Polito Pieres Brings His Star Power Back To Wellington This Season

Story By Mike May | Photos Courtesy USPA

American-born Argentine polo star Pablo “Polito” Pieres has always led a horse-centric lifestyle.

“I started riding horses when I was five or six, and I have been playing professional polo since I was 18, starting in 1997,” Pieres recalled. “I have been coming to Wellington every year since 2010.”

Pieres, currently ranked eighth in the World Polo Tour rankings, is like a first-class Argentine wine in that he only gets better with age.

His first year with a polo’s rare 10-goal handicap was 2015.

“I have been at a 9- or 10-goal handicap ever since,” said Pieres, currently listed as a 9-goaler in England and Argentina.

Pieres has had a constant presence on Wellington’s polo scene ever since his first arrival in the community.

Just last year, Pieres had an impressive series of polo performances in Wellington. In early 2025, Pieres, part of the well-known Pieres polo-playing family, was a member of Gillian Johnson’s Coca-Cola team, which made it to the U.S. Open semifinal, the USPA Gold Cup final and C.V. Whitney Cup final.

For some polo players, that would have been a career-defining season, but for Pieres, it’s just a sign that he remains one of the best players in the world and will be a force to be reckoned with on Wellington’s polo fields in 2026.

Needless to say, he is expected to have another stellar polo season this winter here in Wellington. Time will tell, but don’t bet against him.

Pieres’ background is interesting and not conventional, in that he has all the markings of a top Argentine player, but he is currently listed as the world’s top American player. While he grew up and trained in Argentina — where so many of the world’s great polo players are raised, trained, guided and taught — Pieres was born in the United States, specifically in the State of New York.

Like many great athletes, he was introduced to polo by his father, Paul Pieres. His cousins Facundo Pieres (currently ranked No. 5), Gonzalo Pieres Jr. (currently ranked No. 17) and Nicolas Pieres (currently ranked No. 29) also play in Wellington and at top polo events around the world.

Over time, Polito Pieres has played on winning teams in the British Open and the Queens Cup in the U.K., the Deauville Gold Cup in France, the Argentine Open, and the C.V. Whitney Cup and USPA Gold Cup here in Wellington. In the few top polo events where he has not lifted the trophy, he has certainly made it as far as the final rounds.

Pieres played with Santa Rita Polo Farm in the 2022 Gauntlet of Polo and found success in 2020 with La Indiana in the USPA Gold Cup. More recently, Pieres triumphed in the 2022 Tortugas Open, and the 2021 Argentine Open, Hurlingham Open and Queen’s Cup. He also had a great season in 2024, winning the Tortugas Open, East Coast Open and the Queen’s Cup, and making it to the semifinals in the Argentine Open, Hurlingham Open, British Open, the USPA Gold Cup and the U.S. Open.

Pieres’ global travel and competition schedule keeps him on the move.

“From January to April, I’m in Wellington playing polo,” Pieres said. “After that, I return to Argentina for about two weeks. Then I go to London, where I compete in the Queen’s Cup and the Gold Cup during the summer. In August, I go to France and Spain for a few weeks. Then I usually travel to Malaysia for a short visit, where I have become good friends with the Crown Prince of Johor and his wife. They have around 200 horses, and we all play polo. I travel there about four times a year.”

When he’s not playing polo, Pieres likes to relax and unwind by going to the gym or playing golf. “I like to do things that have no risk of injury and are fun to do,” he said.

As he reflects on his career in the world of competitive polo, one of the experiences that truly helped shape his career was a two-month stint in Canada when he was a young teenager.

“When I was 14, I visited Canada to learn how to be a [horse] groomer. I admit that I was a lazy groomer,” Pieres recalled. “By taking care of horses and not being able to ride them, it gave me the hunger, energy and desire to ride the horses and play polo.”

To see a true master at his craft, keep an eye on Pieres during this year’s polo season as he works to win on the field in his horse-centric lifestyle in Wellington.