Quoting Wikipedia:
Pato, also called juego del pato (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈxweɣo ðel ˈpato], literally "duck game"), is a game played on horseback that combines elements from polo and basketball. It is the national sport of Argentina since 1953.
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| Pato riders and referee entering ring... |
Pato is Spanish for "duck", as early games used a live duck inside a basket instead of a ball. Accounts of early versions of pato have been written since 1610. The playing field would often stretch the distance between neighboring estancias (ranches). The first team to reach its own casco (ranch house) with the duck would be declared the winner.
Pato was banned several times during its history due to the violence—not only to the duck; many gauchos were trampled underfoot, and many more lost their lives in knife fights started in the heat of the game. In 1796, a Catholic priest insisted that pato players who died in such a way should be denied Christian burial. Government ordinances forbidding the practice of pato were common throughout the 19th century.
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| Kick off... |
During the 1930s, pato was regulated through the efforts of ranch owner Alberto del Castillo Posse, who drafted a set of rules inspired by modern polo. The game gained legitimacy, to the point that President Juan Perón declared pato to be Argentina's national game in 1953.
In modern pato, two four-member teams riding on horses fight for possession of a ball which has six conveniently-sized handles, and score by throwing the ball through a vertically positioned ring (as opposed to the horizontal rim used in basketball). The rings have a 100 cm (3.3 ft) diameter, and are located atop 240 cm (7.9 ft) high poles. A closed net, extending for 140 cm (4.6 ft), holds the ball after goals are scored.
The winner is the team with most goals scored after regulation time (six 8-minute "periods")
The player that has control of the pato (i.e. holds the ball by a handle) must ride with his right arm outstretched, offering the pato so rival players have a chance of tugging the pato and stealing it. Not extending the arm while riding with the pato is an offense called negada (refusal).
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| Throwing the 'Duck' |
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| Rider tossing the Pato, in the background the goal... |
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| With all that speed, tossing and tugging, the ball ever so often hits the ground, where is does not rest but a second. |
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| Riders pass the ball in full gallop, sometimes surrounded by other wildly galloping horses, leans down towards the ground and hooks the ball with his hands. |
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| Not a Grand Prix dressage move I would like to do...especially at that speed. |
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| Horses 'work' with obvious enjoyment, but after a set they are rested, and another group of horses enters the play. |
During the tug itself, or cinchada, both players must stand on the stirrups and avoid sitting on the saddle, while the hand not involved in the tugging must hold the reins. The tug is usually the most exciting part of the game.
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| Very much like Polo, but without the mallets... |
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| I have no idea, how these guys stay on their horses.... |
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| Quite often during theses 'tugs' one of the riders does part from his mount...the horses gallop past, the rider dusts himself off, and the game goes on. |
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| Horses seem to 'steer' almost entirely by shifting of weight, as the reins are seldom in contact with their mouths. |
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| Fast and exciting, each goal raised enthusiastic cheers from the packed stands... |
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| On the right - the referee.. |
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| One has to admire these animals, even in a sport like this they manage to look elegant. |
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| Hats off at the end of the game... |
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El Patito...
(Photo compliments of the Internet) |
