Polo is a sport that is constantly broadening its horizons, growing and expanding to reach the furthest corners of the earth. Deciding to host an exciting season of polo in the Dominican Republic has been by far one of the biggest announcements of 2015. The country’s debut as part of the international polo calendar will kick off in January.
The 22-goals tournaments will be played in 3 different locations: Los Establos, Casa de Campo and Lechuza, starting on January 9 and for three months, with eight teams and four tournaments: Bronze Cup, Silver Cup, Gold Cup, and the Caribbean Open.
There are already four teams set up: two Lechuza teams, a Cap Cana / Los Establos team and a Casa de Campo team. Milo Fernández Araujo will also live this new experience in the Dominican as Lechuza’s representative in the committee made up of the Venezuelan team and the two other organisations: Cap Cana and Casa de Campo. A General Manager, Benjamin Araya, will coordinate all three teams. Everything will be done at the best level possible, but keeping it simple and fun.
Both of Lechuza’s teams are organised. Los Establos and Casa de Campo are in the process of finalising their teams. There is a fifth team coming together with a Puerto Rican patron, and it is expected to have Sebastián Merlos and other 7- or 8-goal players playing with local and foreign patrons. Lechuza will have two teams, one starring Juan Martin Nero and Victor Vargas, as well as Alfredo I. Vargas and another great player, David Pelon Stirling. The other team will be made up of Gastón Lisioli, Juan Jauretche, José Donoso and Lalo James.
Casa de Campo is a one of a kind resort; polo has always been played there. They have sixty or seventy years of polo experience. At the moment there are three polo fields, five golf courses, a marina and diverse attractions. Cap Cana is a tourist development next to Punta Cana, Los Establos, which has 300 hectares, It’s a very beautiful place, with 100 high-end stables at the moment. There are two completed fields, done by Alejandro Battro, and they are in the process of making a third. An extra 200 stables are due to be finished soon and a quarantine has been set up to control the comings and goings of all the horses.
“There is a big audience. Between Casa de Campo and Cap Cana there are about seven thousand houses. They all appear to be very motivated. Each club played medium goal polo individually. With this incentive we have begun a league, which we want to be long term. We know that we need world class fields and safety precautions if we want to attract big organisations. The advantage is that the Dominican Republic has it all – even bringing horses from the US is easy. Casa de Campo also has the experience of organising big sporting events. This, combined with Lechuza’s experience in high-goal tournaments should be a formula for success – not only for polo, but for complete family entertainment”, concludes Victor Vargas.
http://www.hurlinghampolo.com/news/read/1913/Dominican-Repubic-announces-its-2016-high-goal-season