The Top Ten Best Polo YouTube Videos

Polo isn't the world's most popular sport. It's not always (or ever) broadcast on TV unless you live in Argentina but there is one place that polo can be found anywhere and anytime. YouTube. YouTube is a nearly never ending source of match edits, interviews, instructional videos, and match live streams. It's also a way for players, new and experienced, to get a feel for the quite literal world of opportunities that exist out there for polo players and fanatics. So sit back, relax and enjoy watching this list of our favorite polo YouTube videos. 

1.  From highlight reels to full matches and live streams of matches from across the United States there's always polo happening on the USPA Polo Network YouTube Channel. 

Watch USPA Polo Live

2. Believe me when I say, once you watch this video playing polo in Argentina will jump to the top of your bucket list. 

Celebrating tradition, sport, family and craftsmanship, Polo in Argentina showcases the very best of the sport at the renowned Triple Crown Final in Palermo.

3. If you've ever heard whispers of polo pony cloning and wanted to learn more this video is your chance. An English subtitled video with all the information you've ever wanted about the pro-cloning side of the debate. 

English Subtitled* The Worlds greatest polo player, Adolfo Cambiaso, and his dream coming true. Five of his best horses have been cloned multiple times. Cloning is used much like in-vitro fertilization (IVF) and artificial insemenation (AI) to produce genetic improvement programs for equine and bovine worldwide. Crestview Genetics - Perpetuating the Finest.

4. The teaser trailer for a tv series coming out soon that follows the global high goal polo circuit. Beautifully shot and artistically edited this video will make you glad to be a part of this crazy entertaining sport. 

5. A USPA Polo Network shot film that shows exactly what it's like to ride a polo pony flat out. 

6. The Rules of Polo can be complicated and the rule books can be even more complicated. This YouTube channel provides an alternative to learning polo right from the comfort of your couch. Of course, it's no substitute for the real thing, but for those days when you just can't get out to the barn it's a great way to keep up with your learning. 

Learn Polo with lessons in the field Presentation of the POLO IN video series With real examples to understand how to play polo. 25 videos that explain everything you need to know to place you on the polo field, understand and play polo. See important details to improve your polo.

7. For all the ladies out there, here's a unique insight into the world of ladies polo from Apes Hill Polo Club in Barbados. 

8. Polo is played all over the world (see above videos) and in all different conditions. And this short film profiles the event and players that participate in the annual Snow Polo World Cup St. Moritz. 

Xaver Walser, the Swiss-South African filmmaker, dedicated his most recent short movie to snow polo. SECOND TO NONE is a fascinating "behind the scenes" portrait featuring gripping scenes and stirring commentaries from professionals at the Snow Polo World Cup St. Moritz 2015. The film has been published worldwide on 24 February 2015.

9. Ever wondered what's faster, a polo player or an F1 driver? Here's the answer to your question. A real comparison of horsepower. 

10. Produced for Audi Argentina, a title sponsor of La Dolfina Polo Team's 2011 Argentine Open, this match edit shows all the great polo action from the first of the triple crown tournaments, the Hurlingham Open, in 2011. 

Have any other polo favorites from YouTube? Comment the links below and we'll be sure to check them out!

Destination Polo: Argentina

Believe it or not, we are fast approaching the mid point in the summer, even though it feels like it just started because the good weather took so long to arrive. It’s at this point in the summer that people look towards the fall and start making plans for those cool Toronto fall days.

If you’re a polo player, the fall also means the end of field polo season and the beginning of the arena or snow polo season in Toronto. A sad time of year indeed. But there’s one thing that saves us all for our winter away from the fields and that’s Argentina.

We’ve said it before and we will say it again. Argentina and its people are hugely influential when it comes to the ‘polo culture’ and ‘polo lifestyle’. From the go to catering choice of Argentinian Barbecue (aka Asado) to the presence of Spanish and Spanish speakers around every polo field, you can’t really escape Argentina when you’re a polo player.

And with good reason. Argentina is home to some of the best polo players, matches, fields, and horses in the world. You won’t see better polo than you’ll see on field number one at Palermo, especially if you happen to get tickets to see the final of the ‘Open’.

It’s because of the importance of Argentina within the polo world and the high caliber of polo that can be watched and played during their peak season each November that players from all over the world hop the next flight down to the mecca of polo for a few weeks of red wine, red meat, and polo. Let’s just say it’s our way of stocking up and overdosing on polo before we all return home to our indoor arenas.

Photo by Alejandra de Miguel

Where you may limit yourself to playing every other day or as little as once or twice a week in the summer season in Toronto (you have to pace yourself somehow, right?), in Argentina you play every single day (as long as your body can handle it and the weather holds out). You ride through those sore muscles and continually remind yourself that there’s no more polo like this once you hop that plane back home, so a little pain now will be worth it in the long run.

Because everyone who is anyone makes the trip down at the same time of year, it’s also a social opportunity. You never know who you may find yourself taking the field with or standing beside in the bar at the Campo Argentino de Polo aka Palermo. While it’s a social sport, polo can sometimes feel a little lonely, because people outside polo often don’t realize that it exists or understand it even if they do know that it exists but in Argentina everyone around very much knows it exists, can point you to the closest field and can and will give you their opinions of the players you’re watching, the ponies they played this morning and where they stand on the issues of cloning among others topics. So in a way, it’s kind of refreshing not to have to dumb down or explain the world that you’ve been so swept up by because everyone around you has the addiction as you…an addiction to polo.

It’s also a chance for newer players to get to the root of the Argentine influence of the sport. Once you’ve seen Cambiaso and La Dolfina and Ellerstina and the Pieres’ duke it out on field number one at Palermo well let’s just say that there will be no doubt in your mind why these guys are the best-ranked players in the world. If you weren’t hooked before you certainly will be now.

The food is a whole other reason to make the trip. You’ve likely had the chance to try an Asado at some point in your polo career you’ve probably never had a real authentic Asado. Because while we try to do Asados justice when we do them in Canada they never quite seem to measure up to the Argentine standard, there’s something in the laidback approach to entertaining for an ever changing number of guests with piles of meat slow cooked over an open flame that we Canadians can’t quite get perfect. Not to mention how fast Asados can be thrown together; you can be field side after an evening game in Argentina with no dinner plans only to have everyone band together and divide the work that needs to be done to host an Asado in a matter of minutes. But it’s not ALL about the meat, well not really, Argentina is also home to some of the best Italian food outside of Italy.

Especially coming from Canada where polo equipment is hard to come by and particularly limited in selection going to Argentina is your chance to stock up on all the equipment you may need for the following season. Mallets, helmets, knee pads, boots, whites, polo belts…the list goes on. You may very well need a second suitcase to get the stuff home but its easy to justify an equipment shopping spree down there because you just can’t find the stuff back home.

So aside from it being hugely important as a social opportunity and as a cultural experience, any amount of constant time spent practicing and playing polo will hugely improve your game so while you may be a little worse for wear on your flight back home, your game and your handicap will thank you.

But how does it all work?

Everyone has different requirements for their annual Argentina trip and each individual will want their own balance of playing, watching, eating, shopping and socializing. All different combinations can be arranged. The popularity of polo down there, especially in the peak season, means that there’s an never ending stream of people looking to accommodate players of all levels and interests.

For help in finding the place that will give you’re looking for and be most suitable for your playing level or to sharpen up your game skills with some lessons and matches before you leave contact us at info@polomanagement.com