Basic HTML Version
summer
|
fal l
51
My grooms are trained as each chukker ends and I come off the field, to
hand me a carrot and I feed the horse, which the guys think is crazy, but
you want the horses to be in the right frame of mind, too. The grooms are
phenomenal and so committed to the horses; without them, none of this
could happen. They really are responsible for the well being of the horses.”
Polo is very festive, people have boxes and they invite their friends
and people are eating great food or bringing great picnics,” says Leigh,
adding, “The other thing that is wonderful about Santa Barbara is it draws
an international crowd and it is truly an international event. The audience
really participates and takes sides and cheers. People often come dressed
up and wear hats.”
Dressing up, Leigh explains, “honors the ceremony, tradition, and
history, and it honors the people who work in it,” adding that “people
have such immense respect for past players and the history of the sport,
and respect the accomplishments of those who have gone through the
ranks. A lot of polo is about tradition, and in a club like Santa Barbara,
you also want to honor the fact that it’s been here for over one hundred
years. It really is a sport of amazing passion for everybody who plays.”
My father used to tell me, ‘Anywhere you go in the world with a
tennis racket, you’ll have friends.’ Polo is a bit the same way. People
who love the sport play everywhere,” says Leigh, reporting that for
her husband’s birthday six years ago, she hired a genealogist to trace
John’s Italian ancestry and as a result of that, “my husband, daughter
and son all have Italian passports and dual citizenship and can work in
the EU,” and this summer both of her children will do internships in
London.
“I am a member of the Cherokee Nation, my grandmother was born
on the Cherokee Nation, and my kids are Cherokee Italian Americans.
We’ve always travelled, and we’ve spent a lot of time in Europe and I have
a lot of English clients.
“Now with polo, work, and my family’s ability to work in the EU,”
Leigh concludes with a smile, “It just opens the whole world.”
a passion for Polo