Table of Contents
The World’s Top 13 Famous Polo Athletes
Polo is the oldest equestrian sport, having evolved in Central Asia. It was invented in Persia. Polo, unlike other sports, is not a trendy sport, yet even in such a game, prominent players are widely known for their talents, attractiveness, and charm.
Although the list of the most famous polo athletes is dominated by Argentine athletes.
The following is a list of the top 13 famous polo athletes in the world
Rating Name Country
- Argentina 1 Adolfo Cambiaso
- Argentina 2 Mariano Aguerre
- Argentina 3 Pablo Mac Donough
- Argentina 4 Juan Martin Nero
- Ireland 5 Tommy Beresford
- Argentina 6 Hilario Ulloa
- Argentina 7 Facundo Pieres
- USA 8 Bob Jornayvaz
- Argentina 9 Nicolas Roldan
- Uruguay 10 David Sterling Jr.
- Argentina 11 Bartolome Castagnola
- Mexico 12 Carlos Gracida
- Australia 13 David Paradice
13 David Paradice
David Paradice is an amateur Australian Polo athlete/businessman who has won various prizes and accolades.
He is a member of the “Scone Polo Club,” which is supported by exiled Russian millionaire Andrey Borodin.
Winning the US Polo Championship is a dream come true for any polo player.
David Paradice, Poroto Cambiaso, Adolfo Cambiaso, and Peke Gonzalez all won their first titles.
For the first time, Paradice competed in the 2021 “Gauntlet of Polo,” where he finished the season with two prestigious titles.
In addition, he won “The Queen’s Cup” in England.
Paradise is always seen praising his staff, family, and supporters during interviews.
Paradise, unlike many other athletes, is not a full-time athlete.
He is the owner/founder of the investment management firm “Paradice Group.”
As much as he is successful in Polo, he is also successful in commerce and celebrity, establishing his name on the list of notable polo athletes.
12 Carlos Gracida
Carlos Gracida was a well-known Mexican polo player.
Gracida began playing polo when she was five years old.
Guillermo, his father, was a 9-goaler polo player in Palermo and Meadowbrook, Argentina.
Carlos was a member of the famed Ellerstina team, which was owned by an Australian.
He and his brother won player of the year in America five times, a first in the history of polo sports.
He has nine goals in England. He was also HM Queen Elizabeth’s favorite player.
He was also the most popular tutor among celebs and royals.
Chesney, his horse, was equally well-known, having won the Best Playing Pony award several times.
Chesney has three awards in the British Gold Cup alone.
Carlos died at the age of 53, just two months after becoming a US citizen.
11 Bartolome Castagnola
Bartolome Castagnola, 52, is an Argentine polo player with a 10-goal polo handicap.
He is also known as Lolo.
Castagnola began polo at the age of fourteen when his father enrolled him at La Martina Polo School.
He began playing polo on an international level in 1988.
He won the San Diego Open match while on tour alongside Marcelo Case.
In addition to the US Open, he won the Sotogrande Gold Cup, the USPA Gold Cup, the Queen’s Cup, and the Hurlingham Open.
He competed in the Argentine Open Polo Championship fourteen times, winning six times and reaching the finals three times.
He played in Argentina, Dubai, Spain, the United Kingdom, and Australia for La Martina, Ellerstina, Outback, and Dubai.
10 David Sterling Jr.
David Sterling is one of the few non-Argentine players in the top ten of the Polo sport.
He was born in Uruguay and is a 41-year-old professional athlete with a handicap of ten goals.
He rose to prominence after joining the Orchard squad in 2007 and winning the USGA Gold Cup and US Open.
He is well-known for his dribbling abilities, charge, and ability to create space.
Following his 2007 victory, he won the USGA Gold Cup twice more, in 2012 and 2013.
He joined La Dolfina, an Argentine Polo team, in 2010 and won four Argentine Triple Crown wins from 2013 to 2016.
Making the list of the most notable polo athletes. Sterling is the reigning champion of the Argentine Open, which is regarded as one of the most prestigious polo tournaments in the world.
9. Nicolas Roldan
Polo professional from Argentina Nicolas Roldan is regarded as one of the top polo players in the league.
He is currently 39 years old and has many important titles to his name. With 20 goals, he won three World Snow Polo Championship Aspen and USPA National titles.
Roldan, who was 15 at the time, competed for team Escue and became the youngest player ever to win the US Open Polo title.
He won the Cartier Queen’s Cup in 2018 while playing for the club La Indiana.
In addition to his polo accomplishments, he has a lucrative modeling career and is a well-known philanthropist.
He is a well-known polo athlete whose name is also well-known in the modeling profession.
Roldan is a spokesperson for the Kids Cancer Foundation and Brooke USA.
He has held numerous charity fundraiser events as a result of his own charitable nature.
8. Bob Jornayvaz
When it comes to the top amateur polo players, Bob Jornayvaz’s name cannot be overlooked.
He began playing polo while in college at the University of Texas.
Unfortunately, a terrible injury forced him to retire from the sport for a few years.
He concentrated on his family and his business throughout this time.
In 1984, he founded the Intrepid Production Corporation, of which he is president.
Jornayvaz is the CEO and Executive Chairman of Intrepid Potash, as well as the owner of other gas, oil, and mining enterprises.
He has a net worth of more than $200 million.
His accomplishments include two US Opens, a Sotogrande Gold and Silver Cup, two CV Whitney Cups, one Jockey Club Open, two Ylvisaker Cups, four USPA Gold Cups, one Joe Barry Memorial, and one San Jorge Open.
7. Facundo Pieres
Facundo Pieres, son of polo icon Gonzalo Pieres Sn, finished second in the international polo rankings in 2018.
He began his solo career in 1997 when he won the Copa Potrillos while playing for the Ellerstina Jr. squad.
The 36-year-old, 10-goal handicap professional Argentine polo player has won several notable trophies.
His trophy collection includes five CV Whitney Cups, five Hurlingham Opens, three Argentine Opens, seven Tortugas Opens, four US Opens, three Sotogrande Gold Cups, five British Opens, and five Queens Cups.
The Queen personally presented Pieres with the Cartier Polo Cup 2019 winner’s trophy.
6. Hilario Ulloa
Hilario Ulloa was the son of Carlos Polito Ulloa, a world-renowned horse trainer, and breeder.
His father’s passion seemed to have rubbed off on him since his love for horses matched his father’s.
Hilario, the ten-goal scorer, has been a huge fan since he was a child.
His ambition was to compete in the Argentine Open.
After ten years of polo, he finally realized his dream by competing in the Argentine Open in 2013.
Hilario won the East Coast Championship in 2016. As a result, he was given a handicap of ten goals.
5. Tommy Beresford
Polo appears to be in the Beresford bloodline.
Sir Charles Beresford, Tommy’s father, was a former Irish player, while his uncle Gabriel Donoso was the best Chilean polo player.
He is classified as a 7-handicap player at the age of 24.
Beresford was a member of the winning RH Polo quartet in 2013, alongside Adolfo Cambiaso.
He was chosen MVP of the final due to his superb playstyle.
His activities plainly demonstrate the cause for his success.
As a great player, he raises his teammates’ morale and confidence, which helps them perform better on the field.
As a result, everyone wants to play with him.
4. Juan Martin Nero
For many polo lovers, Nero was a household name.
For the past decade, he has ranked among the top Argentine polo players.
Nero is a 41-year-old athlete with a 10-goal handicap.
He has 11 Argentine Open titles, 8 Hurlingham Open titles, and 8 Tortugas Open titles.
His triumph with La Dolfina in 2015 made them the only team in history to win the Triple Crown three years in a row.
Nero was voted the Silver and Gold Cup champion of the 2018 Polo Challenge.
3. Pablo MacDonough
Pablo Mac Donough ranked 7th in 2019, is a well-known professional polo player with a 10-goal rating.
He is one of many Argentine players listed in the top ten categories.
The 40-year-old wasn’t his family’s only polo player.
Matias Mc Donough, his brother, and relatives Gonzalo and Facundo Pieres are all well-known top-rated polo players.
He was even given the opportunity to play with his brother Matias Mc Donough.
He has won nine Argentine Opens, eleven Tortugas Opens, nine Hurlingham Opens, two Queen’s Cups, one British Open, and one C.V. Whitney Cup.
2. Mariano Aguerre
Mariano Aguerre, 53, had a childhood aspiration of becoming a hall-of-fame athlete, one of the best.
This desire became a reality in February 2017, when his name was inducted into the Museum of Polo’s Hall of Fame in Lake Worth, Florida.
Aguerre has been a member of the Greenwich Polo Club since 1987.
Aguerre won the USPA Gold Cup in the same year he began his international career while playing for the White Birch.
He is currently regarded as a 9-goal player and has won several notable competitions.
Some of them include six C.V. Whitneys and two US Opens.
Mariano and his team have won more titles than any other professional polo team in the United States, putting them among the most well-known polo athletes
Also, read Vergil Ortiz Jr, Park Sang-young, Mahiedine Mekhissi.
1. Adolfo Cambiaso
Adolfo Cambiaso would be the ideal embodiment of polo if it had a face.
He requires no introduction because he is the most well-known polo player.
Cambiaso is the polo equivalent of Floyd Mayweather and has been at the top for a quarter-century.
Adolfo Cambiaso, the most famous polo player, was dubbed “The Goat of Polo.”
‘I’ve already created history, but I always want more glory,’ declared the prideful Argentine after winning the triple title in 2014. Always.”
He was a prodigy as a child. He achieved 6 goal handicap at the age of 15, which is difficult even for an adult to achieve.
He was upgraded to a 10-goal rating four years later.
He is now one of the most well-known polo players in the world.
He formed La Dolfina in 2000, which has since become a legendary team.
He is still the World Polo Tour’s number one player, having won 9 US Opens, 8 British Opens, the Sotogrande Gold Cup, 17 Argentine Opens, 12 Hurlingham Opens, 9 Tortugas Opens, and numerous other international trophies.
