Polo match

We were invited to a polo match by our friend Susana who works at Familia Zuccardi. Zuccardi was one of the sponsors and their newly-formed team was playing in the tournament. Polo is a popular sport in Argentina but is played more frequently in Buenos Aires than in Mendoza (in fact, this was Susana's --- a native Argentine's--- first polo match). Of course, when our American friends heard about it, they all also wanted to go. So on Sunday, a big group of Americans and Argentines descended on the polo fields to watch the tournament.

It was an interesting experience. Polo is a sport, like in the States, that is enjoyed be the elite. In fact, there was much discussion among us women about whether or not we should go and buy hats just for the for this event (much bantering went on about Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman). In the end we borrowed hats and got dressed up. The event was sponsored by those you would expect, makers of fine wines and spirits, and by those you scratched your head about, male hair replacement clinics. (Funny story with that: The men in the group, all in their early 40's, were thrilled when two pretty-young-things approached them with brochures only to find pictures of smiling men with toupees. Outraged, they came up with many ideas for brochures they could hand back to those girls. Julie kept one of the brochures for posterity's sake).

Oh, yeah, and then there was the game. The horses and riders were amazing, but there were two issues: we had no idea who was playing, because there was no announcer, and we had no idea who was winning, because there was no scoreboard. But, it was beautiful to watch in between drinking our samples of wine and fancy drinks.