Polo, the debut of Italy’s Next Gen in Piazza di Siena

ROME — Twelve athletes on the field, nine Italians. It is a stage of Italy Polo Challenge tricolor that began on Thursday evening at the Villa Borghese riding track, during Siena square. Large audience in the stands a few steps from the sand field and many players who grew up in our country. This is the effect brought about by the circuit organized in collaboration with the Italian Equestrian Sports Federation and which, as the stages went by, brought more and more people closer to polo, played with a smaller field format – and therefore more accessible in many respects – than to tradition. There are the veterans, the European champions Stefano Giansanti, Therence Cusmano, Miguel Lagos Marmolbut scrolling through the list of teams you can find other excellent players like Fabrizio Facello, Goffredo Cutinelli Rendina And Paolo Grilliniseen several times at these levels.

On the green there is also the new generation of Italian polo, players who made their debut in this edition of Italia Polo Challenge: Massimo Giambarresi and Davide Fioranelli And Fabrizio Murgolo, a passion that often arises thanks to word of mouth. After just a year of work, the three arrived as far as Piazza di Siena: “None of them knew how to ride a horse until a year ago. You start first of all – he explains Patricio Rattagan, president and sports director of the Roma Polo Club, where they took their first steps – ensuring that it is well assembled. The horse has to be managed, you have to be one with the horse: you have to ride well because polo is a very intense sport, which can be dangerous if you don’t know how to ride in the right way”. First step, technique on horseback: “The polo is not played at the walk or trot. You have to start galloping well, to stop, to turn around. You make the cones, the skittles, you train to brake in a straight line without the horse turning”. Then you move on to the technique: “Once you have stability on the horse – he continues – I give the cue and from there the boys begin to gallop and hit the ball”. They put in the rest: commitment, passion and there they are, twelve months later, playing on one of the most fascinating stages in the world.