One of Guatemala’s most remarkable players, José Aguilar, is very enthusiastic about playing the upcoming II FIP Arena Polo World Championship in Virginia. And he shared his views and his thoughts about this big opportunity to show what’s polo in Guatemala is about, the growth and development.
What does it mean for polo in Guatemala to play the FIP Arena Polo World Championship for the first time?
As a country, it’s very important to be able to play a world championship, a honour indeed, and the commitment to represent your country as best as possible. The FIP always supported Guatemala, and we believe this Arena Polo World Championship is very positive to develop and encourage the growth of polo.
What can you tell us about polo in Guatemala, both on grass and arena, the development and growth of players, horses?
Polo is played in Guatemala with a lot of passion; it’s completely amateur. There are two significant seasons – grass polo, that goes through November to April, in summer, when we don’t have rains. And the arena polo, I’m winter, which allows you to play polo during the entire year. Before, polo was played on grass for 5 or 6 months, and then you had to stop for 6 months.
In terms of evolution and development, I think it’s going very well. We’ve strengthtened a project with Argentina’s Mateo Lalor; he’s been coming for 4, 5 years now and he improved polo in Guatemala a great deal. And we aim to get better every year.
How was Guatemala’s path to reach the competition?
Well, we played playoffs against Mexico, two matches on single elimination. Both games took place on the arena fields of the Asociación Nacional de Polo de Guatemala. It was a delight to greet our Mexican friends. We had a lot of support from the FIP and the USPA, as well. Diego Uranga was the tournament director and Robin Sánchez the umpire. It’s worth to notice the strong support from several members of Las Canchas Polo Club, who provided horses for the playoffs.
What are Guatemala’s expectations for the upcoming tournament? What are the main goal, beyond any results?
We always aim to win; I’m addition, we want to learn as much as possible in terms of playing and organisation. To represent Guatemala the best we can.
Do you think this experience could be a take off for polo in Guatemala as a whole, a way to let people know about polo in Guatemala?
I hope so! Our aim is to get more people to play arena polo and polo as a whole.
