Great opportunities arrive suddenly and for Marco Pala, a 16-year-old from Olbia, the great opportunity to take the field with the big names in the Italy Polo Challenge arrived today. In fact, tonight Pala will make his debut in Abbiadori in the first match of the arena polo circuit organized by the Italian Federation of Equestrian Sports, which will stop in Porto Cervo for the third year in a row, until Saturday 22 July.
One of the twelve participants in the tournament, Davide Fioranelli, will reach the island only tomorrow, and so Pala will play in his place, who just three days ago passed the qualifying exam to be able to practice the discipline. The 16-year-old Accountancy student is part of one of the most important youth sectors in Italy. His mother, Piera Monti, is the promoter of the youth polo activity in Sardinia and is present in Abbiadori for the polo pony exhibitions that open the adult competitions. “I’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time – says Marco -. With the ponies the games went well, now I’m ready for the horses. I started playing polo a year ago: before I trained but I had never played a game. The pace of training? I ride every day, sometimes even twice a day”.
If for Marco today’s debut is a dream come true, for Sardinia it is a great return to the world of polo: 50 years after Italo Focacci, the island has a player of the discipline.
breaking latest news © Copyright ANSA