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♘ مدیریت انجمن اسب ایران ♞
Sir Clive Thompson's recent trip to Buenos Aires was exceptionally well timed. The chairman of the collapsed Christmas hamper firm Farepak arrived just as Argentina's five-star hotels were filling with a flood of other British multi-millionaires.
They have come for the Argentinian Polo Open, which got under way last week. Like Ascot and Wimbledon, the coveted championship is a must in the social calendar of Britain's mega-rich.
Between chukkas, however, there is real business to be done. Britain's polo-playing elite come to scout the pony farms and pick up some bargains for their stables back home.
Over recent years, Argentina has earned a reputation as a global leader in breeding polo horses. Every year, around 2,500 ponies make their way from the pampas to the paddocks of international polo clubs.
More than half are bought by Europeans and North Americans. The remainder end up in the stables of wealthy Arabs and south-east Asian players.
"You get quite a lot of Surrey housewives buying horses and having them flown over [to the UK]," explains Lucy Higginson, editor of Horse and Hound magazine.
Since the devaluation of the Argentinian currency in 2002, Argentinian polo ponies are even more competitively priced. A good horse for amateur polo can be picked up at auction for as little as £2,500.
Argentina also caters for the very top professionals. Adolfo Cambiaso, the world's best player, recently bought a pony from the Argentina-based Ellerston stud for 210,000 pesos (£35,700). But most high quality polo ponies in Argentina go for around £16,000, roughly half the cost in the UK.
The reason for Argentina's recent success is partly down to science. It is the only country to have fully commercialised the use of a new reproductive technology known as embryo transfer.
The technique enables breeders to take the embryos of champion mares and implant them in less valuable mares for the remainder of the pregnancy. At £1,000 per transfer, a top mare can donate half a dozen eggs a year and still be used to play polo at the highest level.
"The Argentine breed has always been the most dominant and, with the embryo system, it is becoming more dominant at the highest level," says Robert Thame, the British owner of a Dubai-based polo team.
Such is the demand for the very best pedigree horses that some breeding consortiums are buying embryos prior to the foal's birth. An unborn embryo from a top mare and champion stallion can fetch up to $50,000. Equine embryo transfer has around a 65% success rate.
Exporting its players, meanwhile, represents a second area where Argentina is successfully riding the polo wave. The best 27 players in the world are all Argentinian, according to the official World Polo Tour rankings.
The highest handicap players earn up to $300,000 (£155,000) for playing the five-month English season. Before heading home to Argentina, many also take the opportunity to sell some of their ponies.
Alberto Pedro Heguy, an Argentinian polo legend who played in a record 28 Argentinian Open finals, puts the success of Argentinian players down to natural horsemanship and healthy living.
Three of his sons - Eduardo, Ignacio and Alberto - are top-handicapped polo players. Eduardo, in particular, is a regular on the UK polo scene, often playing alongside Prince Charles and Princes William and Harry.
"The game is much more professional than in my day. Today, players learn the game younger. They have a better technique and game strategy than we used to," Mr Heguy told Guardian Unlimited.
But Argentina's success at profiting from the game of kings could be under threat.
Recent changes introduced by Argentinian customs have made exporting ponies from Argentina considerably more expensive, buyers complain. The new regulations establish a standard $15,000 minimum price tag for all exported Argentinian ponies. The cost of importing a pony into the UK can be as much as three times higher as a result.
David Wood, chief executive of the Hurlingham Polo Association (HPA), admits that the changes "will hurt" buyers' pockets and push up prices for Argentinian ponies in the UK.
The dominance of Argentinian players on the pitch is also proving controversial. Under HPA rules, a four-man polo team cannot have more than two players from outside the EU.
But Argentinian players frequently have dual citizenship in Spain, Italy or other EU countries, which they use to get round the ruling.
"There are too many Argentine players exploiting the EU dual nationality loophole, taking playing opportunities away from genuine EU players," argues Margaret Brett, editor of the Polo Times and mother of English national player Henry Brett.
Mr Heguy's attitude is distinctly more liberal. Any attempts to further regulate the game, he argues, would only jeopardise the interests of the English game. "The reason Argentine polo is the best in the world is because it is absolutely open," he says. "Anyone can play."
They have come for the Argentinian Polo Open, which got under way last week. Like Ascot and Wimbledon, the coveted championship is a must in the social calendar of Britain's mega-rich.
Between chukkas, however, there is real business to be done. Britain's polo-playing elite come to scout the pony farms and pick up some bargains for their stables back home.
Over recent years, Argentina has earned a reputation as a global leader in breeding polo horses. Every year, around 2,500 ponies make their way from the pampas to the paddocks of international polo clubs.
More than half are bought by Europeans and North Americans. The remainder end up in the stables of wealthy Arabs and south-east Asian players.
"You get quite a lot of Surrey housewives buying horses and having them flown over [to the UK]," explains Lucy Higginson, editor of Horse and Hound magazine.
Since the devaluation of the Argentinian currency in 2002, Argentinian polo ponies are even more competitively priced. A good horse for amateur polo can be picked up at auction for as little as £2,500.
Argentina also caters for the very top professionals. Adolfo Cambiaso, the world's best player, recently bought a pony from the Argentina-based Ellerston stud for 210,000 pesos (£35,700). But most high quality polo ponies in Argentina go for around £16,000, roughly half the cost in the UK.
The reason for Argentina's recent success is partly down to science. It is the only country to have fully commercialised the use of a new reproductive technology known as embryo transfer.
The technique enables breeders to take the embryos of champion mares and implant them in less valuable mares for the remainder of the pregnancy. At £1,000 per transfer, a top mare can donate half a dozen eggs a year and still be used to play polo at the highest level.
"The Argentine breed has always been the most dominant and, with the embryo system, it is becoming more dominant at the highest level," says Robert Thame, the British owner of a Dubai-based polo team.
Such is the demand for the very best pedigree horses that some breeding consortiums are buying embryos prior to the foal's birth. An unborn embryo from a top mare and champion stallion can fetch up to $50,000. Equine embryo transfer has around a 65% success rate.
Exporting its players, meanwhile, represents a second area where Argentina is successfully riding the polo wave. The best 27 players in the world are all Argentinian, according to the official World Polo Tour rankings.
The highest handicap players earn up to $300,000 (£155,000) for playing the five-month English season. Before heading home to Argentina, many also take the opportunity to sell some of their ponies.
Alberto Pedro Heguy, an Argentinian polo legend who played in a record 28 Argentinian Open finals, puts the success of Argentinian players down to natural horsemanship and healthy living.
Three of his sons - Eduardo, Ignacio and Alberto - are top-handicapped polo players. Eduardo, in particular, is a regular on the UK polo scene, often playing alongside Prince Charles and Princes William and Harry.
"The game is much more professional than in my day. Today, players learn the game younger. They have a better technique and game strategy than we used to," Mr Heguy told Guardian Unlimited.
But Argentina's success at profiting from the game of kings could be under threat.
Recent changes introduced by Argentinian customs have made exporting ponies from Argentina considerably more expensive, buyers complain. The new regulations establish a standard $15,000 minimum price tag for all exported Argentinian ponies. The cost of importing a pony into the UK can be as much as three times higher as a result.
David Wood, chief executive of the Hurlingham Polo Association (HPA), admits that the changes "will hurt" buyers' pockets and push up prices for Argentinian ponies in the UK.
The dominance of Argentinian players on the pitch is also proving controversial. Under HPA rules, a four-man polo team cannot have more than two players from outside the EU.
But Argentinian players frequently have dual citizenship in Spain, Italy or other EU countries, which they use to get round the ruling.
"There are too many Argentine players exploiting the EU dual nationality loophole, taking playing opportunities away from genuine EU players," argues Margaret Brett, editor of the Polo Times and mother of English national player Henry Brett.
Mr Heguy's attitude is distinctly more liberal. Any attempts to further regulate the game, he argues, would only jeopardise the interests of the English game. "The reason Argentine polo is the best in the world is because it is absolutely open," he says. "Anyone can play."
