Inside Polo 4

INSIDE POLO with Ron Allen

Gonzalo Pieres

2012 Abierto Winners

The Ellerstina Farm

If Chuck Berry is the “Grandfather of Rock and Roll” then Gonzalo Pieres has to
be the Grandfather of Polo. His three sons along with their brother-in-law won
the Argentine Open last December and the driving force behind that successful
Ellerstina team is a very proud father, Gonzalo.

He left home for the first time at age 19 to play in the Coronation Cup in England
and never looked back. Pieres went on to become one of the premier players of his
time having won the Argentine Open and the British Gold Cup four times and the
American Gold Cup an impressive 10 times. Gonzalo was the first Argentine to be
inducted into the U.S. Polo Hall of Fame in 2008.

After 25 years of competition Pieres decided to hang up his mallets and focus on the
Ellerstina breeding operation in Argentina. It’s an hour from Buenos Aires with 7
polo fields and 270 stalls. It’s a spectacular operation that will only insure a bright
future for his polo playing family and the Ellerstina team.

I saw Gonzalo Pieres Senior play last year in a seniors charity game in San Isidrio
wearing the old La Espadana green and white shirts and as Chuck Berry sang in his
hit record Johnny B Good… “Oh my, that country boy could play”.

Ron Allen is a sports commentator for ESPN Television and a former polo player