic achievements.
If you drive along Avenue 9 de Julio, the widest in the world, you get to the Obelisk, a legendary and functional metropolitan centre inaugurated in 1936. On the opposite end of the spectrum you can visit the yellow-and- red workers’ houses at La Boca that show the unusual early settlements still occupied today.
