In The News: Court Orders Return of Cloned Polo Ponies
The ruling is being regarded as a landmark decision.
Adolfo Cambiaso, often referred to as the “Tom Brady of polo,” and his legal team have successfully secured a final judgment for the return of cloned ponies that were sold without his knowledge.
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Cambiaso began cloning horses in 2010 following the tragic 2006 injury of his prized stallion, Aiken Cura. Using samples collected from Aiken Cura, the first clone, Aiken Cura E01, was created with the help of Texas native Alan Meeker and his company, Crestview Genetics. The two then entered into a contract to clone more of Cambiaso’s polo ponies.
Later that same year, Cambiaso’s top horse, Dolfina Cuartetera, ranked first in Argentina’s Polo Hall of Fame, was cloned. The resulting three-month-old foal was sold for $800,000, the highest price ever paid for a polo horse.
Afterward, however, Cambiaso decided to retain ownership of all cloned horses, choosing to sell only foals born from clones rather than the clones themselves.
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But during a nine-day jury trial in May 2024, Cambiaso’s legal team from Wheeler Trigg O’Donnell LLP (WTO) proved that Meeker had secretly sold clones of Cuartetera to an undisclosed Russian businessman for $800,000 each, with further sales in the works.
As a result of the ruling, Meeker and Crestview Genetics have been ordered to return all La Dolfina clones and tissue samples to Cambiaso.
“These horses are priceless, and the family is committed to the process of recovering their cloned horses and preserving this part of the legacy Adolfo built for his children,” stated lead counsel, Habib Nasrullah to Horse and Hound.
What this means for the future of horse cloning and clone sales remains to be seen, but it certainly muddies the waters of an already complicated issue.
Go riding.
Amanda Uechi Ronan is an equestrian, author, and wannabe race car driver. Follow her on Instagram @amanda_uechi_ronan.
