RAF team travel to Argentina

As October started I was boarding my one stop flight to Argentina.  I’d escaped the UK and all of its October based misery for the sunshine and polo delights of Argentina.  Or so I thought… writes Flt Lt Rich Williams of 33 Squadron, RAF Benson.

Like most RAF arrivals I was late!  This mattered not in the relaxed land of Argentina where nothing gets going in a hurry and the night is just getting started at 2am.  So arrival drinks went on, late into the first night. 

The next day arrived too soon and it was time to meet the grooms, my string and the rest of San Sebastian Polo Club members.  And in what better way than six chukkas played at around 7 goal standard in the midday heat.  This was my first introduction to polo in Argentina. The pace was hard, fast and aggressive and the ponies gave so much more than your average pony for hire, but demand so much more in return.  This was going to be my first lesson of many taken from my visit.

My host for the month was Argentine 2 goaler and San Sebastians resident polo coach, Matias Jolly Araya. His hair is as big as his personality, with a flamboyant flair on and off the polo field, I was rarely left unaware of what I had done wrong and spent most of my time on the receiving end of his a huge offside shot!

We spent the first week riding, schooling doing stick and ball and playing chukkas at the farm along side his brother Federico also 2 goals and other club members who ranged between 1 and 3 goals.  So already I had seen; the way that polo is played is faster, the ponies are a step up, the standard I was being exposed to was much higher and I always seemed to be at least a step behind the game!  A lot to learn and all perfect conditions for me to up my game!

The end of the first week was supposed to mark the first tournament. A 10 goal affair to be played at the local Jockey Club in Rosario.  However, torrential rain hit the region, the first of many down pours in my time in Argentina, flooding pitches and corrals, leaving conditions unplayable for days at a time.

During these wet weather days, we decided to travel to avoid the weather.  This was where staying with a well-connected local was the only way to travel.  On the first occasion, I was taken to La Pampas to stay on a vast cattle farm. We rode the local Criollo horses, learnt the art of the Asado and spent a few long cold nights on the hunt for the illusive wild boar.  Our second wet weather trip took us to the North of Argentina again to cattle country but this time to hunt amongst the islands and waterways.  The two day trip saw us bag two big crocs, two Carpincio and three wild boar, one of which was a boar piglet caught by hand…only in Argentina!

Back to the polo, the water eventually subsided and the pitches dried out.  We took this opportunity to make hay…a 6 goal tournament was scheduled at San Sebastian over two days, the RAF team lost their first game but learnt by their mistakes and convincingly won their second to take third place in the tournament.  The rain and lack of polo to start with meant that the club now offered daily chukkas with everyone as desperate as myself to play.  This all culminated in the last tournament, a three day 12 goal tournament played at a local private polo ground.

This 12 goal tournament marked my last few days in Argentina, up until this point we had played whenever the weather would allow but this still left weeks of frustration waiting for the rain to cease or the ground to dry.  Conditions were perfect, the pitch and surroundings immaculate and the competition fierce. 

The first few matches for the RAF team didn’t go our way, the team was beaten by a single goal in the seventh chukka of both games to the eventual first and second place teams.  The last match was all to play for and as tight as the first two.  Lessons from the first match were learnt and applied leading the RAF team to run away with it in the last few chukkas in a fast and frantic flurry of goals. 

Now what I haven’t told you is that my 12 goal career so far lasted for roughly 20 seconds of the first chukka of the first match.  I dismounted at the gallop, knocked myself unconscious where I stayed for the next 5-10 minutes and spent the next few days trying to remember my glorious performance!

Argentina is a truly beautiful country, the people are relaxed, the pace of life slow and the polo fast. My experience of it was only tarnished by the weather, with weeks of rainfall putting a full stop to any hopes of the polo everyday that I had hoped for.  Despite this the chance to play any polo anywhere is always a welcome one and in Argentina more so than most!  As with anything, you pay your money and take your chance.  And while I may not have played as much polo as I would have liked, the lessons learnt are invaluable.  Now just the small matter of putting them into practice for the RAF this coming season…