Why is Argentine polo so prestigious and here it does not fully exploit its potential?

It enjoys a favorable position in the United States, England, and Spain. New destinations are also becoming available. However, due to a lack of oversight in the industry, there are little details concerning the market's size.

Home and Away

Polo is unique in that it is the only sport in which an amateur can compete against a professional, meaning that someone without ambitions can play with a high handicap and compete against a professional.and compete for a tournament anywhere in the world and, in it , Argentina is a country that stands out.

Argentina is well-known for having the best polo in the world. The season with the greatest handicap on the planet takes place here at the end of each year, starting with the Tortugas tournament and continuing through Hurlingham to the Palermo Open. During the rest of the year, players, breeders, patrons, and every aspect of the local polo community travel abroad.Several dozen Argentine players compete in other countries' teams and competitions throughout the year, while the sport's identity, genetics, and culture seek and find markets in places as diverse as the United States, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, and several European countries. It is that the sport grows and manages to concentrate its best level in Argentina and then be taken to fields outside its borders. Locals and foreigners benefit from the trend, and the business is a millionaire.

Foreigners, like Argentina's finest players, require good horses, depending on their handicap level. As a result, a market has emerged for individuals who train riders in the country in order to either play them or sell them to the highest bidder. The popularity of polo among affluent people in developing countries is growing, making the price bids more and more competitive.

Argentine horses unlike other sports formed by a pair, such as horse riding (where strong animals are needed), hardened (where Arab is the best) or racetracks (in which cigars are required). blood), the polo can be carried out with any "short baquiano". This opens up possibilities for different markets. "Depending on the level to which one wants to access, it will be the size and quality of the Polero horse", the breeders agree. It is worth saying that, although it is not a specific breed that makes polo, the "need" and the "scope of the player" to practice it will mark the level of the animal. This means, the petiseros explain, that a horse to tackle in the field from time to time is not the same as one to play in Palermo or a similar high-demand tournament.

There has been from the beginning of polo in Argentina the so-called "field breeder". He who, with dedication and after spending years investing and caring, achieves what he sets out to do. Which sought to cross the best mother mare with a good stallion. Go seeing and crossing in such a way that the baby is as perfect as possible. In this they look for agility, dexterity, that they have a good mouth and that they hold well. Exporting the horses is not an easy task, since there is no formal market and agreements are carried out by contacts and ties of trust that must be worked on for years. In this sense, Argentines are also usually hired as consultants, since the lack of knowledge in certain locations abroad makes them necessary to guarantee a price and quality.

The AACCP is clear about its objectives. He knows and is aware that the Argentine product is the best. "To promote the development of the breeding of equines of the Argentine Polo breed and their improvement based on aptitude", this is how its work begins since its formation in 1984. And, in it, in one of its paragraphs within the purposes they dictate: " Promote research and practice of artificial insemination, embryo transplantation and all other improvement techniques ". Thus, it is explicit that they only want to achieve the best, whatever the medium.

From this idea, and once the animal has matured and is ready to be used in a highly demanding practice, its career begins. It is up to the player to make it "quieter or spicier", but always with a common denominator that is a jet plane.

Of course, riders go all over the world, but what about horses? The player needs to achieve a good binomial, that is, meet the animal which helps him demonstrate his great tacking. A player needs to be confident and to know that part, which he controls only through the reins and heels. For this reason, a large part of the players with several goals carry their own horses. Just as the plane leaves with the players hired by foreign patrons (the name given to the people who invite and hire them to play for them), so do the equines.

They are taken on ferries, where they resist a flight to their destination. Most of them travel and perhaps stay there, where they are later used by foreign players or by a player who uses them the rest of the year. There are also those who have their own "organizations", which are their teams already placed where they usually play.

This is how, in addition to exporting the best level of players, the same is done with the horses. On the other hand, there is someone who comes, tries the horse that is raised in Argentine fields and then they are sent abroad. There are many and more and more destinations for them. There are some who go to places where the conditions are similar, or maybe not, like Nigeria, for example. In these cases, the life of the animal is more sacrificed, since there are many diseases and situations that the petiso cannot get used to. There is also that professional, either veterinarian or petisero, who does sports. It is a complete export that is present everywhere.