Nachi Viani returns to Myopia

Over its storied 134-year history, the Myopia Polo has drawn supremely talented high-goal players from around the globe. That trend goes on, as Ignacio Benjamin “Nachi” Viani, considered by many to be one of the sports’ emerging superstars, has decided to again compete at Gibney Field this season.

“Nachi was widely viewed as one of the best, if not the best, collegiate polo player while playing at University of Virginia when he left to turn pro two years ago,” said Myopia Polo Captain David Strouss. “When he turned pro, he elected to continue playing at Myopia in the summer seasons. I have no doubt he was in great demand to play elsewhere, but he told me recently he loved playing at Myopia.”

Like many of the game’s younger stars, Viani was introduced to the game early. The 23-year-old native of Montevideo, Uruguay, who now calls Wellington, Florida, home, began playing polo at an age when most youngsters are still attending kindergarten.

“My dad made me start riding when I was very young at my farm, at the age of 3, I think,” says Nachi. “So once I was able to hold a mallet, he made me start stick and balling. I started in Uruguay, where I would get on a couple of my brother’s horses after he would play to try to stick and ball.

“I was very, very young, and very passionate for horses, so anything that was related to horses I would like,” he says. “At a very young age, I enjoyed of being at the barn, with my groom, just being there with the horses. So being able to play a sport where I could ride and also be competing was the perfect combination.”

With the support of his parents and his brother Felipe, Viani quickly rose through the ranks of youth polo in Uruguay. Though he was a fan of many sports, his commitment to polo was a consistent driving force.

“I loved to play rugby, soccer and tennis as well as polo,” he says. “When I turned 12, I stopped playing soccer, because I didn’t have time to do everything. So I continued with rugby, polo and tennis. Later on, at the age of 15, I started playing only polo.”

As his game improved, Viani found himself atop better ponies. And he began playing with and against better players, who appreciated his relentlessly positive nature.

“The reason that I play polo is because I love horses, and to play polo you need to have good horses,” he says. “That’s the key to improve at it and play higher levels. Horses are not cheap, so upgrading the string doesn’t happen from one day to the other. But once I started adding a couple of new horses when possible, I started playing better.

“The relationship with my ponies is very special,” says Viani. “They’re all different from each other, and we treat them all differently. Some of them need to be ridden more than others. We’re next to them 24/7. We know when they are having a good or bad day, when they get stressed. Some of them like competing, and they show it on the field.”

In the summer of 2019, while he was studying at the University of Virginia, Viani came to play at Myopia. The connection, he says, was immediate.

“I loved that place since the first time I got there,” Viani says. “The surroundings of the Club are beautiful, and the people there are the best. I always feel very welcomed to be back, and that makes me want to go back and help the Club to get better and better every year.

“Polo is very fun and competitive there,” he says. “I know they have been putting more work into the polo sector, such as improving the fields. So I’m very excited to be back.”

“Nachi, like many other top polo players who have played at Myopia over the past 100 years, is attracted to playing here because there is no other polo club like Myopia.”

Viani’s decision to play at Myopia puts him in good company, says Strouss.

“Nachi, like many other top polo players who have played at Myopia over the past 100 years, is attracted to playing here because there is no other polo club like Myopia,” he says. “One of the most famous hunt and golf clubs in the country, the setting at Myopia Polo really affects those who play here.

“It’s hard to describe,” says Strouss, “but I think players who travel all over the world view it as their summer home and a friendly yet intensely competitive polo club.”

Viani agrees, saying that Coaching League Manager Estanislao “Estani” Puch “has been doing a great job introducing more people to the sport, giving classes and teaching the basics of the sport. So I’m sure polo will keep growing.”

Among Viani’s accomplishments at Myopia was winning the Chairman’s Cup last summer, with Del Ranch/Husaria teammates Augie and Grace Grotnick, David Strouss and Manu Mazzocchi, and playing in the Tuckerman Cup final with Black Oak/Del Rancho teammates Annie, Seppi, Johann and Franz Colloredo-Mansfeld, David Strouss and Manu Mazzocchi.

“Playing with and against friends at the Myopia Polo fields is a great time,” he says. “The goals for the future of Myopia Polo are to bring more people and start adding more teams in the different leagues. It’s a club that has everything.”