An expert polo player who played against Prince Harry, Prince William, and King Charles has said which one of the royal trio is the best he has faced against
A polo player who has faced off against Prince Harry, Prince William, and even King Charles has said which one genuinely impressed him.
Adolfo Cambiaso, 50, has played all over the world playing the great and good whilst playing the exclusive sport.
Adolfo plays alongside his son Poroto who is following his father’s footsteps by taking up polo and joining his father on the pitch. Although they live in South America, the polo duo also have a stables base in Berkshire.
Speaking to the Times about their connections to the British Royal Family, Poroto went into detail about which one of them has actually been the best player.
Despite considering Prince Harry, 40, a good ambassador for the game, he admitted that the US-based prince was not the best player.
He said: “I’ve played with Prince Harry in the US. We always share those moments around polo. I believe he is a great ambassador for the game — just like the rest of his family.
“In fact I’ve played with all three of them, William and Carlos, your king, too. The best? Oh, Carlos. He is really pretty good.”
However, Poroto said polo may be full of the great, the good, and the glamorous, but that doesn’t mean it’s exclusively for them, and that it’s actually a lot of hard work on the farm tending to the horses.
He explained: “People think polo is very glamorous, full of playboys and, yes, royals. But this I can tell you is not the reality.
“The reality is being in a barn with horses, Monday to Monday, working all the time, no time off. Sure, you see the King in the stands, but this is not how we live. How we live is on a farm. It’s hard work.”
Whilst Harry may not be considered the best polo player out of himself, his brother, and his father, he has remained resolutely committed to promoting the sport. This has included an almost Drive To Survive-style Netflix documentary series on the sport.
Despite his endeavours to promote the docuseries last year, it was not met with positive reviews from either critics or casual viewers. It failed to make the top ten in either the UK or US markets.
In a statement on the series itself, the prince said: “This series offers audiences an unprecedented, behind-the-scenes look into the passion and determination driving some of the world’s elite polo players, revealing the grit behind the glamour.
“We’re proud to showcase the true depth and spirit of the sport – and the intensity of its high-stakes moments.”
However, Eric Schiffer, chair of Reputation Management Consultants, was far more critical, they told Newsweek: “It’s a pompous portrayal of privilege posing as a documentary. It feels fake. You could almost see an ad, ‘polo the new cure for insomnia, brought to you by royalty.
“They’ve made it the new frontier of unrelatability. This ensures polo becomes even less popular for regular people. It just reeks of entitled and is disconnected, unrelatable.”
Whether there will be a second edition of Prince Harry’s Polo series is not yet known.
