Pato, the National Sport of Argentina

The object of the game is to score more goals than the opposing team. Pato is the national sport of Argentina and is played on horseback, on a field that measures a maximum of 220m by 90m, with run-off areas on each side of the field. There are goals at either end, which are a 1m hoop that stands 2.4m above the ground. Teams consist of four players on horses (known informally as ‘gauchos’), and they must have contact with the stirrups and the reins of the horse at all times. The idea of the game is to grab the ball, known as a Pato and throw it into the goal.

A modern Pato is similar to a regular sized soccer ball, with 6 leather handles attached around it. The idea is to ride on horseback towards the goal, and throw the Pato into the goal before the opposing team can defend it. You can also pass the Pato to a teammate if you want to. It seems simple enough, but there’s an important concept you must understand. Playing the Pato. The most important rule about playing the Pato, is that riders must hold it and play with their right arm only. This also means that you can only pick up and pass it with the right hand.

You can catch the Pato with the left hand, but you must immediately transfer it to the right, as you’ll need the left hand to control the reins. And whilst in control of the Pato, you must extend the arm away from your body. This is to give your opponents a fair chance to win it from you. Hiding the Pato is strictly not allowed. Your opponent will try and stop you by intercepting a thrown Pato in the air. Picking up a dropped Pato from the ground. OR try and physically grab and steal the Pato away from you.

When two players grab the Pato at the same time, this is known as a ‘Cinchada’ or ‘Tussle’ in English. Players must stand on their stirrups and may use their horses and their bodies to leverage the Pato away from their opponent. They must let go of it if they are no longer in contact with the reins and stirrups, or if they dismount their horse. If nobody has won the Cinchada after 10 seconds, the referee will stop play and award the Pato to the challenger, not to the person who initially had it. Therefore, it’s important for the team with possession to move it quickly to avoid losing it in a tussle. The Cinchada is the most exciting part of Pato, and sometimes, players get aggressive to the point where they injure themselves, injure each other, and in the past, lose their lives.

The game is usually played in 6 periods of 8 minutes each, with a 4-minute break in between. The highest score at the end of time … wins. If scores are level at the end of time, it is a drawn game. But in games where a winner must be decided, they carry on playing and the team that scores first, wins. That’s basically the gist of it, but there’s a few other things that you need to know before playing or watching Pato. For example: The Players; As mentioned previously, the game is played with 4 players per team, and they must wear white riding breeches, a helmet, possess a riding crop and have their player number 1-4 sewn onto their playing jersey, which also denotes their position.

They are also permitted to substitute their players and horses during a game, but the clock does not stop when this happens. Negada; This is the infraction of not holding the Pato out with an outstretched arm. If you try and hide the Pato away from an opponent, this is a Negada and the Pato is awarded to the other team.

Out of Bounds; If the Pato leaves the area of play, or is kicked out of play by a horse – the non-offending team is awarded a throw in at the spot where the Pato left the field. If the Pato leaves the area of play due to a Cinchada, it is the challenging team who is awarded the Pato. Right of Way; Very similar to Polo, a player with possession of the Pato has the right of way in the direction they are travelling. An opposing player cannot cross the right of way, but must approach from the side. Riding into another player or riding head first towards another player against the direction of the right of way, is deemed as a foul.

Foul; We’ve discussed a lot of them already, but another common foul you need to know about is that players must constantly be in motion. You cannot play or pick up the Pato if you are completely stationary. This is for safety reasons, and failure to be in motion whilst trying to play the Pato is a foul. In the case of a foul, the Pato is awarded to the other team. Penalty; If a serious foul occurs, the referee may award a penalty to the opposing team. A player lines up 5m away from the goal and has a free undefended attempt to score. Any goals scored count towards the final score.

Horse-ball; A similar sport originating from France exists called Horseball. The rules are very similar; however, the main differences are that teams must pass the ball between three different players before attempting to throw the ball into the goal. And no player can hold onto the ball for more than 10 seconds. The rules of Horseball have been changed in recent years to closely resemble Pato, so that the game can be played internationally.