While warming up in Pilar, ready for his departure to England to play in a new polo season there, Jaime García Huidobro spends his time with his family, getting fit for his upcoming challenges in Britain, as the Chilean-born player is due to play both high goal and medium goal.
In the meantime, and during the COVID -19 pandemic, he took a time to review with PoloLine one of the hits of the latest weeks – the ideal horse lists he promoted in Instagram, a challenge accepted by several high goal players and different personalities of polo. “I took the idea from an article written by Cucho Garrahan”, says the chilean player, and adds: “There are many mares I never had the opportunity to see play live, so that’s how the first list came up, name the best 8 mares you’ve seen playing live at Palermo”.
The aforementioned Patricio “Cucho” Garrahan, stated: “These horses are practically from the same generation, a kind of golden generation. The 8 of the list formed a remarkable player-horse partnership that set the path. Today only Chequera and Guillermina are still playing, with the latter being 16-years-old”.
LIST #1 – Top 8 historic horses you saw play live at Palermo
1)Dolfina Cuartetera (Lambada x Sportivo; born on el 03/02/2001). Player: Adolfo Cambiaso.
2)Dolfina Toro (Julia x Sportivo; born on 06/10/1999). Player: Bartolomé Castagnola.
3)Open Guillermina (Open Geisha x Optimum; born on 03/02/2004). Player: Nicolás Pieres.
4)Alazanas Birra (Loca x Suizo; born on 01/12/1994). Player: Bautista Heguy.
5)Machitos Jazz (Cumbia x Pucará; born on el 20/11/1997). Player: Mariano Aguerre.
6)Open Chita (La Luna x Sobornado; nació el 26/11/1996). Player: Gonzalo Pieres (h).
7)Open Chequera (Open Cheta x Sportivo; nació el 17/11/2006). Player: Facundo Pieres.
8)Oli Chicha (Yazmin x Fax Banquero; born on 31/12/2003). Player: Juan Martín Nero.
“Many players liked the challenge and wanted to do it. The idea was to add younger players as well, those who play or have played the Open. A total of 60 players voted in this first list”, says Jaime.
From this first list, the man who played the Argentine Open on several occasions reached many conclusions. He claims: “There have been many things that surprised me, because many of them came naturally with no rules at all. For example, the 8 horses belong to 8 different players. Other thing that drew my attention was that almost all these horses remained with the player since the early stages of training. Another thing I noticed is that most of these horses weren’t awarded at Palermo in the latest years. And last but not least, it is worth to notice the dominance of the Sportivo bloodline”.
Following the positive feedback this proposal had, a second list came up – today’s best horses, a list which includes at least one of them that didn’t play the 2019 final at Palermo.
LIST #2 – Top 8 current horses (including at least one that didn’t play the 2019 final)
1)Dolfina Cuartetera Clone 06 (Adolfo Cambiaso)
2)Mas Claudia (Adolfo Cambiaso)
3)Open Guillermina (Nicolás Pieres)
4)Open Chequera (Facundo Pieres)
5)Cachiyuyo Sportiva (Facundo Sola)
5)Open Candy Kiss (Facundo Pieres)
7)Open Z Jones (Gonzalo Pieres)
8)Dolfina Cuartetera Clon 03 (Adolfo Cambiaso)
8)Open Huracanada (Facundo Pieres)
“The highlight of this list are the Cuartetera clones as well as the strong presence of Sportivo remaining. We can also see the strong presence of Adolfito’s and Facundo’s horses. And despite this list shouldn’t include at least one that didn’t play the Palermo final, Facundo Sola’s Cachiyuyo Sportiva was among the most chosen ones.”
With a higher expectation on a new list, a third category came out from an advice: those horses that made their debut at Palermo, in 2019.
LIST #3 – Top 8 horses that made their debut at Palermo in 2019
1)Open So Pretty (Facundo Pieres)
2)Caña Monjita Coronada (Adolfo Cambiaso)
3)Federica (Barto Castagnola)
4)Lovelocks Wimbledon (Polito & Nico Pieres)
5)Gete Opalina (Facundo Pieres)
6)Anay Sur Kurnikova (Facundo Sola)
6)Latia Ramona (Barto Castagnola)
8)Open Cosquilla (Facundo Pieres)
8)Cube (Facundo & Polito Pieres)
8)Lavinia Castellana (Hilario Ulloa)
8)Irenita Cuaresma (Pablo Mac Donough)
“This list was the most fun to do because it featured a lot of variety. It also demonstrated that there have been a large number of horses who made great debuts at Palermo last year, which leads to think that they would do a lot better this year. This list should be kept at hand, because any of these horses could be the next great winners”, states Jaime.
And when it all seemed said and done, a new list came up in the latest days – choose other players’ horses, with a maximum of two per player.
LIST #4 – Top 8 other players’ horses (maximum two per player)
1)Open Guillermina (Nicolás Pieres)
2)Dolfina Cuartetera Clone 06 (Adolfo Cambiaso)
3)Open Chequera (Facundo Pieres)
4)Cachiyuyo Sportiva (Facundo Sola)
5)Mas Claudia (Adolfo Cambiaso)
6)Open Candy Kiss (Facundo Pieres)
7)Open Zeta Jones (Gonzalo Pieres)
8)Dolfina Cuartetera Clone 03 (Adolfo Cambiaso)
9)Dolfina Cuartetera Clone 09 (Adolfo Cambiaso)
9)Federica (Barto Castagnola)
9)Irenita Entusiasta (Pablo Mac Donough)
And while awaiting which other lists could come up in the following weeks, the Chilean player concludes: “Beyond the conclusions on each list and the expectations about the horses that will make their debut this year, or even how those who made their debuts in 2019 will work in the next season, I am impressed by the personality shown by the younger players, such as Jeta Castagnola or Felipe Dabas, who look for an accurate style both in each list they made and the horses they chose. Despite their young age, they already know what they want.”