Diether Ocampo, Andrea del Rosario among celebrities compete in Cockatoo Polo Cup
DIETHER OCAMPO and Andrea del Rosario, two celebrities who are hooked into sports.
Mr. Ocampo, a heartthrob during the 1990s, was into extreme sports while Ms. Del Rosario, a former member of the Viva Hot Babes, and has now assumed higher office as Vice-Mayor of Calatagan, was very much involved in dragon boat racing.
But they’ve found a new passion in a different field of sports — polo.
“I’ve been into extreme sports,” Mr. Ocampo told BusinessWorld in an interview. “I did motocross, I did slalom before then rally cross. I did sky diving and scuba. I briefly started with ice hockey but didn’t progress. I’m always curious on almost everything. But this one, polo, caught my attention because it takes so much patience and determination and enough passion because horses are intelligent, very smart animal. They know that as soon as you mount them, that you’re scared or sense how you feel. They can feel it. When you’re scared, they’re playful, all the more they try to scare you.”
“But there’s something in horses that I truly love. Why I was so passionate about horses? I think everyone could relate to it. Back in the day, when you were a kid, I would remember I used to ride horses in Tagaytay or Baguio, a typical thing you do on a tour. But then, I really never expected myself to have like this connection. It’s a wild animal to be considered, but the thing is, very gentle and very intelligent animal. They’re like human. They exhibit behavior almost like human. They’re very emotional, but they’re very powerful. Once you can control that, I became more obsessed about learning the psychology of horses and learning how to connect to the horse.”
His passion for horses led to the creation of the Cockatoo Polo Cup, which is now on its third year.
Mr. Ocampo, Ms. Del Rosario and GlobalPort top executive and Congressman Mikee Romero were among the prominent figures who took part in the event presented by Cathy Valencia Advance Skin Clinic recently at the North Polo Club in Pulilan, Bulacan.
The event also attracted some of the top players in the country, including Anthony Garcia, Jun Juban, Santi Lujan, Miguel Dure and international campaigners like Kathryn Fischer, Marina Rose Best, and Alexander Vogi among others.
With his new found passion in the sport, Mr. Ocampo committed to do this event annually to help uplift the level of play among Filipinos.
Like Mr. Ocampo, Ms. Del Rosario got hooked on the sport, but it was her boyfriend, Anthony Garcia, who inspired her to pursue it.
To continue her training, she was able to hook up with friends, one of them is Mr. Romero, who lent him horses to sustain his regular workout.
“I was fortunate enough to be lent horses by Congressman Mikee Romero, so I was able to continue my training,” added Ms. Del Rosario. “In any sport, if you are eager to learn, you will learn it. I just took of the fact that my boyfriend is one of the best Asian players and I had that beautiful field in America to train. It’s really addicting. I wish I could afford the sport. My boyfriend has plans for me, allowing me to participate in international tournaments. I like our partnership because he would push me to do it.”
Although the sport is regarded as a game for the elites, Mr. Ocampo is trying to uplift awareness of polo in the Philippines and he became a first-hand witness on the strong potential of Filipinos excelling in the sport when they defeated a visiting squad in a friendly event.
“Our Filipino riders beat the Malaysians. They’re the top when they played here, but they were beaten so bad by the Filipino riders — all female. We were surprised. I guess they have a strong potential to compete. We want to develop the roster for that. I know it’s just a matter of time, people like me, who is not connected with the equestrian industry, had learned to appreciate it. What more other people who are closely related to this kind of sport,” added Mr. Ocampo.
For Mr. Romero, creating more awareness in the sport thru the Cockatoo Polo Cup,
“I’m the captain of the Philippine (polo) team now, so I have to help create more awareness. It’s unfortunate we were not able to join the SEA (Southeast Asian) Games last time, but this coming SEA Games, we’ll try to put up a team. We tried to elevate the game for the grassroots just like what Diether is doing. It’s an elite sport, game of the kings as they say, but it’s not getting bigger in the Philippines, particularly here in Bulacan. I think here in Bulacan, there’s about 50 players competing,” added Mr. Romero. —