INTERNATIONAL: Polo is no longer a sport for men and now women's polo is growing by leaps and bounds in Argentina, where the first World Championship is being played and the Women's Open has existed since 2017.

Argentina, a country with large extensions of fields and a tradition of closeness to the horse dating back to the time of the gauchos, is currently a major exporter of polo horses and has an undisputed leadership in the men's sport, originally imported from England.

But women have not been left behind. Currently three of the best polo players in the world are Argentine, the polo schools do not stop growing and there are more exclusively female tournaments to compete in.

"The growth of women's polo in recent years has been impressive. According to the statistics of the Polo Association, it is growing a lot every year, more women's polo than men's," said Clara Cassino, a two-time champion of the Women's Open with a team made up of two Argentines and two English.

As Cassino, 26, explained, this growth was encouraged by the establishment a woman’s handicap (a system that allows teams to be evenly matched when using players with varying abilities) and the creation of the Women's Polo Open in 2017.

This has attracted the best players in the world and inspired other countries to replicate the Argentinean polo model.

On Saturday (April 9) the first Women's Polo World Cup in history began in Buenos Aires City, with national teams from Brazil, United States, England, Italy and Ireland.

"Giving this opportunity for women to compete at the same level that men currently compete in, has a global impact and is also a message for the world," said Delfin Uranga, the president of Argentine Polo Association.

Aiming at democratizing and professionalizing polo as well as creating job opportunities, both in Argentina and abroad, the Argentine Polo Associated created the University of Polo three years ago.

According to Uranga, since Argentina is the leader of polo's agenda worldwide, it has the responsibility of taking care of this status and creating trends which can later be replicated globally.

Azucena Uranga, who reached the semifinal of the Women's Polo Open last year and is one of the players on the team representing Argentina in the World Championship, highlighted the "enormous opportunity" to play in this tournament.

"It is an incredible opportunity, and it gave us a place. I think maybe in a few years we will realize that," said Uranga.