Flecha was showing no signs of living up to her title as the fastest polo pony on the block – I could barely get her beyond an amble, let alone the thundering gallop I’d need to play a chukka. By day two (and yet again I was puffing more than she was) I was pretty exasperated. I’m an experienced rider but none of that was showing as I crossed the polo field at a sedate trot, kicking and urging her on like mad.

It turned out to be cross wires – or rather reins. I was holding too tightly onto the lower rein, what instructor Sasha called “the emergency brake”, when I should have been pushing the reins up Flecha’s neck.

It was like someone had taken off the handbrake – suddenly we were in three, and then four time, and it was at that moment, as I swung the mallet and connected with the ball, sending it pinging across the grass, that I began to see what Jilly Cooper was on about.

There were hints of her novels in our taster holiday for polo beginners at the Dienstl Estate in Austria – the ripe smell of soft leather and the exhilarating crack of mallet on ball, but the only strapping Argentinians were the ponies.

The ponies are bought in Argentina as youngsters by the estate’s owner, a talented chef and a former world class polo player, Brigitte Kulterer. She plucks the ponies from the Argentinian pampas and ships them to her farm, a sprawling equine paradise that is home to horses to suit all abilities and ages, a polo field, indoor and outdoor riding arenas and a quaint alpine hotel with 56 rooms.

The estate offers riding camps for children, who sleep under gingham duvets in wooden chalets surrounding a campfire – it’s too chocolate box for words. Guests at the hotel also come for riding and can hack around the picturesque countryside, have dressage or jumping lessons, or learn to play polo.

The week-long and four-night trips offer polo lessons culminating in a chukka, the seven-and-a-half-minute game, on the estate’s highly trained ponies. What’s unusual about the holiday is that there are very few places where complete beginners can ride skilled, fit polo ponies and have a go at the sport, which is otherwise confined to a wealthy elite and a handful of burly Argentinians.

The course accepts intermediate riders only, but even then, the training starts on something even more sedentary than my stubborn mount - a wooden horse. Here you learn to hold and swing the mallet… then just as you’re getting cocky, they unleash the fleet of chestnut Ferraris, who reduce your confidence to mush.

These ponies are chosen for their nimbleness and attitude, and most are mares, as they are more aggressive and better at “riding off” other ponies – the practice of pushing another player and horse sideways, away from the ball. I frequently found myself pushed up against another player at Flecha’s behest, and to applause from Sasha, even though I had no role in the manoeuvre. There’s also the kit: unlike English general purpose saddles, polo saddles have no stabilising knee rolls, so as well as the afore-mentioned communication breakdown on the reins, there’s a sudden lack of balance to deal with.

It’s not that the ponies are unhelpful – years of playing polo means they position themselves perfectly for the rider to hit the ball; adapt their speed to the noise of the mallet racing past their ear, in order to keep up with the ball; and when they feel the rider move to hit a backwards shot, they turn and follow the ball.

The skill of the ponies was exceptional, and made up for our inadequacies. Had we been riding inexperienced ponies we would not have got out of a walk, never mind played a galloping chukka on our last morning. Progress is also of course helped by the teaching – from Sasha, who can’t speak English but is Cooper-esque looks of the operation, and Marcus, who is charming and patient. They explain the rules of the game and ways to improve technique from horseback, where their exemplary skills are a constant motivation.

The surroundings are also inspiring – Hochosterwitz Castle, a medieval castle clinging to a lump of rock, looms over the polo field in the distance, and the landscape is potted with lush green fields, lakes and rich woodland, from which berries and nuts are harvested for the hotel’s kitchen. The land buckles as it nears the Italian and Slovenian borders to the south, which means there's wonderful hillwalking around Dienstl in the summer - great for non-riders accompanying horse-mad companions.

The hotel offers more rural pleasures – pine furniture, open fires, staff in traditional Austrian dress and stodgy Austrian comfort food. Goulash, terrine, homemade breads and jams, schnitzel, strudel – it’s a good job holidays here are active, or they’d be rolling the guests out of the door.

Need to know

The polo instruction is available April-October. A one-week holiday with The Riding Company costs £850 and includes half board accommodation in the four star hotel, ten polo sessions and three massages, plus use of the sauna and steam room.

Alternatively, there’s a four night short break for £660 including half board accommodation, four polo sessions and one massages, plus use of the sauna and steam room.

Non-riders cost £525 for seven nights based on sharing a double room and £345 for four nights.

Prices exclude flights, insurance, lunches and excursions, but do include airport transfers from Klagenfurt, which is 45 minutes away. Ryanair offers flight to Kalgenfurt from Stansted and Thomsonfly from Manchester.

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