Polo In San Pancho (Rancho La Patrona)
By Elvia & Geno Lamphiear
The sport of Polo originated in Pakistan . They used to play with one hundred players against one hundred players!! It was the English who made polo the "Sport Of Kings".
San Pancho is a place that motivates people to create and now innovated polo is here!
Ivan and Gabrielle Echeverria are a young and attractive couple. He is Mexican from Mexico City and she is Swedish from Zurich , Switzerland . They found San Pancho nine years ago and decided that here they will make their dreams come true. Their dreams were having a beautiful home by the beach and to fulfill the passion they both shared since they were children - the love for horses and the sports that revolve around them.
Gabrielle started riding horses at the age of four years. Gabrielle was a champion of fox hunting in Switzerland and has practiced jumping and participated in many competitions.
Ivan was national champion in the children leagues of the Charros Association. In the United States he was state champion of cebu riding (Brahma Bull riding). Ivan also participated jumping his whole life and obtained second place in Polo in the competition Agua Alta in 2003 in Mexico City against Europeans teams from Italy and Germany .
 Four years ago Ivan and Gabrielle started their noble project of creating a training center where polo players can come and have a place where they can practice when in Mexico and also to promote the sport in general to people unfamiliar with polo. Ivan thinks that Mexicans can be great polo players because they are great riders. He also stated that the sport demands a lot of discipline. Many different things have to be coordinated very precisely to make the fun of the game safe.
Ivan and Gabrielle are surrounded by great people where everyone is involved. "We are a big family" he said. "That is the only way to succeed".
Rigoberto Barajas is a great player and is part of the ranch team as well as Han Reguero. Everyone gets the same opportunities. Even the veterinarian is a polo player. That is the best way he can understand the sport and gain insight to provide the best of care for these magnificent animals.
For the past four years Ivan and Gabrielle have selected 28 horses and have interaction with polo players from all over the world - Ireland and Canada to mention a few. They have also trained people from Vallarta , Mexico City and, of course, San Pancho.
In the center of the ranch they have a cage where beginners can come and practice the different polo swings on a wooden horse.
If you would like to know more about this sport, you may visit San Pancho and learn all about it. Ivan says this project is growing and is looks very promising. In the near future they hope to find all of the horses they need (probably up to fifty).
"It is an ambitious project which requires a lot of effort - but it is well worth it" Ivan added. Polo is his favorite sport and he wants to dedicate the rest of his life to promoting the sport. Soon they will be training children and he said by next November he expects to be formally open to the public.
We are very proud of this new addition to San Pancho. We believe this undertaking will bring a lot of good to San Pancho and the area.
Gabrielle and Ivan Echeverria are great, down-to-earth people. generous and kind to everyone.
Thank you - Good Luck - and Congratulations!!
Elvia & Geno Lamphier -
genolamphiear@hotmail.com
* This information is provided by María Elvia Garcia Palomera & Geno Lamphier, owners of Calandria Realty in San Francisco (San Pancho), Nayarit, Mexico
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