Literature

sporting treasures

Luisa Miguens shares her inspiration behind her book on the history of Argentinian polo, Passion & Glory

In 2002, when my husband Gonzalo Tanoira was president of the Argentine Polo Association, Esteban Kenny – son of the 1924 polo Olympic champion, Arturo Kenny – asked me if our Association would be interested in writing a book about the long history of the game in Argentina. He had pictures to share and plenty of documents that spanned one century of Argentine polo.

Gonzalo encouraged me to write the story. Long conversations between us began to give shape to the book: it should be a sepia and black and white picture book, a collection of pictures from polo families throughout the century; a story not only about the great stars and the high goalers, but also the average player in the country: his family, his farm, his club. Gonzalo was convinced that polo in Argentina is what it is due to the early

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1 Les Diables Bleus Team: Guy Wildenstein, Ezequiel Fernandez Guerrico, Juan Jose Alberdi and Delfin Rueda, in good company at a trophy presentation 2 Cowdray, 1978. HRH The Prince of Wales and Eduardo Moore enjoy a polo exhibition together 3 Olympic Games in Berlin, 1936. The Argentine team wins the Olympic medal for the second time after beating the Mexicans (15-5) 4 Julio Menditeguy and his groom prepare the pony list 5 Venado Tuerto, 1936. Marjorie Duggan de Kenny (second from right) enjoys a match with friends. She was Luis and Pepe Duggan’s sister and wife of Arturo Kenny, Olympic medallist in Paris, 1924 (in back row with glasses)

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starting age of players, the fantastic polo lines in horse breeding, the polo families in the country, the clubs in the interior and the provinces, and the many other factors that turns an Argentine player into an internationally recognised figure.

The first match was played in Argentina in 1875, so the start of the book was easy to decide. That first century was celebrated by our Polo Association with what was called ‘the match of the century’ in 1975 – the first time Argentina had eight 10–goal players. This would be the date that would draw the book to a close. Gonzalo told me he had been part of the end of the amateur players in the high goal handicap in the late Seventies, so it was possible to end the book at the moment those winds started to change.

This was the main object of Passion & Glory:

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1 New Delhi, 1950. The Maharajah Sawai Man Singh of Jaipur shakes hands with Pandit Nehru 2 Cairo, 1955. Carlos Miguens relaxing in the sun 3 Attaching the number to the shirt. Jorge and Gonzalo Tanoira, 1969 4 A.A.P. Pilar, 1979. Javier Novillo Astrada throws the ball to, Santiago, Miguel, Julito and Eduardo (Jr) Novillo Astrada 5 Adolfo Cambiaso and Martina Estrada, three years before their son Adolfito Cambiaso was born. He would become the undisputed heir to Juan Carlitos Harriott

to show how the first Englishmen played in Argentina at the end of the 19th century, how – after the fields were emptied as the Englishmen went to war – the Argentines started to play, travelling abroad in the Twenties and competing and winning against the top teams in England and the US, how polo became so popular in the Forties and finally, how the Argentines climbed to the top under the leadership of the unrivalled Juan Carlitos Harriott.

After my husband´s untimely death, I continued the job of compiling the book on my own. There were many useful volumes in which I could search for information, as well as magazines and archives. Nevertheless, the most valuable help came from more than one hundred polo families that I interviewed and whose treasures they shared with me.

Passion & Glory is a book not only about polo, but also about the underlying spirit beyond the game – it is about families, forming friendships, camaraderie and gentlemanship, about travelling around the world playing polo, about the gallant riders from the pampas.

I was lucky to be part of this story. Lucky to share 36 years of my life with a man who was considered to be one of the players who lived the transition from amateur to professional polo, and who opened markets and frontiers for many, but always preserved what he held sacred in his beloved sport.

I hope this book will bring good memories to all English players who have been so important to us and have shared their love of the sport over the course of a century.

Passion & Glory is not just a book about polo, it’s about the spirit that underlies the game