BEST OF THE BUNCH Some of the most talented equine athletes on the field.
The most talented polo athletes are making last-minute preparations for this year’s Gauntlet of Polo series. Starting this month and being played until April 23, the series includes the C.V. Whitney Cup, the USPA Gold Cup and the U.S. Open Polo Championship.
As the most prestigious polo tournaments in the U.S., the players are pulling out all the stops to fortify their polo strings, gathering some of their most valuable horses to give them the best chance to take the titles.
With each team bringing a minimum of 40 horses, over 500 horses are expected to compete in the Gauntlet this year, and only the best will do.
This season promises to be as exciting as ever, with some of the top players counting on their favorite horses to get them to the trophy stand. Some of these horses have played in the Gauntlet before, while others are making their debut.
Some players keep their horses in the U.S., while others will keep their best horses with them, flying them to whatever country they are playing in, or they may keep them in one country to get more polo miles and bring them to the U.S. when they have matured.
Pilot’s Facundo Pieres has two horses to look out for: Mega Espia and Twitter. Polo fans may remember Mega Espia (Open Cabernet x Spuky), who played in last year’s Gauntlet, carrying Pieres on an end-to-end run in overtime to advance over Park Place in the U.S. Open semifinal. The horse went on to play so well in the final, it was honored with the Willis L. Hartman trophy for best horse in the U.S. Open.
Pieres’ Twitter (Livingston x Twiggy), a chestnut with a white blaze that has been playing in England, will be making her debut in this year’s Gauntlet. The 10-year-old mare was bred by Jim Gilmore in England. She won at least nine Best Playing Pony awards with three different players, including the 2019 Queen’s Cup final under James Harper, who along with Jake Daniels helped train her, and the 2019 Coronation Cup under Pieres. She also won Best Playing Pony in a 2022 Queens Cup game with Pieres. Her dam, Twiggy, was said to be a favorite of Gonzalito PIeres.
In a 2019 interview, Gilmore said Twitter was his perfect type of polo pony with a big body, short legs and strong hindquarters. “She has a beautiful economical action, a V8 motor and a flawless temperament,” he told Hurlingham Polo. This flashy mare is sure to be a crowd pleaser.
Park Place’s Hilario Ulloa has two top horses to watch: Lavinia Marea and Machitos Mesquite. Lavinia Marea is a 9-year-old chestnut mare that played in the Gauntlet the last two years, winning Best Argentine Bred horse in the 2022 C.V. Whitney final. She was also part of Ulloa’s 2021 Best String presented by International Polo Club Palm Beach. Bred by Monica Isla de Ulloa, she is out of Fax Mareada by Loyal Force.
Ulloa’s 14-year-old stallion Machitos Mesquite is shown on the cover. Bred by Los Machitos, he is out of Machitos Mississippi by Durazno. This frequent flyer’s passport is filled with stamps after he traveled from Argentina to Palm Beach to England and is now back in Palm Beach. This slick black horse has beautiful hazel eyes in certain light and is a crowd favorite. He won several Best Playing Pony awards both in the U.S. and England, including in the 2015 Butler Handicap final in Greenwich, Connecticut; the 2018 Queens Cup final; a 2019 Queens Cup preliminary game and the semi final, all in England. He was also part of Ulloa’s 2021 Best String awarded by International Polo Club Palm Beach.
Ulloa’s Park Place teammate, Juan Britos will be playing one of his favorites: El Overo Indigena, a 10-year-old bay mare owned by Park Place. Bred by El Overo Turquesa SRL, she is out of India by Signo. Last year, she won Best Playing Pony of the C.V. Whitney Cup final and was part of Britos’ 2022 Best String.
Peke Gonzalez will be playing for Valiente, with his two favorites: Carpacho and GT Polleruda. The 10-year-old Carpacho (Dolfina Cuarteto x Machitos Alcaparra) came to the U.S. from Argentina three years ago. Purchased from Juan Cruz Magrini, he was bred by Lucas Monteverde. The bay gelding has been getting better every year, playing on both the East and West Coasts. Gonzalez was injured last season so Carpacho was played by Poroto Cambiaso.
The 8-year-old gray mare, GT Polleruda (GT Galdo x Pucara Pollerita) played her first season in Florida last year. She played the summer in Santa Barbara, where she was named 41 Best Argentine Bred horse in the Pacific Coast Open final. Purchased from Delfin Uranga, she was bred by Santiago Tanoira’s Cria Gete.
La Elena’s Matt Coppola will be playing Adele, an 11-yearold black mare, who was his first homebred. She is out of his father’s best polo mare, Riojana by Riverdance, a well-known polo stallion owned by former 10-goaler Owen Rinehart. Coppola has made some of the most important goals on Adele, including winning goals in key Gauntlet games to advance his teams in two separate years. Adele has won Best Playing Pony several times, including in last year’s 16-goal World Polo Tour.
Adele’s full brother, Sundance will also be playing in this year’s Gauntlet. The 10-year-old bay stallion was out with an injury when Coppola played in the 2021 Gauntlet with Park Place, missing his big moment, but Coppola is hopeful he’ll have his chances this year. He played in the 16-goal last year, and won Best Playing Pony in a Houston 12-goal tournament. Adele and Sundance have two other full siblings that Coppola hopes to play in this year’s Gauntlet: Last Dance and June bug. Last Dance is a 6-year-old bay gelding and June bug is an 8-year-old chestnut mare.
This is just a sampling of the many talented equine athletes competing this year, and there are so many more to keep an eye out for.
The highest-rated players, like Valiente’s 10-goaler Adolfo Cambiaso, Scones’ 9-goalers Poroto Cambiaso and Pelon Stirling, Dazos’ 9-goaler Nico Pieres, Le Fe’s 9-goaler Francisco Elizalde and Tamera’s 9-goaler Diego Cavanagh are known for their quality strings that have helped them reach the highest levels of the sport.
This article originally appeared in the February 2023 edition of US POLO Magazine and is published here with permission.
There are more great articles in our section on English Riding and Polo.
