Anuario Raza Polo Argentino Anuario2018 | Page 215

at Ellerstina today… And I love knowing that
she’s one of Ellerstina’s best dams, because if
you knew where I got her from… from a foot-
ball field wearing a string gag in Belgrano; it’s
unheard of. Someone said ‘there’s a little mare
they want to show you’. I was in Villanueva and
went over there, and there she was, in the middle
of the football field… I mounted her, saw that she
turned both ways and bought her. I then played
her a bit and we passed her on to Gonzalito who
played her aged four at the Cámara final. We
then went to England which is where I lost her,
and Ilusión remained at Ellerstina. And it’s really
nice to see Ilusión’s offspring playing all over the
world.”
“How do you imagine La Dolfina’s future?”
“I imagine it with the same fanaticism; having
fun; this is my life style, regardless of whether
it’s good business or not. I love being on the
farm; at the pony lines… I don’t take it as a job.
I love it. One always wants to improve averages,
and must work hard and jointly to try and choose
players and help players so that your bloodline is
projected on to a polo field when the time comes
that I no longer play. Whether it be my children
or other players.”
“How do you see the market for breeders in
future?”
“Tough, because of the expense it implies, and no
one in the world is spending as much money as
before. There are some projects that may help for
this to grow. Some breeders that have remained
on top and who may find new markets may do
well, but I’d never recommend a breeder to start
breeding because he/she will make money. I’d
say ‘do it because you feel passionately about it,
and do it with Polo Argentino genetics because
that is a short cut and you’ll do much better’.”
AACCP
“What is your perception of the Polo Argentino
breed today?”
“I think it is a model to be copied. You travel
around the world and if a horse is Polo Argentino,
it is rated a point or two above others. Being
sure of the pedigree of the horse you’re about to
purchase is important.
They are trying to imitate us in other parts of the
world. At one time I helped Sunny Hale a lot with
horse registration in the US, but what we do here
is incredible. What is done at the Palermo Rural
Exhibition is historic; really nice, and should be
shown worldwide. It means enthusiasm for the
Breeder; the Tamer; for the person who buys the
Mare.
Holding Exhibitions and presenting sires and
mares is great, because people know which each
one is with the catalog. And in that sense the
AACCP does a very good job and accompanies
the polo-players well. It is information, and that is
valuable: knowing where what you are about to
tame or sell comes from.
“What criticism or recommendation have
you for the Association?”
“Taking into account that they are on the right
path, the only thing I can think of to do is ask the
Association to see that the judges at exhibitions
take into consideration whether they feel or
think that the horse they are judging will play at
Palermo; not only that it is performing well at that
moment, but instead if its category or potential is
that of a horse that might play Palermo.”
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