An interview with Lucas Monteverde – UAE
By Victoria Elsbury-Legg
It’s been a strong 2015 English high-goal season for team UAE – Jose Ramon Araya (0) Santiago Stirling (4) Lucas Monteverde (8) and Pablo MacDonough (10). First they made it through to the semi-finals of the Cartier Queen’s Cup at Guards in June, to be beaten by just a goal (11-10) by Dubai, who went through to the final against King Power Foxes. Now UAE are heading into the finals of the Jaeger-LeCoultre Gold Cup at Cowdray on Sunday to face the blue shirted King Power Foxes side, after Zacara won their quarter final match 12-10, beating the defending champions Dubai (who knocked Zacara out at the quarter final stage of the Cartier Queen’s Cup 10-8).
Lucas explained their strategy at the start of the English high goal season, ‘At the beginning we were waiting for the Sheikha Maitha (HH Sheikha Maitha M Rashid Al Maktoum) to come, we weren’t sure if she was coming or not. Pablo (MacDonough) and I have played together before and I knew Santi Stirling from Dubai. Always the idea of UAE is that Pablo is the one always controlling the ball and making the play. Then, when the Sheikha Maitha couldn’t play we were lucky when Jose (Ramon Araya) appeared, nobody knows how good he was off zero goals. That gave us a big break and that is the reason the team is working so well. Jose is a guy that is sixteen years old and he has played a lot of good polo in his life, so he understands the sport and is always in the right place -that is very important. We are using him in every aspect of the team, marking, he’s scoring goals and getting lines.’
The strategy that UAE have followed to date certainly seems to be working as great teamwork and flowing polo occurs in their matches, so what about the horsepower on the pitch? ‘We come to the field with eight or nine horses each, from that eight or nine we double our best two mares if they are sound and fresh. Every player always has one or two mares that are different from the others. My two best ponies are my black mares, Africana – an Argentine Thoroughbred who is 13 years old, very solid and she wins every play. The other one is a mare that I bought from John Paul Clarkin called Tweed – a New Zealand Thoroughbred.’
So with their firm strategy, great teamwork and mounted on their favourite mares, team UAE will ride on to Lawns one at Cowdray Park Polo Club this Sunday 19th July to face the might of the two Pieres ten goalers, backed up by patron of King Power Foxes – Top Srivaddhanaprabha and the determined English one goaler Hugo Lewis.
Watch the 2015 Jaeger-LeCoultre Final live at 3pm (UK time) on www.hurlinghampolo.com