Argentine 10-goaler Adolfo Cambiaso, the top rated player in the world will take the field with Valiente in the opening match of the 2017 Colorado Open on Friday morning.
It may come as a surprise to most Coloradans that the top-ranked polo player in the world, Argentine 10-goaler Adolfo Cambiaso, isn’t the first 10-goal player to compete on the lush playing fields amid the Rocky Mountains. It might also come as a surprise to most that Colorado’s roots are traced back to 1886, with Colorado Springs becoming the early epicenter of the game in the state.
Referred to as “Little London” because of the large English population of Colorado Springs at the time, the sport quickly took root and in 1891 a polo club was formally organized at the Cheyenne Mountain Country Club. In 1896, Foxhall Keene, polo’s first 10-goal player, joined the team as a non-resident player competing at both the Cheyenne Mountain Country club as well as the Glenwood Springs Racing and Polo Club.
Polo’s first 10-goal player, Foxhall Keene played on the fields of Colorado in 1896.
This summer Littleton’s Bob Jornayvaz has brought Argentine 10-goaler Adolfo Cambiaso to Colorado to compete in 20-goal competition, the first 10-goaler to play on the Colorado fields since the days of Foxhall Keene.
Cambiaso may not be the first 10-goal player in the game, but he has been the top-rated player in the world for years, dominating the sport in the United States, Europe and his home Argentina.
The 20-goal Colorado Open is scheduled to get started on Friday, August 11th at the Valiente Polo Club at 6900 S. Platte Road om Littleton, Colorado with a 10am match featuring Cambiaso when Valiente (Bob Jornayvaz, Kian Hall, Agustín Nero and Adolfo Cambiaso) battles Hawaii Polo Life (Nano Gracida, Tommy Collingwood, Juan Martin Obregon and Nacho Badiola). A 2pm contest between Colorado (Rob Jornayvaz, Roberto Zedda, Diego Cavanagh and Pablo Spinacci) and Kentucky (Andrew Beck/William Beck, Matias Torres Zavaleta, Guillermo Terrera and Juan Monteverde) will complete the first round of play in the tour team tournament.
The tournament is scheduled to offer a total of seven games, culminating in the final on Saturday, August 19th.
The Colorado Open marks the first high-goal tournament in over 50 years and underlines the sports historic legacy in the Rocky Mountains.