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Pato is a game played on horseback that combines elements from polo
and basketball. It is the national game of Argentina.

Pato is Spanish language for "duck", as early games used a live duck
inside a basket instead of the ball. Accounts of early versions of
pato have been written since 1610. The playing field would often
stretch the distance between neighboring estancias (ranches). The
first team to reach its own casco (ranch house) with the duck would be
declared the winner.

Pato was banned several times during its history due to the
violence=97not only to the duck; many gauchos were trampled underfoot,
and many more lost their lives in knife fights started in the heat of
the game. In 1796, a Catholic priest insisted that pato players who
die in such a way should be denied Christian burial. Government
ordinances forbidding the practice of pato were common throughout the
19th century.

During the 1930s, pato was regulated through the efforts of ranch
owner Alberto del Castillo Posse, who drafted a set of rules inspired
by modern polo. The game gained legitimacy, to the point that
President Juan Per=F3n declared pato to be the national game in 1953.

In modern pato, two four-member teams riding on horses fight for
possession of a ball which has six conveniently-sized handles, and
score by throwing the ball through a vertically positioned ring (as
opposed to the horizontal rim used in basketball). The rings have a
100 cm diameter, and are located atop 240 cm high poles. A closed net,
extending for 140 cm, holds the ball after goals are scored.

The winner is the team with most goals scored after regulation time
(six 8-minute "periods").

The dimensions of the field are: length 180 to 220 m, width 80 to 90
m. The ball is made of leather, with an inflated rubber chamber and
six leather handles. Its diameter is 40 cm (handle-to-handle) and its
weight is 1050 to 1250 g.


Some Rules:
The player that has control of the pato (i.e. holds the ball by a
handle) must ride with his right arm outstretched, offering the pato
so rival players have a chance of tugging the pato and stealing it.
Not extending the arm while riding with the pato is an offense called
negada (refusal).

During the tug itself, or cinchada, both players must stand on the
stirrups and avoid sitting on the saddle, while the hand not involved
in the tugging must hold the reins. The tug is usually the most
exciting part of the game.


Pato is played competitively and also by amateurs, mostly on weekend
fairs which usually include doma (Argentine rodeo).

Pato is similar to the game of horseball played in France, Portugal,
and other countries.



--=20
SMILES!!!
THL Freydis, BGB

~The happiest people don't necessarily have the best of everything;
they just make the best of everything they have.~