La Aguada: Polo’s Independent Powerhouse With an Untouchable Record

In 2003, four Novillo Astrada brothers swept Argentina’s Triple Crown, turning La Aguada into polo’s most independent dynasty and leaving behind a record no team has touched since.

By Business of Polo Editorial Team

If polo had cult clubs the way football has cult stadiums, La Aguada would be one of them. Tucked in Open Door, an hour outside Buenos Aires, it looks countryside serene at first glance: tree-lined paths, manicured fields, family houses.

But don’t be fooled. This is the site of one of the sport’s wildest power plays - a family of four brothers who, in 2003, did what no other siblings had ever done: win all three legs of Argentina’s Triple Crown, sweeping the season and etching their name into polo’s history books.

“We Were Four Brothers With One Dream”

La Aguada is not Versailles. It doesn’t flex with chandeliers or billionaire gloss. Its power is quieter, and that’s exactly why it matters. The Novillo Astrada brothers turned it into polo’s answer to an indie record label: fiercely independent, built on loyalty, and capable of shaking an entire industry without outside backing. They didn’t borrow superstars; they became them. They didn’t buy ponies off the rack; they bred their own. It was DIY culture with million-dollar horses.

The result? Impossible to copy because the DNA is family. “We were four brothers with one dream,” Eduardo Novillo Astrada remembers. “That bond gave us strength no other team could replicate.”

And while the 2003 Triple Crown win is the headline, the club’s real influence is cultural. The Astradas made family unity aspirational at a time when polo was drifting toward patron-built superteams. They made rituals, like tea at the main house before every match and breeding foals in the same paddocks their grandfather once used, feel like strategy. They showed that heritage isn’t only to do with history, it’s leverage.

Rituals That Build Teams

Today, La Aguada has pivoted again. It’s part working club, part boutique resort, part open-air museum of modern Argentine polo. Foreigners can book in for clinics or holiday packages. New generations of Astradas are already easing into the saddle. It’s global now, but the vibe hasn’t shifted. The gates are open, but the culture is still closed-circle cool.

A Club That Keeps Evolving

That’s why La Aguada is fascinating: it has the surface calm of the countryside, but it operates like a cultural brand. It has mythology, rituals, insiders and outsiders. It has a visual language - the fields, the ponies - that could live on a fashion moodboard as easily as in a sports archive.

La Aguada never needed a logo drop to feel exclusive. It wrote itself into the culture by doing what industry leaders do best: refusing to play by anyone else’s script.

By Business of Polo Editorial Team

Read the full interview from our chat with the Novillo Astrada brothers here.

La Aguada has become synonymous with heritage in polo. What does the name mean to you and your family today, beyond just a club?

Alejandro Novillo Astrada: La Aguada has become a living style that has gone beyond polo. It started 3/4 of a century ago in Cordoba and has become not only our and many friends favorite place but also a polo club, a place to work, relax and enjoy, a brand and so many other things. La Aguada has been stretching and been flexible on its purpose molding to whatever each member of the family and our friends and their friends need.

Founded in the 1950s and still thriving, what has been the key to La Aguada’s longevity in such a demanding sport?

Eduardo Novillo Astrada:

I think the secret has been passion and perseverance. Every generation of Astradas has put in the hard work, but also the heart. Polo is unforgiving - horses, logistics, competition, economics - yet we always adapted, kept breeding, kept playing, and above all, stayed together. That’s what carried us through decades.

The 2003 Argentine Open win as an all-family team remains historic. Looking back, what made that moment possible?

Eduardo Novillo Astrada:

Unity. We were four brothers with one dream, and that bond gave us strength no other team could replicate. We had the horses, we had talent, but the difference was that deep trust - knowing your brother will be there for you in every play. That’s what made 2003 magic.

How important has family unity been in shaping the identity of La Aguada, both on the field and behind the scenes?

Miguel Novillo Astrada:

It was the most important thing. It gave us the chance to share the horses, the facilities and everything we needed to maximize everything we had.

Breeding has become central to La Aguada’s legacy. What defines a true “La Aguada” pony, and how do you maintain that standard?

Ignacio Novillo Astrada:

We inherited my grandfather's horse breeding, so it has been in our family for generations. With the knowledge of generations, we continue to produce the best quality and combination of the best polo bloods. We have a stallion called River Slaney that improved our genetics a lot. For many years, he was the stallion with the most offspring competing in the Argentine Open.

How do you see the future of La Aguada evolving? For the next generation of Astradas and for the wider polo community?

Miguel Novillo Astrada:

The new generation is already arriving and taking over. We see La Aguada back in the Argentine Open in the near future.

What role do you think La Aguada can play in making polo more global and accessible, while still preserving its exclusivity?

Alejandro Novillo Astrada:

I think La Aguada has always been helping on making polo more global and accessible by opening the farm’s gates to all who want to learn about polo and polo horses with polo lessons, polo clinics and more. The exclusivity is organic as it’s the family’s farm/club and not like any regular club where different members own a share.

If La Aguada hosted a dinner party, which three guests from polo history would you invite to the table?

Ignacio Novillo Astrada:

I wouldn’t doubt to invite the full team of the historic Coronel Suarez: Juan Carlitos Harriot, Alfredo Harriot, Alberto Pedro Heguy and Horacio Heguy.

If one of your horses could talk, what do you think it would say about life at La Aguada?

Eduardo Novillo Astrada:

I think it would say: “These people treat me like family. They push me, but they love me. I live with purpose.” Horses are at the heart of La Aguada, and I believe they feel the respect we give them.

If you had to describe La Aguada as a person, what kind of character would it be?

Eduardo Novillo Astrada:

La Aguada would be a strong but gentle soul. Fierce on the field, but kind, generous, and loyal outside of it. Someone who values tradition but embraces the future with open arms.

Every family has stories outsiders never hear. What’s one behind-the-scenes tradition or memory from La Aguada that still makes you smile and no one knows?

Miguel Novillo Astrada:

When my grandfather picked us up from school and drove us to La Aguada to play polo.

For more stories like this, follow @businessofpolo