Polo star ‘blown away’ by recent trip to Guatemala
Polo star Nic Roldan said he was “blown away” on a recent visit to Guatemala to see an equine charity’s work first hand.
Nic travelled to the country with Brooke, who started working in Guatemala in 2006 through a local partner.
The La Indiana player is an ambassador for Brooke USA, the American fundraising arm of the international welfare charity.
Guatemala is one of Latin America’s poorest countries with over half of its population living below the poverty line.
It is in these poorest communities that most of the countries 227,000 working equines live.
Families rely on these equines predominantly as essential pack animals to transport their wood, water and other necessities.
Brooke teams work to educate these rural communities on how to look after their animals better which in turn provides a benefit to the people as well.
Never miss out on the latest happenings in the equestrian world
Nic spent a week in Guatemala with Brooke and travelled over 2,000 miles to different parts of the country.
Related articles:
- ‘Time for the next chapter’: Brooke unveils new brand
- Brooke honoured for saving hundreds of equines after Nepal earthquake
- Brooke rescues horses trapped by Nepal earthquake
He visited an area known as the Dry Corridor where equines work under harsh conditions to provide the families that rely on them with water.
In these rural communities a team from Brooke gives talks to the residents on horse care as well as hands on practical lessons.
Nic was “blown away” by the amount of people who rely on the donkeys.
“It was an emotional moment to see how all these people live, how proud they are and enthused to learn — truly inspirational,” he said.
Nic also met one of Brooke’s success stories, Don Roberto, who Brooke has taught how to shoe the local communities working animals.
Charity work
Earlier this year, Nic also organised miniature horses to appear during the Gold Cup final at Cowdray Park Polo Club to help raise funds for the charity.
Brooke is a global animal welfare charity helping working horses, donkeys and mules.
It works with owners, communities, governments and international organisations to make lasting improvements to animal welfare.
Stay in touch with all the news in the run-up to and throughout the major shows and events during 2026 and beyond with a Horse & Hound subscription. Subscribe today for all you need to know ahead of these major events, plus online reports on the action as it happens from our expert team of reporters and in-depth analysis in our special commemorative magazines. Have a subscription already? Set up your unlimited website access now
Rachael joined Horse & Hound in 2014, initially as a digital sub editor then became part of the news team as a writer in 2015. The philosophy graduate studied journalism at the Press Association before working as a local reporter at the Brentwood Gazette. Rachael is now a mum of two and still loves all things equestrian, including hacking, dressage and jumping with her cob Bert. Rachael left the H&H staff to go freelance in June 2019, but still contributes to our magazine and website, as well as our sister magazine Country Life, among others.