ROYAL NAVY FIRST IN ARGENTINA

THE Royal Navy broke new ground in March, sending a five-man team on a two-week tour to the home of polo – Argentina.

It was the first time the Royal Navy polo team has ever toured there and it was the ideal opportunity to hone the skills of five riders most likely to represent the RN during the current season – Capt Richard Mason, Cdrs Adrian Aplin and Arnie Lustman, Lt Nick Cooke-Priest and SLt Geoff Braithwaite.

The squad was based at El Retiro Polo School just outside Buenos Aires, and the first three days were spent getting used to the local horses. The RN team also underwent intensive team training in tactics and all aspects of game play.

The training regime was overseen by Dr Marcos Llambias, whose critical eye was much appreciated by the RN quintet and helped bring out the best in their riding talents.

For their opening match, the RN, with a team handicap of just 2, took on a 5-goal team from the Argentine Navy. The match was hard fought but excellent team play (and excellent horse power) saw the intrepid British visitors record a 10–3 victory.

There was not much opportunity for the RN team to celebrate its red letter day – 24 hours later they had to compete against an awesome 11-goal team from the Argentine Army – in football terms it would be like a pub side taking on Manchester United!

The Navy team battled hard in 32C heat but the superior skills of the Argentine quartet led to them
winning 16–8.

The next day the RN team and the Argentine Navy and Army teams combined for a friendly tournament.

The last week was spent with further training and team practices, followed by a final match against a local team, which the RN won 7–5 to successfully round off an excellent tour.

For information about playing polo within the Royal Navy, please contact the Cdr AM Lustman on 0207 2183079 or fax 0207 2184702.