POLO PEDIGREE

Written by Dorian May

Like many of the most notable high-goal polo players in the world, 33-year-old Pedro Falabella grew up with polo pulsing through his blood. In the Argentine town of San Antonio de Areco, which has for centuries been home to the traditions and customs inspired by the Gauchos, Falabella was raised on a horse farm in a family of polo players, where learning to ride a horse came before the bicycle.

With family ties breeding polo ponies in Canada, Falabella began traveling with them and learning about the international circuit. By age 12, he was competing professionally while finishing school and knew this was the lifestyle he craved. “I loved the idea of traveling around the world, learning about new places, and making new friends and connections.”

The Senvest team member has played in the highly esteemed Argentina Open, won the Pacific Coast Open as well as The Hamptons Cup where he hopes to help bring his team to victory again this 2024 season. “I love the Hamptons and imagine myself going there every summer for polo season.” Currently, he divides his time between polo hubs of Argentina, the Hamptons, and Wellington, where he and his family have just completed building the American outpost of their original Argentine polo farm, “Triangulo.”

“I really appreciate the opportunity polo gives me to meet some of the most intelligent and interesting people around the world,” says Falabella, who also takes advantage of doing business with them parallel to the sport. One aspect of the industry that has recently seen growth is horse cloning, especially for the purpose of breeding the most competitive polo horses. While not legal in the United States, The Argentina Polo Association has no restrictions on how many cloned horses can play in a game. Biopolo, one of the biggest embryo centers in Argentina, is operated from inside his family farm there. “That is where all of my horse breeds begin. Then, I make the journey from the farm to the competition and travel to the United States,” explains Falabella, who has seven clones of his best mare, Margarita. While competing takes up most of his time, Falabella still enjoys bringing new people to the sport both to teach them and provide them everything they need to become players. He has had the unique opportunity to play with and teach celebrities and kings from around the world but on the field, everyone is an equal judged only by their game. While for many, the “sport of kings” still conjures up images of posh charity parties and aristos, polo is seemingly experiencing a transformation in the United States, breathing new life, new fans, and a breed of high-profile professionals like Falabella into the future.

Where To Find Pedro Falabella Off The Field

HAMPTONS:

Sunset Beach

Surf Lodge

Le Bilboquet

Kite surfing at Flying Point Beach

PALM BEACH:

Carriage House

Cucina

Buccan

Briktops for launch

Late afternoons in the beach

ARGENTINA:

Buenos Aires: Tequila or Boca Juniors at Bombonera stadium

Punta del Este: La Huella or Ferona

San Antonio de Areco: Bessonart Bar -having drinks with his gaucho friends!