White Birch 9-goaler Mariano Aguerre
A sidebar to the announcement of Nacho Figueras playing in Sunday’s Robin Hood Charity match is the reappearance of 9-goaler Mariano Aguerre who will be saddling up again.
Earlier in the season the former 10-goaler suffered a knee injury that sidelined him for several weeks. As a member of Peter Brant’s successful White Birch polo teams over the years, Aguerre has etched his name into the fabric of both American and Argentine polo history.
Last fall Aguerre was a member of the Argentine Open championship Ellerstina team, polo’s most coveted prize. His performance was such that the Argentine Polo Association elevated his handicap back to 10-goals.
His debut will take place on Saturday when White Birch (Del Carroll, Matias Magrini, Mariano Aguerre and Peter Brant) faces Heathcote (Steve Lefkowitz, Naco Taverna, Tommy Biddle and Nick Manifold) in the opening round of Hampton Cup play.
My knee is 100%,” said Aguerre of the injury he suffered during a fall in practice. “I’ll be wearing a brace to play,” he added, “but that’s just a preventative measure in case I get hit directly on it (the knee) during the game.”
Aguerre will then go on to play in Sunday’s charity match to benefit the Robin Hood Foundation and finish out the summer season in New York and Connecticut before heading back to Argentina to prepare to defend the Open title.