By Ruth Ninajanty. Published in Polo Indonesia Magazine, first edition 2013.
Having joined Nusantara Polo Club in 2007, Nicolas Curto is currently in charge of managing polo at the club and training the national team.
Known by the nickname “Nico”, the 24-year-old professional coach learnt polo when he was 11 back in his father’s club in Argentina. “I watched my father working at his polo club. When I went to school, I used to play polo at the weekend,” he recalls his early polo days. There, polo is a popular sport, second only to soccer. “You can play polo if you have horses and you have the knowledge. But polo always depends on how far you want to take the sport, how serious you’re taking the sport. What your polo plans are.”
Asked about his plans back then, he said he always thought about going professional. Finishing his school, he went to England and practice there for one season. He then returned to Argentina and started joining the tournaments. He went to the United States and returned to Argentina for another season before departing for Indonesia where he has been working with the national team.
Outside Nusantara Polo Club, he doesn’t hangout much. It’s between gym and organizing his polo organization in Argentina. “I’m not a city guy, I don’t like going to the city. I live my whole life around horses and farms so I like it here [at Nusantara Polo Club],” he admits. But he still goes into town for food. “I love Indonesian food, Thai Food, Japanese Food. I like nasi goreng and instant noodle,” he says with a laugh, adding he has started to accommodate spicy food into his diet.
Will polo be as popular here in Indonesia as it’s always been in Argentina? “Indonesia is a beautiful country with nice people, good horses and their history, and talented riders. So there is the potential for the sport to gain popularity here,” he says.