Top of his game

Opposite David ‘Pelón’ Stirling Jr This page Stirling embraces his wife, Maria José Vercellino, and daughter Amalia, after the fnal of the Open

La Dolfina are the team on everyone’s lips right now. Can they be stopped? How long will their victory run last? Are they the greatest team in polo history? They were the winners of the Triple Crown and Open champions two years in a row – a feat accomplished only by the legendary Coronel Suárez team in 1974 and 1975 – and it seems their story is far from complete.

La Dolfina have always been synonymous with Adolfo Cambiaso, but this year, it wasn’t just him calling the shots. On the day of the final, Uruguayan David ‘Pelón’ Stirling Jr out-performed everyone. Solid in defence and lethal in attack, he was deservedly named the MVP of the match. However, the road to the final was not without difficulties; there were fears about whether he would be able to play at all when an elbow injury kept him out of La Dolfina’s first game against Miramar, but that didn’t stop him for long.

Stirling’s story is one of perseverance and humility. One of the few non-Argentines to be playing in the Open, he was put up to 10 goals after his debut with La Dolfina in 2011. ‘You work all year so as to be at the highest level when Palermo starts,’ he says. ‘There are many other tournaments that are special – I’ve won the Queen’s and Gold Cups in Britain, as well as the US Open and Gold Cup, all of which are very demanding and competitive, but none compares to playing the Open at Palermo. It’s what you aspire to from the moment you start.’

Winning the Open is near impossible for most teams, yet La Dolfina make it look easy. Along with the skill of the players, their organisation is what sets them apart from the pack. ‘These days, the most important part of the game is the horses; it’s about trying to find that exceptional one that will just give you the edge,’ Stirling explains. ‘In La Dolfina, there is a constant exchange of horses between us – this is what really shows we’re a team and all aiming for the same thing – to win. In my No 2 midfield position, I look for power and stamina in my horses, though at this level you need everything: speed, comfort and a good mouth.’ A good horse can mean the difference between a win and a loss, between winning the Open and losing it.

Being well mounted and organised is key, but there are other factors that need to be considered if a team wants to stay at the top. After losing the final of the Open to Ellerstina in 2012, La Dolfina decided to take on a coach; they hired Milo Fernández Araujo and haven’t lost a game since. After a team has won 24 consecutive matches, one wonders what keeps

them motivated. ‘There are always points to improve on,’ says Stirling. ‘I think the most important thing now is to focus on getting our heads right before going into the game, so that chukka by chukka, for the whole seven minutes, we’re focused on what we’re doing and what we have to do. The hardest thing to do when you reach such a high level is to stay at that level.’

Reaching 10-goals is no easy feat – at present, there are only eight 10-goal players in the world. To reach that incredible handicap, one has to have not only skill, but also the good fortune to gain entry to a strong organisation. Stirling believes it’s about making the most of the opportunities you are given.

‘I was lucky to have been given the chance to play with the best players in the world [Adolfo Cambiaso (10), Juan Martín Nero (10), Pablo MacDonough (10)]. When an opportunity like that presents itself, you have to make the most of it; if you get the chance to play for La Dolfina and don’t play well, you’ve lost the best chance you had of reaching 10-goals or ever winning the final of the Open.’

As well as concentrating on his own career, Stirling also works hard to help the growth of sport in his home country. ‘I love encouraging young talent. We’ve been working with a lot of kids, and have brought them over to Argentina to take part in the Pony Club here. And I recently invited the Uruguayan national team to La Dolfina to play practices and to train in preparation for the qualifying stages of the Polo World Cup in Peru this year.’

The Argentine season may have drawn to a close, but polo is, of course, a sport that never sleeps – after Palm Beach, where he will play in the 26-goal with Gillian Johnston’s Coca-Cola, he will travel to Europe to compete in the high-goal championships there.

As if his achievements in 2014 weren’t enough, September 2015 may well be another waymarker in Stirling’s career: can La Dolfina smash all polo records and make history, claiming a third Triple Crown? Only time will tell.