Pato is Argentina's official national sport, a thundering equestrian game played on horseback in which teams compete to throw a ball — traditionally a live duck enclosed in a basket, now a rubber ball with handles — through a raised hoop, blending the athleticism of polo with the grip-and-throw dynamics of rugby.

Historical Origins

The game dates to the 17th century, played by gauchos — Argentina's iconic skilled horsemen — on the vast pampas. The original form used a live pato (Spanish for "duck") enclosed in a leather basket with handles, passed between riders at full gallop across open country. The combination of speed, horsemanship, and strength made it one of the most demanding folk sports in the world.

For much of the colonial and early republican period, pato was banned as excessively violent and dangerous. The game was officially revived in a regulated form in 1937 and declared Argentina's national sport in 1953, a status it holds to this day alongside football.

Modern Pato

Contemporary pato is played between two teams of four riders on a 200-metre grass field. Players attempt to score by passing a leather ball with six handles — the pato — through a vertical ring mounted on a pole at each end of the field, at a height of 2.5 metres. The ball must be held with an outstretched arm to allow opponents to take it, requiring trust, sportsmanship, and extraordinary horsemanship under pressure.

The sport is governed by the Federación Argentina de Pato y Horseball, and international competitions have spread the game to Europe, where it has merged with elements of French horseball.

ICTSG Recognition

The International Council of Traditional Sports and Games recognises pato as one of South America's most distinctive traditional sports — an equestrian heritage discipline that embodies the gaucho spirit of the Argentine pampas. ICTSG works with Argentine national bodies to document pato's cultural heritage dimensions and promote the sport internationally through traditional sports festivals and cross-cultural exchange programmes.

Pato as Cultural Heritage

Pato competitions in Argentina are social events as much as sporting ones, drawing communities together around shared gaucho traditions of horsemanship, mate drinking, and asado (barbecue). The sport carries within it a vision of the Argentine identity that is both ancient and vibrantly contemporary.