Another historic day for American polo: Nic Roldan and Jared Zenni* had their debut in the Palermo Argentine Open, and their first match was against each other, with Roldan’s La Albertina Abu Dhabi defeating Zenni’s La Cañada Daily Racing Form 18-10.
“I was super excited, this has always been a dream of mine, to be playing here and to be able to get a win in the first game is even more special. We’re happy, enjoying it, we’ve got three really tough games coming ahead of us but this is a good one for our confidence. We’re ready to go.” – Nic Roldan
The teams had played against each other in the Hurlingham Open and the match was quite similar; an even first half with La Albertina taking the lead in the second half, managing a solid advantage by the end.
“Let’s start by saying it’s a dream come true, we had our chances, I think we were trailing by one and could’ve tied the game, but they scored one or two goals on us. It’s always easier to play when you’re ahead. They kept their lead and then in the second half we had bad luck, we missed a couple goals and they scored theirs. I felt good overall though, comfortable on the field with all of my teammates.” – Jared Zenni
Nic Roldan had a great performance, and it shows how much he’s improving with each match. He also has great horses, most lent to him by Los Machitos. Jared is improving as well, though his team does not have any victories yet.
“I’m always competitive and get a little angry, I don’t like losing, I enjoy winning a lot. I’m a bit angry, but we also have to accept the reality, we came from the Qualy and it’s our first year. One does always want more though…Like I said, we always want more, our goal is to qualify for next year.” – Jared Zenni
La Albertina will play against Ellerstina (Polito Pieres, Gonzalito Pieres, Nicolas Pieres, Facundo Pieres) on Monday, November 26 on Field 1, in what will be Roldan’s first appearance on the world’s most important stage. La Cañada Daily Racing Form will play Cria Yatay (Valerio Zubiaurre, Magoo Laprida, Joaquin Pittaluga, Iñaki Laprida) on Monday, November 26 as well. All games of the Argentine Open are livestreamed on http://live.aapolo.comand available with a subscription.
*Jared Zenni is a member of Team USPA. Team USPA is a USPA program designed to enhance and grow the sport of polo in the United States by identifying young, talented American players and providing mentored training and playing opportunities leading to a pool of higher-rated amateur and pro players and the resultant giveback to the sport of polo.
All photos ©ClickPolo.