Here we are at last! Following a long delay, the polo season in Argentina is set to start on Sunday, November 1, with the Tortugas Open, the first leg of the Triple Crown, the most coveted polo championship in the world. It will be a shorter season due to the international pandemic, concluding on December 19 with the much awaited Argentine Open final.

The first two tournaments – Tortugas Open and Hurlingham Open – will be played at the Alfredo Lalor grounds belonging to the Argentine Association of Polo (AAP), in Pilar. All games will be held behind closed doors, with no press allowed, with the exception of the official filming crew TV and a photographer. They will all be forced to comply with strict hygiene and safety protocols, as will the players and their limited personnel.

This atypical Triple Crown brings several changes in terms of teams. Every lineup – except La Dolfina Polo Ranch (33), which has maintained the same as in 2019 (Guillermo Terrera 8, Juan Britos 8, Diego Cavanagh 9, Jejo Taranco 8) – has undergone significant changes.

Tortugas Open title holders, Ellerstina, brought in Hillario Ulloa to replace Polito Pieres, who joined La Natividad. He in turn took 8-goaler Matías Torres Zavaleta’s place. Matías now joins Alfredo Bigatti, Jerónimo del Carril and  Segundo Bocchino (who will be playing his first ever Triple Crown) in La Ensenada La Aguada. In terms of La Aguada, for the first time since 1996, no Novillo Astradas will be playing the Triple Crown. Instead, they have joined forces with Ernesto Gutierrez’s La Ensenada and will be supporting the young lineup.

Changes have taken place in La Natividad, too. The Cañuelas based team is now named La Natividad Las Monjitas, thanks to the partnership between the Castagnolas and Camilo Bautista. The team, which will be playing its first complete Triple Crown this season, will see superstar brothers, Barto and Jeta Castagnola, play alongside South African Nachi du Plessis, and Argentine Polito Pieres.

And all eyes are on Cañuelas, specifically on La Dolfina. The perfect 40-goal team, the unbeatable champions, were forced to make a major change. Their spectacular back, Juan Martín Nero, will miss at least the first two competitions due to a broken collarbone and left wrist. He has undergone surgery for his injuries. As a result, Adolfo Cambiaso, Pelón Stirling and Pablo MacDonough will begin their season in a team rated at 36-goals, because Poroto Cambiaso, Adolfito’s son, has been recruited to play with the champions. This will make 14-year-old Poroto the youngest player ever to compete in the Triple Crown. Before joining the team, Poroto had to be raised from 4 to 6 goals, following Article 9 of Chapter 1 in the Technical Regulations of the Argentine Polo Association. Poroto and his father have already won the San Jorge Open together, in 2019, as well as several prestigious titles abroad, such as the British Open Gold Cup.

Last year’s split between Las Monjitas and La Albertina Abu Dhabi has resulted in a very interesting lineup : RS Murus Sanctus. The team, formed by Facundo Sola, Guillermo Caset, Alfredo Cappella, and Francisco Elizalde, will be the first to represent Corinne Ricard’s organisation in the Triple Crown. Furthermore, the ‘RS’ stands as a tribute to the unforgettable Rubén Sola, Facu’s father.

La Irenita and Los Machitos complete the eight team draw of those line-ups set to compete in all three tournaments. La Irenita will see Min Podestá, Juan Gris Zavaleta, Facundo Fernández Llorente and Juan Martín Zubía join forces; while Los Machitos will feature the one and only Mariano Aguerre, playing alongside the Toccalino brothers, Cubi and Santiago, and Agustín Merlos (the latter holds the record for the highest number of goals scored in a single Argentine Open match).

In terms of other polo, while not all fixture have been officially announced, many tournaments will take place in parallel to the Triple Crown – specifically the Pilar Cup (formerly Municipalidad de Pilar Cup), Cámara de Diputados Cup, the Qualification Tournament, and the Argentine Women’s Open Championship.

It’s go time! Polo in Argentina will begin. The Tortugas Open – which will be played on single elimination – kicks off with four matches over two days:

Sunday November 1 (quarterfinals) 

11am: Ellerstina vs. La Irenita

4pm: RS Murus Sanctus vs. La Natividad Las Monjitas 

Monday November 2 (quarterfinals) 

11am: La Dolfina vs. La Ensenada La Aguada

4pm: La Dolfina Polo Ranch vs. Los Machitos

Tortugas Open: Teams & Fixture