WHEN ASKED HOW BEST to describe the sport of polo. professional polo player Segundo Ortiz says, “It’s like hockey, but on horseback.” As a young boy growing up in Argentina, Segundo, a thirdgeneration “Gaucho” from Argentina, was afraid of horses. Things changed when his father, a member of the Argentine Cavalry, gave him his first pony at the age of 4 to ride to school. “My father told me I can either learn to ride the pony to school or I would have to walk every day. So, I learned how to ride the pony,” he says with a laugh. At the age of 18, Segundo began playing polo professionally and, shortly after, moved to America to live with his older brother, who was already there managing a polo club. The move to America set him on a path that has given him opportunities to travel
around the world playing a sport he loves. Segundo’s big break came when polo veteran Bob Daniels, owner of the famed team Pony Express, took him under his wing and gave him the chance of a lifetime. When he began working for Pony Express, Segundo was the youngest and most inexperienced player on the team. He says, “Bob saw something in me, the way I treated horses, and gave me an opportunity. The best advice he gave me was to never give up, no matter what, and, if you want to win, you have to play hard.” All of Segundo’s hard work paid off during a trip to New York for a tournament. One of the players decided not to play because of weather conditions, giving Segundo a chance to play with 7-goal players. “That was my big break,” he says. “I
g n i y a o l l P o P by Steven Mills
Segundo Ortiz and the Game of Kings
A young Segundo on his first pony, Empanada, with his half-brother, Roberto. Opposite: East Coast Open 1988 at the Myopia Polo Club, the oldest active polo club in America. 60
Inside Northside
was only a 3-goal player at the time, and I was also the youngest player competing in the tournament.” Segundo and the Pony Express team went on to win numerous other tournaments after that, including the 1988 East Coast Open, considered the most prestigious championship game played in America at that time. “I played for Pony Express the longest, then the Busch family and the son of the Dominican Republic’s president. That year playing for Pony Express was the best year. All of the players on the team meshed well and played great together.” In 2001, Segundo made a trip from his home base in South Florida to Folsom, Louisiana, to play on a friend’s team in the Harvest Cup Polo Classic at Summergrove Farms. Following their team’s win at the Harvest Cup that year, Segundo’s performance landed him a spot playing for Folsom local John >>
