FAC ES
O F
POLO
ST I L L
COMMANDS THE FIELD,
YEARS AFTER TA K I N G
The Polo World By Storm By Y.A. Teitelbaum
Mariano Aguerre is one of the best polo players of his generation. The Argentine superstar’s résumé is loaded with impressive major championships, highlighted by U.S. Open titles in 2005 with White Birch and in 2014 with Alegria. Aguerre has also won nine USPA Gold Cup titles and nine Argentine Open championships. His first major titles were in 1987, winning the USPA Gold Cup and the International Open when he was 18 years old playing for White Birch at Palm Beach Polo. His acrobatic style helped White Birch win the 1988 World Cup, and Aguerre was named Most Valuable Player as a 4-goaler. “I said it before, and I’ll say it again: polo is not what I do, it’s what I am,” said Aguerre, who is still going strong as he
approaches his 50th birthday on May 25. Aguerre returns for another highgoal season in Wellington, anchoring Annabelle Gundlach’s Postage Stamp Farm team during the 22-goal tournaments at the International Polo Club Palm Beach. He is excited about their prospects. “We have a great organization, and horse-wise, I think we will be up there,” said Aguerre, who achieved a 10-goal handicap in the United States in 1994 and in Argentina in 1998 and kept the
sport’s top ranking for nearly two decades. “It’s such a competitive season. Chemistry is going to be the key to succeed.” Aguerre has been playing at a high level in Wellington for more than 30 years, starting with Peter Brant’s legendary White Birch team as a teenager. A natural left-hander who has to play right-handed because of the sport’s safety rules, Aguerre learned how to play from his father, Martin, and older brother, Martin Jr. Aguerre blossomed under tutoring from icons Hector Barrantes and Gonzalo Pieres Sr. when he joined White Birch, beginning his meteoric rise to 10 goals. “Mariano is a complete horseman,” Brant said. “His passion for horses extends beyond just excelling at playing polo. He is also a student of breeding and raising and training a horse, and at the same time has acquired an impec-
wellington the magazine | january 2019
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