ASK AN UMPIRE
Rule 22 How to re-enter the field on dead-ball plays By Dana Fortugno
This month the famous Leitner twins have a question. If you don’t know who they are, get ready for a fun surprise. They are 17-year-old twins who not only play polo, they are really good at it. Robyn and Reagan live in Lexington, South Carolina, but they train and play in Aiken, South Carolina. I umpired a NYTS tournament a few years ago in Alabama and met both of them. It was a little confusing at first, then as I got to know them better, it was still confusing. These two had an interesting introduction to polo. I asked them how they got started and they explained that they had participated in the Extreme Mustang Makeover when it first came to Jacksonville, Florida, in 2016. Katherine Thomas, a
Reagan Leitner on Mia
16 POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N
Reagan
new friend, asked if they could trailer a horse she bought at the Makeover to Aiken, which was not far from their home. After trailering the horse for Katherine, she invited them to watch a Sunday polo game. They soon began helping at Whitney Field on Sundays by giving out wristbands and seating people. Soon after, they began playing polo and taking lessons with the Aiken Youth kids, and the rest is history! Yes, the rest is history. These two have been steadily improving since then. They have a nice classic style of play; they hit and run and use back shots to pass to their teammates. It’s a treat to see. Although they enjoy playing at New Bridge Polo Club in Aiken (newbridgepolo.com), they claim Aiken Polo Club as their home club. Aiken’s Whitney Field is renown for its rich history as the oldest continuously played field in North America (aikenpolo.org). Both clubs have spring and fall seasons and play up to 12-goal polo. As if their appearance as twins isn’t enough, they have the exact same ratings. They are rated 0 in outdoor polo, 2 in women’s outdoor polo, 1 in the arena and 4 in women’s arena. Before taking up polo
