La Natividad La Dolfina are Hurlingham champions again

The 133rd Hurlingham Open closed with another celebration for La Natividad La Dolfina. The Cañuelas-based team defeated La Hache Polo Team 18–14 in the final played on Sunday 4 October, lifting the Ayrshire Cup once again and securing their second consecutive Hurlingham title.

The result confirms a strong start to the Triple Crown for an organisation that continues to compete at the highest level with a 40-goal line-up and a structure built around players, horses, grooms, preparation and daily work.

Beyond the scoreline, Hurlingham left important signs for what comes next. La Natividad La Dolfina showed character, evolution and a way of playing that continues to search for balance between speed, creativity and collective movement.

Barto Castagnola, a final to remember

Barto Castagnola was one of the standout players throughout La Natividad La Dolfina’s campaign and closed the tournament with two important individual awards.

He received the Juan Carlos Harriott MVP Award as the best player of the tournament, as well as the Javier Novillo Astrada MVP Award for the best player of the final.

His performance once again showed his combination of pace, game reading and ability to appear in key moments. In a demanding final, Barto brought intensity, order and precision, contributing both defensively and in attack.

His horses were also recognised. Negra Milonga, played by Barto, received the Daniel Kearney Cup as Best Playing Pony of the final, while Luca Gyulia was recognised by the Argentine Polo Association as the best registered horse.

In polo, these details are an essential part of the result. Behind every match there are horses prepared over months, decisions made as a team and an organisation working to ensure each player reaches the field with the best possible support.

Jeta Castagnola and a more collective way of playing

Camilo “Jeta” Castagnola was also one of the protagonists of the final. He finished with six goals and once again showed his ability to change the rhythm of a match, attack space and create danger through his runs.

But one of the most interesting aspects of his tournament was the way he combined that natural speed with a more connected style of play. Throughout Hurlingham, Jeta looked to share the ball, link better with his teammates and help the team find a more balanced structure.

That growth is important within a line-up of this level. In a 40-goal team, every player has individual resources, but the challenge is to turn that talent into a collective system. The final showed positive signs in that direction.

A 40-goal team with its own identity

La Natividad La Dolfina brings together Camilo Castagnola, Bartolomé Castagnola, Poroto Cambiaso and Adolfo Cambiaso. Four 10-goal players, each with a defined role inside a formation that demands precision, adaptation and constant reading of the game.

The strength of the team is not built around one name, but around how its parts come together. Jeta’s speed, Barto’s creativity and solidity, Poroto’s intensity and Adolfo’s experience can all work within an increasingly collective proposal.

Behind that structure is also the work of Lolo Castagnola, a central figure for La Natividad. His perspective, experience and way of understanding polo remain fundamental to the project. The organisation has grown around a clear idea: to build competitive teams, work deeply with horses and sustain its own identity within high goal polo.

More than a final won

The 18–14 victory over La Hache is the headline, but it does not tell the whole story. Hurlingham showed a team that is still adjusting its game, finding new connections and building confidence ahead of the rest of the season.

La Hache was a strong opponent, with high-level players and a competitive structure. That is why maintaining control of the match and closing the final with authority was an important sign for La Natividad La Dolfina.

In tournaments like this, winning is not only about talent. It also requires preparation, timing, horse management, decision-making on the field and the ability to respond when the match becomes demanding.

The horses and the work behind the result

As always in polo, the horses were central to the championship. The recognition received by Negra Milonga, Luca Gyulia and Dolfina Copas reminds us that performance on the field depends on much more than the players alone.

Preparing a string of horses for the Triple Crown takes time, judgment and a complete team behind it. Grooms, vets, trainers, players and the wider organisation work throughout the season to arrive at these matches in the best possible condition.

For La Natividad, that work with horses is part of its identity. It is one of the foundations that supports the team’s performance and one of the reasons every title carries a deeper story than the final score.

Next stop: Tortugas

With Hurlingham now decided, attention turns to the 86th Tortugas Country Club Open, the second major tournament of the 2026 Triple Crown.

The competition begins on 6 October and will hold its final on 7 November, before the season moves to Palermo for the final chapter of the Argentine calendar.

La Natividad La Dolfina arrives in Tortugas with confidence, but also with plenty still to build. The Triple Crown has only just begun, and every match will be another opportunity to adjust, grow and sustain the level.

For now, Hurlingham belongs once again to La Natividad La Dolfina. A new title, another sign of continuity and one more step in a season that still has much more ahead.

Follow La Natividad Polo throughout the Triple Crown and stay close to La Natividad La Dolfina as the journey continues now in Tortugas and later in Palermo.