From Argentina to Minna, Pintada has spent 16 years at El-Amin becoming more than a polo horse, but a teacher, a competitor and a living piece of one of Nigerian polo’s great dynasties.

MINNA, NIGER STATE At 24 years old, Pintada has already lived through several generations of polo. Players have arrived at the El-Amin stable as boys and grown into accomplished riders. Tournaments have come and gone, trophies have changed hands, and new horses have taken their first steps onto the polo field. Yet Pintada remains. The mare, now believed to be the oldest horse in the El-Amin stable, is still playing still carrying riders, still competing and still contributing to a game she has known for most of her life.

From around 2010 through 2023, the mare was part of an El-Amin era that produced an extraordinary haul of major trophies. According to information shared with YaxSportlens by Bello Buba, Pintada was associated with roughly seven to eight Georgian Cup victories and around six to seven IBB Cup triumphs during that period.

Speaking to YaxSportlens, Bello Buba himself a 19-time Georgian Cup winner explained why the relationship between player and horse is at the heart of polo.

“Horses contribute 75 percent to polo. If you're riding a skilful horse, it improves you to play the game.”

For Buba, that belief is also part of how El-Amin develops its younger players. Rather than placing inexperienced riders on difficult horses, the club gives young players access to experienced horses capable of teaching them the game.

“That's why we give the young lads experienced horses in order to help them play the game.”

Over the years, she has carried experienced players, helped younger riders learn and remained competitive long after many horses would have disappeared from the tournament circuit. Her value cannot be measured only by the number of cups she has helped win. It is also found in the experience she has passed on from one rider to another.

A horse bought in Argentina in 2010, when she was eight, is still part of the action in 2026. The players around her have changed. Generations have moved through the El-Amin system. Trophies have come and gone. But Pintada remains.

At 24, Pintada is no longer merely part of El-Amin's stable. She is part of its memory.