“A canter is the cure of all evil.” – Benjamin Disraeli, British Prime Minister (1874 – 1880)

 Phil likes to hit balls and I like riding horses, so what sport could we possibly play that would combine such interests??? POLO!!!!! Argentina happens to be the polo capital of the world and Buenos Aires is at the heart of it. Since the best players come here to compete, it’s also a prime location to find amazing instructors… enter my bright idea to get Phil and I a lesson. I figured if any other country is qualified to rate the Argentinian polo instruction, it has to be the Brits, so I booked us a lesson with the stable recommended by the BBC.

“Stable” is a vast understatement for Puesto Viejo, where we had our lesson. “Estate” is much more appropriate. The stables house 250 polo ponies, and they were building another 250 stalls when we were there. They had 7 meticulously maintained polo fields, plus rolling manicured lawns, a clubhouse that looked more like a mansion, and enough grooms so that each polo pony shined.

Our instructor, Julio, was awesome… I think that if we took lessons with him for a month we’d be legitimately good polo players. He taught us a few swings with the polo mallets and then we were up on our ponies for some practice swings. Our ponies were very forgiving. I swear they lined themselves up perfectly for us to hit the balls, even sometimes kicking them ahead with their hind legs when we whiffed.

After about two hours of practice, it was off for a 5-course lunch, steak of course, and then back to our ponies for a practice match. Phil and I competed on opposite teams, which made our game all the more interesting. Our ponies fully committed to our causes, but Phil’s pony went the extra mile for him by biting the competition…I now have a softball sized black-and-blue memory of the game on my thigh! At the end of the hour, Phil’s team emerged victorious, but I’m holding out for a rematch!

– Erika