LEGENDS WE STAND AND SALUTE: CARLOS GRACIDA It’s a funny thing how people like to think our own horsemen are always the best, no matter what country you come from in the world. Throw in the same home-grown bias around cricketers and footballer, swimmers and rugby league and you start to understand what we’re talking about. Who knows? Maybe they are the best. Or maybe it’s time we really opened up our own eyes and took a look at some of the extraordinary horsemen in the world and discovered what we could learn from them, both on and off the field. About horsemanship and extraordinary skills in the saddle and sportsmanship and dedication. Carlos Gracida was such a man. When he died at the age of 53 in a sudden, tragic polo accident in Palm Beach in February this year – his horse flipped over and landed on him after it was accidently hit in the head by a mallet - the polo world stopped to mourn not only a charismatic gentleman and a true legend – but also one of the greatest players the world has seen. He held a ten goal rating – the highest in the sport – for an extraordinary 15 years, and his grace and brilliance in the saddle was matched only by his grace and decency as a man. He was a shining light in the sport, the consummate sportsman who encouraged and taught everyone he met, and his reading of horses and the game itself was regarded as telepathic. Born to a polo-playing family in Mexico City, Gracida went on to win most of the worlds major tournaments, including the U.S. Open nine times, the Argentine Open five times and the British Open 10 times. He was one of the very best in the world, said George DuPont, the Museum of Polo and Hall of Fames executive director. He was a constant gentleman on and off the field. Red Armour, a fellow polo player who was inducted into the Wellington-based Museum of Polo and Hall of Fame in 1999, called Gracida one of the greatest polo players of our time. Armour said he never heard anybody say a bad word about him. He was fun to play against, Armour said. He played the game with respect, he played it fairly and with 120 percent. There was never any foul play when you played him. You knew you were going to be in a good, hard game. Gracida not only coached Prince Charles and his sons, Prince William and Prince Harry but also sought to make the sport accessible to everyone. He was regarded as the Queens favourite player and came to personify the notion of the dashing, distinguished and daring polo player living the high life on the game’s global circuit, yet he was to also play a part in an attempt to modernise the sport and broaden its appeal. His grace in the saddle was drawn from a keen understanding of the game’s history and traditions. Although over the course of the last century it has morphed into a spectator sport for the world’s champagne set, polo was first played in the 6th century, originating as a training practice for Persian cavalry units. It would much later become indelibly associated with the dusty fields of the Indian Raj, with summer clubs in the Hamptons on America’s East Coast, and with the famous fields of the Argentine pampas. With horses galloping at speeds of up to 70kph (the term “polo ponies” is purely traditional), the riders score by driving a ball into the opposing team’s goal by the finely-tuned swing of a long-handled mallet. It is a sport that requires horsemanship of the highest calibre, and few players could boast the expertise of Carlos Gracida: he was named “Player of the Year” in America five times — an achievement matched only by his brother Guillermo (known as Memo) — and won more tournament titles than any other player in the world. In Britain he flourished as a coach to Princes William and Harry, playing as a team-mate to both, alongside their father, the Prince of Wales. On one occasion, when Prince Harry arrived a mere five minutes late for a lesson, Gracida was surprised by his royal student’s profuse apologies. “My experience with the Royal family was really something very special because they are true princes,” Gracida said. The respect was mutual — on introducing the coach to his future wife, Kate Middleton, Prince William declared: “This person is the best polo player ever.” Gracida was born in Mexico City on September 5 1960 into a polo-playing dynasty (his father, Guillermo, was celebrated on the field in Argentina). Carlos began learning at the age of five, and would later declare that the sport should be included in the activities offered at more schools and academies. He did, however, acknowledge the dangers: “It’s one of the most difficult sports, as injuries like broken ribs, nose and hand are quite common.” He began competing on the polo field at the age of ten. His father Guillermo was a 9-goaler who played in Meadowbrook and Palermo in Argentina and still enjoyed the distinction of 5-goals at the age of 65. Gracida first reached 10 goals in 1985, and spent over fifteen years at this handicap. He was a member of Ellerstina, the legendary team owned by Australian magnate Kerry Packer, and also of La Espadana In 1994 Gracido won nearly every possible tournament in the game, including the Argentinian Triple Crown of Hurlingham, Tortuguitas and Palermo. That same year, he also won the US Open and the British Open Gold Cup, becoming the only player in history to win the Grand Slam of Polo, in 1987, a feat he replicated twice, in 1988 and 1994. Alongside his brother Guillermo Gracida (often referred to as Memo), Gracida won Player of the Year in America five times, the only other player to do so in history. He racked up more tournament wins than any player in the history of the game. Along with his Mexican countrymen Antonio Herrera and his brother Memo, he was one of three foreigners to win the Abierto Argentino de Palermo, considered the most prestigious tournament, all Mexicans. He won it five times. He was also the only foreigner to have won the Olympia de Plata, Argentinas Most Valuable Player Award, which he picked up in 1988. He won the British Open Gold Cup ten times, more than any other player, and won the US Open nine times. He reached 10 goals in 1985 and spent fifteen years on and off at 10 goals, including the 2006 season in Palm Beach. In the course of his career Gracida turned out for the world’s leading teams, and his annus mirabilis was 1994, when he won nearly every major tournament in the game, including polo’s “Grand Slam” — the Argentine , US and British Opens . He was the only player to have won the Grand Slam three times: in 1987, 1988 and 1994. In the mid-1990s Gracida was paid an estimated $200,000 a month to play for the Ellerston team, owned by the Australian media tycoon Kerry Packer, whom he described as “one of the toughest characters I’ve come across”. Packer had a vision to make polo as accessible as cricket. “Both the sports require good hand and eye co-ordination,” Gracida observed. “Packer’s idea would have been fantastic for the game of polo. He wanted to change a few rules here and there and make it more attractive. He also wanted to bring in TV coverage to make it more popular among the masses. But unfortunately it did not materialise.” In 2011 Gracida was appointed coach to the England team, and in its first match his team beat New Zealand. “The legendary Mexican inspired fantastic team play,” wrote one commentator, “and his players showed an almost telepathic reading of the game.” He was a favourite instructor with celebrities and royalty and gave lessons to HRH Prince Charles, HRH Prince William, HRH Prince Harry, King Constantine II of Greece, HRH Prince Talal of Jordan, James Packer and Sylvester Stallone Having taught Sylvester Stallone, Gracida also rode with the actor’s father, Frank, a prominent supporter of the sport in the equestrian community of Wellington, Palm Beach, where Gracida lived. It was there that he died as a result of a fall while playing in a tournament at the Everglades Polo Club. Gracidas most famous horse was Chesney, who won the Best Playing Pony award numerous times, including in 1988, 1989 and 1991 at the British Open Gold Cup. His personal favourite was Nony Nony, a seven time Gold Cup winner in England. Carlos Gracida is survived by two sons, both of whom are polo players.
Posted on: Sun, 28 Sep 2014 04:59:32 +0000
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