The Origins

Evidence of this game has been found as far back as 1936. Captain CLAVE had given the name Horse Ball, after modifying some of the rules of Pato (among them being the size of the ball), the changes for him being important enough to justify changing the name.

The History

Horse Ball is a direct heir to PATO (national sport of Argentina, played on horseback).

This being the reason that the first Horse Ball trials were played using a Pato ball, Pato goals, Pato priority rules, and the same pick-up technique (in the early years the stirrups were not joined together with a strap!).

We now know thanks to some old evidence that the arrival of Pato in France dates back to Captain CLAVE, champion show-jumper in the 1930s.

The matches took place during Horse Shows and were played between different military regiments. The war started and Horse Ball disappeared, being practised only by a few riding instructors in their clubs as exercises for improving the ‘seat’.