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Argentine Open is at the epicenter of polo. All the best players are competing and it's the biggest polo tournament in the world. What's your training regimen like? It depends on certain times of the year but when it's the off season I'm training a lot. Polo players all have different regimens depending on the person but it usually doesn't involve a lot of weights, it's more cross-training, stretching, yoga and core. During the season, it's about maintenance so we're focusing on endurance. I'd say it's similar to a soccer or tennis player. You need to be lean, flexible and have good cardio because you're out there for two hours. How many different horses do you work with? Own? I've got about 30 horses worldwide. I have a set of horses in Europe, in the United States and I'm working on having a set in Argentina. Sometimes a few of them travel overseas but for the most part they stay in their countries. I've been riding horses my whole life so for me, getting on a new horse doesn't really affect me and I think other players would say the same. As a top professional, you have to create a bond and a relationship with each horse. Each one reacts in different ways or moves in different ways, some have more power than others. You have to be able to manage them really well and adjust to each horse differently. Apart from polo, you're also very involved in philanthropy. How did those relationships come about? It's something that's been really important to me throughout my career. I've tried to use my name and my contacts as much as possible to raise money for charities closest to me. I've worked with kids who have cancer and I've also worked a lot with a charity called Brooke USA which is an animal welfare organization. I try to do as much as possible. I created my own event called Sunset Polo which I've hosted a couple times in Palm Beach and England. I usually try to do events in the places that I'm traveling to. For Brooke, we've raised over a million dollars and that's just in the past few years. I feel as if it's important to me and to the sport as well. You were also named the global ambassador for Cowdray Estate in the UK. What is your connection to the Estate and what opportunities does this role present? I started the relationship with them about three years ago when I was playing in England. I was based in Cowdray and created a great bond with the family. I proposed a couple ideas that I thought would be helpful to them and for me and they loved it. ey took me on as global ambassador last year and I'm just trying to promote the beautiful estate that it is. It's an amazing property. ey host weddings, corporate events and I've even hosted a couple charity events there. ey're an amazing family, huge advocates of the sport of polo and I think that with both of our connections we can be really helpful to each other—it's a great partnership. What's your way of taking time for yourself, away from the sport? I really love golf and being outdoors. Right now, I've been in Aspen for about a month and a half, so I've been hiking and biking. I try to stay as active as possible. I also enjoy just chilling out, relaxing at the bar and being at home hanging out with my family. Connect with Nic Roldan at nicroldan. com or on social media @nicroldan. V U E N J . C O M 95

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