PHOTO BY SHERYEL ASCHFORT, THE POLO PAPARAZZI
Coming Off A Big
Win In Argentina, POLO Star Sebastian Merlos Eyes The U.S. Open Trophy
By Lauren Miró
From the polo fields of Argentina to the International Polo Club Palm Beach, Sebastian Merlos has dominated the sport as a one of the highest-rated players in the world, taking home some of the most coveted polo championships. Coming off a win at the 2013 Argentine Open with La Dolfina, Merlos will lend his talents to team Coca-Cola this year at IPC in Wellington, as the team eyes the 2014 Maserati U.S. Open Polo Championship. Currently rated at 9 goals, Merlos learned the love of polo from his family. He grew up on his father’s farm in Trenque Lauquen, Argentina, where he learned to play polo from the best. “I was raised with a horse between my legs,” Merlos smiled. “My grandfather was the one who started
our family in polo. I never had any doubt that my life was going to be about horses and polo.” His father, Cacho Merlos, is a legendary polo player who won the Argentine Triple Crown — the Tortugas Open, the Hurlingham Open and the Argentine Open — in 1973, and was a dominant force on the field until 2008, when he retired to coach. Sebastian has also played alongside his two brothers, Pite and Agustin, winning his first U.S. Open in 1990 with Pite at his side. “I’ve been very lucky to be able to play with my
10th Anniversary |wellington the magazine| January 2014
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