Y E S T E RY E A R S
The Argentine team California winners outdoors & N.Y. beginner indoors, 1930 By Dennis J. Amato
In 1930, an Argentine team made a memorable trip to the United States to play in a series of matches in California, including the Pacific Coast Open Championship. However, they also made a short, last-minute courtesy trip to New York where they even tried their hand at indoor polo. Part I recounts the California leg of their famous visit and in Part II in the upcoming August issue, the story of their fascinating but largely forgotten New York stopover will be told.
The Argentine ponies arriving in California in December 1930, after a harrowing 42day voyage from Buenos Aires. Of the 47 horses transported, 44 survived.
56 POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N
Part I–The California Visit During the 1920s and ‘30s, several Argentine teams made a number of historic visits to the United States. The first one was a relatively impromptu affair. An Argentine brigade of six players had gone off to England in 1922 to compete in a variety of events during the so-called “London Season,” which revolved around individual games and several tournaments at the Hurlingham, Ranalagh and Roehampton Clubs. As word quickly
