STOP PRESS: The Badminton Horse Trials have been cancelled – see our Events Page for alternative shows where Estribos will be present.

Welcome to the Home of the Argentine Polo Belt!

Summer 2012

2012 is just flying by ... but has been hugely kind to us here at Estribos Argentina - The Real Argentine Leather Company.

People all over the UK and beyond have made a clear choice, recognising the quality, value for money, origin and true pedigree behind our products.

Our family moved from the Falkland Islands to farm sheep in Patagonia, Argentina in 1863 and the firm’s hat making roots in Buenos Aires go back 120 years. Come along to Lanus Oeste for the 120th birthday party in September.

Como dicen – "Más argentino imposible!"

You wouldn’t choose to buy Sushi from a Burger Joint. The same choice applies to our very Argentine range of products. There are a number of UK suppliers of Polo Belts or so-called Gaucho Belts and Polo Dog Collars but you would be hard pressed to get two words of Spanish (never mind "Lunfardo") from any of them. The huge interest in our Estribos Polo Belts has generated a wave of copy cats, and whilst we are flattered we would suggest that you buy an original – "No seas Boludo ... Comprate un Estribo’!"

The five of us moved from Buenos Aires to set up the UK end of the business in 2005 and we travel all over the UK attending well over 100 shows a year. Our presentation is traditionally Argentine – so you will not confuse us with the chrome and MDF shelving of other firms on the circuit (who may just happen to have a couple of carousel displays of polo belts at the entrance to their stand).

Our name "Estribos" means stirrups in Spanish and reflects the close relationship we have with the horse world and its respect for good leather.

Over the course of this Summer come and brighten your day by visiting the Real Argentine Leather Company and sample some of our product ranges that truly differentiate us from the rest – including our Polo Brow Bands, our Estribos “Taba” Alpargatas (Argentine Espadrilles), our Woven Leather Wristbands, or half-check Polo Dog Collars.

Hasta Luego,

Lizzie, Marcus, Ollie, Sophie and Lydia

The Argentine Belt Smiths

Polo Belts

Welcome to estribos.co.uk where you can find one of the biggest and best priced collections of Polo Belts and accessories. These belts are based upon a traditional local native pattern, the “Guarda Pampa”, and have been adopted in Argentina by the polo world, adorning the whites and bombachas of players and petiseros from Patagonia to Palermo. We believe we have the broadest collection in the world, with over 80 different hand stitched models, and in the UK we constantly have over 3,000 polo belts in stock. In the improbable case that we do not have your size in the style that you prefer, we will be more than happy to make it for you. We are always positive that you will be more than just amazed by the excellence and workmanship of our polobelts, and the quality of our leather.

Argentine & Argentinian Belts

If you are not fortunate enough to be able to visit us in person at the many shows throughout the year in the UK then please do not hesitate to check out our internet shopping area. There, you will find our Argentinian Belts, which come with matching Dog Collars and also, our excellent selection of hats. To complement the Argentine Belts, and other firm Estribos favourites, we are constantly adding new product ranges and individual items, all skillfully handmade in Argentina from traditional high quality materials.

Gaucho Belts

Whilst true Gauchos would never have been seen in these belts, Polo Belts are sometimes incorrectly referred to in the UK as Gaucho Belts. Not so in Buenos Aires! The origin of the pattern is in reality a local Indian one, from an ancient Mapuche tribe design. This “Guarda Pampa” pattern mirrors the profile of the Andes range, with the peaks and troughs and reflections of these in the mountain lakes. The Gauchos adopted some elements of the Mapuche design and incorporated them in their Ponchos and other fabric pieces, reinforcing regional identities of the provincial groups of Gauchos, almost along the lines of Tartans in Scotland. Truly Argentine Belts therefore, but not really Gaucho!

Polo Sport

Whatever you’re level of involvement in the Sport of Polo, whether as Polista, Petisero or as a Spectator stomping divots, there can surely be no other sport with the captivating and all absorbing ingredients of Polo sport. Seven minutes of pure energy, balls traveling at speeds of 150 kph, the thunder of rider and pony …. Taken to the Pampas and developed to perfection by the Argentines, the kings of the Sport of Polo. An excellent marriage: English rules with Argentina setting the world standards for riders and ponies.