Meet Polo’s New Golden Boy

One of the most exciting players of his generation, Poroto Cambiaso is leading a new wave of professional, highly skilled young horsemen who train like athletes and compete to win. Juliet Herd sits down with him to discuss his winning streak. 

Poroto Cambiaso: Introducing Polo’s New Star

We’re milling in the lounge of some ultra smart stables in Berkshire when a quietly spoken young man makes his way around the gathering, individually introducing himself. 

It takes a minute or so to realise that the polite lad in hoodie, blue baseball cap (on backwards) and baggy jeans is, in fact, the star of the show, 19-year-old Poroto Cambiaso, one of the most exciting new names in the world of high-goal polo and – it would appear – one of the more modest.

His achievements to date are quite mind-blowing: he is the youngest player in history to win the sport’s most prestigious tournaments, the Queen’s Cup in England, the US Open and the Argentine Open. At just 14, he held aloft the Royal Windsor Cup trophy, presented to him by Queen Elizabeth II, and by 17, he had secured a 10-goal handicap, a measure of his mastery of the mallet. 

The Argentinian’s accomplishments are, perhaps, not so surprising when you consider he’s the seventh member of his family to play the game and the son of the legendary Adolfo Cambiaso, 50, widely regarded as one of the greatest players in history.

For Poroto, learning to ride as a child was like ‘riding a bicycle’. He grew up on the family farm in Canuelas, Buenos Aires, which boasts one of the best polo strings in the world with more than 1500 horses, and is home to the prestigious Dolfina Polo Club, run by his father. He remembers riding from the age of three or four and playing polo for the first time at six when he promptly broke his wrist.

It clearly didn’t put him off. ‘It was easy to learn. I really love horses and to ride,’ he smiles. 

We’ve been invited to meet Poroto by Swiss watch brand Richard Mille, which earlier this year announced a partnership with the rising star – an endorsement of his talent that will undoubtedly seal his fame beyond the polo field. It’s a perfect match when you consider a Richard Mille watch is known for its high-performance technical strength and lightness – ‘a racing machine on the wrist’, as the slogan goes – and the player is one of the fastest and most skilled horsemen of his generation. 

He is also one of only two polo champions (fellow Argentine Pablo MacDonough is the other) in the Mille stable of sportspeople (which includes his hero, Rafael Nadal) and wears his RM 67-02 Automatic Extra Flat sports watch in Carbon TPT with pride. ‘For me, at 19, to have such an amazing brand is unbelievable,’ he tells us. ‘It [the watch] is so light and comfortable. I don’t even feel it.’

There’s something sweetly endearing about Poroto, who takes us on a tour of the stables, where he houses around 20 of his own horses for competition during the UK polo season, which runs from April to September. He introduces us to two of his favourite mounts, the aptly named Bam Bam, and a diminutive mare called Chicharra, whom he likens to a ‘Ferrari rocket’. ‘She is small, but she has power,’ he says sipping a cup of mate tea through a metal straw and speaking so softly, it’s necessary to lean in to hear him. 

He may be blessed with model looks but Rupert Campbell-Black of Jilly Cooper’s Rivals fame, he is not. In fact, these days, the archetypal playboy image of polo players seems as out-dated as the Eighties’ hairstyles showcased in the recent TV adaptation of Cooper’s best-selling book. 

‘Now, players are very professional. Polo is a very demanding sport, physically really hard,’ explains Poroto, who blushingly dismisses being a heartthrob. ‘I train, play and go to the gym every day. I practice penalties like a golfer. Polo is all about being able to react fast. You make quick decisions. The adrenaline is amazing but to win, you also need good equipment. It’s like F1. If you have good horses, you’ll have a good team.’

Although polo is still seen as a sport for wealthy individuals, the stakes are much higher today with growing sponsorship and investment leading to larger prize money and higher salaries for top players. Poroto’s behind-the-scenes squad numbers 25 in the UK alone, including managers, vets, physios, trainers and grooms.

While he’s fortunate enough to be able to take his pick of horses from his father’s renowned stud and continues to play for Cambiaso Sr’s La Dolfina team, he has also secured a patron (sponsor), Australian businessman David Paradice, for the team he leads in the US. 

Does he feel pressure to live up to the family name and his father’s reputation? ‘When I started competing in tournaments there was no pressure,’ he reflects. ‘I was a kid and playing for fun and though there was an expectation about what I could do, I didn’t feel it. Then I realised I was doing well and the pressure started to grow.’

 ‘I have my own name now and that is good for me,’ adds Poroto, whose on-field rivalry with his father was documented in the 2024 Netflix docuseries Polo, produced by Prince Harry’s company Archewell Productions. ‘When I was young, my dad was the best in the sport, but now I have won some important tournaments.’

While he doesn’t always win against his father – Adolfo’s La Dolfina Tamera team defeated Poroto’s La Dolfina Catamount at the US Open Polo Championship earlier this year – he acknowledges the importance of being able to handle defeat. ‘I am good at losing,’ says the player nicknamed ‘hijo de polo’ (son of polo) because of his composure on and off the field. ‘When you play sport it is normal, and you have to get used to it. In life, you cannot always win.’

Poroto may dress like a teenager (his lilac hoodie is by Justin Bieber’s brand Drew House and he wears a selection of necklaces and bracelets, including a blue Swarovski set from his mother), but he displays a maturity beyond his years – evident during the two days we spend in his company at luxury hotel Coworth Park, Ascot. He holds his own at a Richard Mille dinner in his honour; patiently instructs us novices in a game of stick and ball, offering words of encouragement as we struggle to connect the mallet with the ball, and submits good-naturedly to an interview in English (he prepped by having a lesson that morning) over afternoon tea. 

He credits both his parents – his glamorous mother is former Argentine model and TV presenter María Vázquez – with instilling ‘good values’ in him and his two polo playing sisters, Mia, 22, and Mia, 14. The family continue to travel together during the polo season and appear extremely close, although Poroto now rents his own apartment nearby when in the UK.

‘Since I was really young, I have been travelling with my mum and dad,’ says the player. ‘Now, I live five minutes away, but I am always in the [family] house because I don’t cook,’ he laughs. For him, such a nomadic lifestyle is the norm because most of his friends and cousins grew up in the same world.

Does he ever feel he missed out as a child? ‘Sometimes,’ admits Poroto, who enjoys fashion and rap music. ‘I miss some things for normal kids my age. [But] it’s good to have discipline in my life. It has taught me a lot.’ His parents have always encouraged him to make friends outside the polo bubble, and his mother still makes a point of taking him and his sisters to galleries and museums abroad.

Polo, however, remains Poroto’s passion. ‘I try to be the best player I can – I want to win everything I play,’ he adds before leaping back in the saddle and claiming victory in an exhibition match.