Polo Cream 28/11/07 15:20 Page 115
‘When all the games
are finished, my life
in Argentina is very
quiet and calm. I have
no phone and nobody
sees me for a while’
When all the games are finished, my life in Argentina is very
quiet and calm. I have no phone and nobody sees me
for a while.’
All this seems very incongruous with all the hype, high-
society dos and fast-paced, highly-skilled action of the game
itself: ‘I am definitely not addicted to the life and I don’t like
being recognised – polo is what I live for.’
Adolfo is undoubtedly one of the most naturally talented
sportsmen you are ever likely to meet. ‘We call him a freak,’
jokes Peter. ‘He just gets on his horse and does what he has to
do.’ ‘I didn’t suffer that much to get here,’ Adolfo says of his rise
to stardom.
He was granted a 10-goal handicap — the highest in polo —
in the United States when he was just 17 and two years later in
Argentina, where the competition is considerably fiercer,
making him the youngest player ever to compete at that level.
His repeated successes have, however, made it more difficult
to be challenged and keep the game fresh: ‘When you win too
much, what is next? I just find little things, I am in the middle of
the game and I find them! But I think, for me, it is good to play
less to stay hungry.’
It seems that Adolfo’s fierce commitment to polo attracts
other like-minded people, such as patron and businessman Ali
Albwardy who is a self-confessed polo addict and has played
with and supported the team for the last 12 years. Ali’s son
Tariq, 19, also plays for the Dubai team. Ali’s support comes
from his company Albwardy Investment which is involved in
shipping, food retailing, property, construction and
engineering. Even the sponsors, Jaeger-LeCoultre, couldn’t
have been better picked: their relationship with polo extends
back some 75 years. The iconic Reverso range was in fact a
response to the needs of polo-playing British officers serving in
India in the 1920s.
Recognising the need for a watch that was stylish yet strong
enough to endure the rigours of the sport, Jaeger-LeCoultre
developed a stainless steel dial case that sat in a separate
carrier so that it could be swivelled over to protect the watch-
face’s glass window.
Perhaps it is the association with such a fine watchmaker, or
his mother’s successful clothes line, La Martina, that has
inspired Adolfo to create his own fashion range, La Dolfina Polo
torque | 115
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