Polo Ponies

Argentina has arguably the best polo in the world. There is a polo field a short walk from my office. A few weeks ago they were hosting free matches during the early afternoon.

We walked up there one day to watch. I could have stayed all day -- gorgeous weather, beautiful ponies, an exciting game, interesting people-watching and an all-around fascinating sport.

These guys rode along the sidelines until a player needed to switch out horses, much like players are substituted in other running games like basketball and futbol.

The ponies are constantly switched out as they are exhausted. They are rapidly prepped for the match or stripped down afterward, with the neat rows of tack and blankets.

A couple videos if you, too, can't get enough of polo:


A quick switch of ponies. I sort of caught the tail end of it, but impressive how the players jump from one pony to the other without fully dismounting!


It was really interesting to watch the grooms quickly strip the ponies down after they came out of the game.