Moneycorp exchanges currency for ‘hockey on horseback’

Rough-and-tumble: Polo at Santa Maria Polo Club

Steamy Jilly Cooper novels, the movie Pretty Woman, the fact that Stewart Copeland from music group The Police is an avid player and a vague awareness that Argentinians are quite good at it – that was the embarrassingly basic knowledge I had of the game of polo before I was kindly invited to the famous Santa Maria Polo Club in Sotogrande by the good folks at currency exchange company Moneycorp for the 44^th Torneo Internacional de Polo…

With the old adage of ‘all work and no play makes John a dull boy’ banging around my head, I hot-footed it out of the office at VIVA Centro last week and made my way to the millionaire’s playground of Sotogrande to educate myself on the intricacies of this incredibly popular sport and enjoy a mojito or two graciously provided by my kind hosts. Moneycorp sponsored a month’s worth of polo at the swanky Santa Maria Polo Club and a lovely evening was whiled away in their hospitality tent watching all the action. This was Moneycorp’s first foray into sponsorship of polo and everything was provided for, including a very handy booklet entitled ‘The Secret Book For Understanding Polo Like A Pro’ – a kind of Dummies’ Guide to Polo that was not wasted on this particularly clueless spectator.

The Moneycorp team at polo: (l-r) Reece Speight, Cookie Bhoday and Cesar Crespo.

So a quick lesson in polo: a match is between two teams of four players on each side wearing numbered jerseys that indicate their positions and responsibilities on the field. The number 1 jersey indicates the goal-scorer (the polo equivalent of Lionel Messi) and number 4 indicates the defensive player. The player wearing the number 3 jersey is good at both attacking and defence and generally determines the team’s strategy (a Xavi or Iniesta, if you will). Number 2 is kind of like a roaming, attacking midfielder, to continue with the more familiar football analogy. Usually lasting between 60 to 90 minutes, a game is made up of seven-minute time periods called ‘chukkers’. The object of the game is to score as many goals as possible and try not to fall of your powerful, raging, nostril-flaring thoroughbred horse.

I was pleasantly surprised to find polo a particularly fast and furious spectacle as players galloped their horses up and down the field, madly whacking the ball around in a kind of equine version of hockey. Falls are not uncommon as horses and riders bump into each other on a regular basis, but thankfully nobody was seriously hurt while I watched from the comfort and safety of the Moneycorp tent. Polo is a far cry from the polite and gentlemanly image of the game I had in my head previously – this was hardcore, tough and dangerous. The players’ were almost as muscular as their horses and the sound of pounding hooves, mallet on ball and general mayhem coming from the field of play gives the spectator an indication of just how rough-and-tumble this ‘posh’ sport is.

In between matches there was plenty to keep the visitor entertained at Santa Maria Polo Club. A bohemian market offered all kinds of sartorial items for the polo fan and artisan food trucks provided delicious gourmet snacks for the peckish spectator. Chatting to my hosts, they were extremely happy with their sponsorship and are already planning on sponsoring next year’s event again. Over 600 guests and partners were entertained by Moneycorp during the prestigious polo tournament and this particular convert to the sport will definitely be back again next year, no longer a bewildered rookie but a bona-fide polo afficianado. Thank you Moneycorp!

Moneycorp are the currency exchange experts on the Costa del Sol. Contact Moneycorp on +34 952 587 657 or [email protected]