Piero Dillier, from the boardroom to the Roma Audi Gold Cup

Piero Dillier, the main manager of European polo came to Rome to play in Roma Summer Polo Audi Gold Cup with a team – Anacri Polo – made up of, apart from himself, Polish rider Darek Grdener, Argentineans Lucas Labat and Martin Iturraspe. “I already took part in this tournament in 2007 on the Costa Esmeralda,” said the board member of the International Polo Federation. “Every year I’ll play in six or seven tournaments, but the truth is, my other commitments limit this a bit. I can only get on my horse when it’s time to play The team leader is Labat and it’s around him that I’ll pick another couple of players, depending on the competitiveness of the tournament.”  With a good awareness of all the major European competitions, Dillier has his finger on the pulse of all participating countries. “The nation that is taking the biggest steps forward is France which has two of the best set ups in Chantilly and St Tropez, both quite popular with Italian riders. Dillier lives six months of the year in Zurich and the rest in St Moritz and is in close contact with east Europe as well. “Strangely enough, even after a boom period, in Germany, the game is contracting a bit whereas in the ex soviet bloc, It seems to be taking off more, as they haven’t forgotten their traditional links with horses. Poland, the Czech Republic and even Romania are all success stories.” With a wife from Venezia, Dillier knows many of the Italian grounds well, but it’s his first time in Roma. “Roma Polo Club is a charming place and the organization has been very professional, a great ad for Italian polo.”