From the outside polo looks like any other sport, a hobby to pursue in your free time. But all those that play polo or are learning to play polo will agree that that’s not exactly true. Polo can very quickly become all consuming. It comes with a lifestyle all its own. And before long you’ll start to notice that it’s changed your life in a few different ways.
1. Polo, Polo, Polo
For starters, your mind starts to think about polo, all the time. And especially in the summer on nice days, other plans take a backseat to polo because the field polo season is short and a polo match coming together is a little like a perfect storm, it requires the coordination of a minimum of 8 player’s schedules, upwards of 16 horses, playable fields and sunny and dry weather in the least. So when the email comes through that a match is happening you’ll suddenly find yourself dropping what can be dropped so you can make it out to the fields in time to get your fix of polo. And if for whatever reason you can’t move things around to make it to the match, you’ll find yourself thinking about the match, the ponies and the other players out there enjoying the summer evening on the field.
2. Your New Favorite App
As mentioned above, polo is an incredibly weather dependent sport. Learning to play polo comes with an appreciation for just how long it takes the grass on a polo field to dry in order for the field to be playable. The weight of the horses and the speed that they move and stop at mean that a polo field has to be dry, but not too dry that the grass gets burned. It’s a perfect balance. And it can take days after rain before the field is playable again. Because of its weather dependent nature, you’ll quickly find that the Weather Network app and the radar, in particular, become your new favorite/most used apps as you watch like a hawk for storms passing through and count the drying days until you can get back out on the field again.
3. White Pants become more than just a Fashion Accessory
The official game attire of polo players is white pants, jeans to be specific, and every polo player has their own favorite brand/cut/style of white jeans they use for polo. So while everyone else watches for sales on white jeans at Ralph Lauren and Levi’s to keep in pristine condition and wear for those hot summer smart casual occasions. Polo players watch for sales on their tried and true favorites to top up their collection of stained and marked ‘whites’ for their next tournament or match. And the rule about only wearing white pants between May 24th and Labor Day doesn’t apply to polo players, white jeans are a staple in any player’s wardrobe and not for fashion’s sake.
4. Argentina moves to the top of your Travel Bucket List
Spend enough time with ‘gauchos’ and professional polo players from Argentina (and yes these are people you will meet and spend time with in polo) and hear them speak longingly about their farms and estancias located in the pampas just outside Buenos Aires and you’ll quickly find that Argentina moves to the top of your list of ‘must visit’ countries. And it’s not exactly the kind of place you can go once as a polo player, once you’ve experienced the Argentine polo lifestyle it’s hard to forget and even harder for it to be a ‘once in a lifetime’ trip.
5. Meat becomes a staple of your diet
Meat is a staple in most polo player’s diets largely because of the tradition of celebrating matches and polo related activities with an Asado or Argentine barbecue. It seems to be the go to catering option in the polo world and polo players aren’t kidding when they say they may average between two and four asados per week in the heart of the summer polo season. And if you do make it to Argentina you may find yourself going vegetarian for a little while when you return home because of just how much meat you consumed while there.
Of course, polo changes your life in more than just the above ways, but we can’t give all the changes away. We have to let you experience some of them for yourself. Give polo a try to see the other ways it will change your life…for the better.