Inside the $800K Polo Pony Sale That Changed the Sport

In 2010, a single mare’s clone set a record at auction and redefined how polo values its greatest athletes.

By Business of Polo Editorial Team

Every sport has its legends. In polo, they are measured not only in goals and trophies, but in the ponies that carried them there. And in 2010, one mare’s genetic twin shattered convention, selling for $800,000 and rewriting the economics of the game.

The Opening Scene

It was a warm December evening in San Isidro, Argentina. The paddock was crowded, the air electric. Under the auction lights stood not a player or a patron, but a mare, or rather, her genetic mirror.

Cuartetera, Adolfo Cambiaso’s most decorated pony, had already secured her place in the sport’s folklore. But on this night, her clone would fetch a price that stunned the polo world: $800,000, the highest ever paid for a polo pony.

The Legend of Cuartetera

Cuartetera was more than fast. She possessed an instinct that seemed almost telepathic, anticipating Cambiaso’s every move. Together they dominated Palermo finals, delivering plays that became part of the game’s mythology.

Her acceleration was explosive, her stop-and-go control surgical, her game intelligence unmatched. In a sport where ponies decide outcomes, Cuartetera was a competitive weapon beyond price until, of course, she had one.

Why the Price Was Justified

When her clone entered the ring, the bidders weren’t buying a horse in the traditional sense. They were securing:

• A genetic blueprint for a proven champion

• A breeding asset capable of producing future stars

• A competitive advantage in polo’s most prestigious tournaments

This was not sentiment. It was strategy.

The Shift in Polo Economics

Before that evening, even the finest ponies rarely approached half a million dollars. The $800K sale reset the market overnight. Bloodlines became currency. Cloning moved from fringe science to mainstream strategy.

Ponies were no longer seen solely as individual athletes. They became portfolio assets. Tracked, protected, insured, and valued with the same logic applied to racehorses, fine art or vintage wine.

Cloning’s Role Today

Since that watershed moment, clones of Cuartetera and other icons have shaped the highest levels of the game. Critics question the ethics. Traditionalists warn of genetic bottlenecks. Yet the reality on the field is unambiguous: cloned ponies have played, and won, at Palermo, polo’s ultimate stage.

The Legacy

Fifteen years on, Cuartetera’s influence is still in motion. Through her offspring and her clones, her DNA continues to dominate strings across the globe.

That $800K sale was more than a record. It was a signal that in modern polo, the most powerful investment may not be in the rider, but in the horse beneath them.

What do you think? Was the $800K Cuartetera clone worth it? Share your thoughts on Instagram @businessofpolo.