Discovering Polo

Until Estelle was 14 years old she had no clue that within 6 years or so she will be galloping down various polo fields of Europe, making that white ball fly with her mallet. That soon, she will be making her own space in this unique walk of life, convincing all the old school types that she belongs in here.

Well, just because she didn’t have a clue did not mean that this was not going to happen. Estelle distinctly remember that afternoon when she was introduced to Picazo, her father’s horse, who was as scared of humans as she was of horses. Soon they both realized the common denominator between them and bit by bit, slowly but surely, they reinstalled each other’s faith.

With a newly found confidence around Picazo, Estelle discovered the pleasure of being on the horse back and the blissful feeling of connecting a ball at a gallop.

Polo in Germany & Europe

‘What we want to do for our living’ is one of the toughest questions that life asks us. Once we have figured that out, rest is nothing but an exciting journey. Having no doubts that she wants to be a professional polo player, Estelle soon shifted from Luxembourg to Schockemohle Polo Stud in Germany. Her father, being a polo player himself, was aware of the element of risk involved with this second fastest game on earth. But he had full faith in his daughter. Both the parents supported her completely to venture into this heavily male dominated field.  At Schockemohle Polo Stud within 3 years of her exposure to high quality instructions under the tutelage of Patrick Maleitzke,  she achieved a handicap of scratch. By now Estelle has already played in Belgium, France, Holland, England, Canada and USA. Her coach Patrick is a polo instructor with Schockemohle Polo Stud and is a 3 goal professional polo player.

Presently Estelle has her focus on improving her game. As every player needs at least 4 horses to play this sport of kings, Estelle is working hard to improve the performance of her  string of polo ponies. Schooling and training her polo ponies take a considerable amount of time from her daily schedule, but then, in polo you are only as good as your horses. Each and every second on horse back inches you closer to your ultimate aim of being an effective polo player.

Though Picazo still retains his spot of being her most favorite horse, but Cumbia is her second favorite polo pony. Cumbia is even more special because she was bred, raised and trained at Schockemohle Polo Stud itself.

Today Estelle is an inspiration to all the girls across the globe who are repeatedly told that pink is their favorite color and Barbie is their favorite toy. She has given them a reason to believe that this is not their only option. It is possible to carve their own path, different from the stereotype, the one handed over to them by the society.