About two hundred years ago, part of the family of Casa Libertas settled in California and then later in Argentina beginning a long association with horses and polo.

In the 1870s, the sport of polo was just beginning with the English and later with the passions of different pioneering estanciero families in Argentina, including this family, at Estancia La California in Sante Fe and later Estancia Los Algarrobos. The first recorded, organised chukkers in Argentina took place on 30 August 1875 at Estancia Negrete in the Prov. of Buenos Aires. Polo was more than sport. It brought people together where friends became family and new clubs started and matches were hosted. Given the distances traveled, polo matches became weekend gatherings. Estancia rooms were filled with guests and sidelines of makeshift polo fields were filled with spectators. If there wasn’t enough room, massive tents were raised to host guests. The arrival of the railroad allowed teams to fill a train stockcar with their horses and have two more cars – one for dining and another for sleeping.

As more clubs formed it became necessary that a standard set of rules and an organisation was required for polo. One of the oldest and organised polo tournaments in Argentina, in Santa Fe, was the 1890 Ravenscroft Cup won by a team from Las Rosas.

The River Plate Association, 1892 was formed, where Casa Libertas heritage, as one of the founding families started. As a founding family and director, they later helped form the Asociación Argentina de Polo, 1922 (AAP). Like many ranching families of the time, making things by hand in the workshops and saddle rooms was important for not only rider and horse, but for all. To make beautiful pieces that endure was special and required extraordinary design and the hands of skilled artisans.

The passion for polo expanded with these same families and players traveled to the United States as members of Los Pamperos, playing at the U.S. Open in Meadow Brook Polo Club; Pacific Coast Open in California where they were hosted by Walt Disney and different families in California and New York. Tours to England followed to Cowdray Park with great friend, Lord Cowdray and playing with Prince Philip and Sir Winston Churchill, as well tours to France and Spain.

The story continues.