“I’m so incredibly lucky to have a professional polo club in my backyard here in Silicon Valley at the Taqueada Polo Club”
Less than two months ago, Bits & Bytes, the first polo team from Silicon Valley, made their official presentation. The 14-goal test match took place at Memo Gracida’s La Herradura, in Santa Ynez, not far away from their home at the Taqueada Polo California. It was Aisha Quaintance’s first competitive match playing alongside top players like Memo and Santi Toccalino.
Over the course of these couple months, her team traveled to New York, where Bits & Bytes played a test match with another polo star like Magoo Laprida. The trip continued last week in Texas, at the Brookshire Polo Club, with the 12 goal Brazos Cup. Having only played polo for a year, and after traveling around the country with her team, Aisha returned to California to continue training, hoping she can take the first team from Silicon Valley to Argentina.
-You played competitive polo in California, New York and now in Texas. What can you say about the experience so far?
"I'm so thrilled I have been able to start Bits & Bytes with Ciro Desenzani and take this Silicon Valley team on the road to play across the country! I have a new perspective and appreciation for the professionalism, training, and organization that goes into these matches behind the scenes. It’s unbelievable how much preparation is needed and how committed the entire community is to the safety and success of every game."
-What was it like to play with an American legend as Jeff Hall? What did you take from sharing a match with him?
"Jeff is fantastic! He welcomed us with open arms to his polo field, which was top notch.
On the field, Jeff was an awesome teammate to Ciro and I. Not only did I learn a lot from his real time feedback but the consistency of his play and passes was so much fun to be part of."
-Besides the test matches, how is your day-to-day polo development?
"I’m so incredibly lucky to have a professional polo club in my backyard here in Silicon Valley at the Taqueada Polo Club with Ciro. It’s because of that that I am able to go out and ride and stick and ball and play practices with the other members here.
In addition to this local training, I am traveling as much as possible to play in medium handicap matches such as the 12 goal we just played in Texas. Ciro and I have also been able to find great horses to add to the organization such as Pixel, from New York, who arrives today!
“I have a new perspective and appreciation for the professionalism, training, and organization that goes into these matches behind the scenes”
The next two months we will train every week in Taqueada Polo Club in Silicon Valley with short travels starting next week to Texas where we can play good practices, and I hope another 12-goal tournament. We are really welcomed there by the manager Martin Munoz.
We are organizing with my coach and professional player, Ciro Desenzani, the more personal lessons I can take working on my riding the better, and the most important, organize to have a good string of horses to be ready for the Florida season. We will try to do the best to have a good participation in the Florida season with Bits & Bytes polo team. Basically, we will try to train hard in October and November."
-Ciro told us your next step is to play in Argentina and you might come sometime soon. How do you feel about that possibility?
"I have always wanted to go to Argentina before polo. My husband says it’s one of his favorite places in the world. The opportunity to be able to play there would be a dream.
I’ve been watching some of the Palermo Open's Games and seeing the excitement from the crowd and you can feel that Argentina is the heart of polo. Part of the reason I have fallen in love with the sport is from all of the people from Argentina I have met that are so incredibly passionate about the sport. I cannot wait to be there one day sipping a mate on the side before playing in the motherland of polo!"
