Eddy Martinez learned to rope, long before he learned to swing a polo mallet since he and his two brothers worked on the largest cattle ranch in the Dominican. “I’m a pretty good roper,” Eddy said.

Eddy was in his 20s and not interested in polo at first when he left his home in the Dominican Republic and came to Maine in 1984 with a friend, Dr Hugh Johnstone. Eddy worked with the polo horses, stick and balled and was soon called up to play. “They needed more bodies on the field,” he said. “I didn’t have any choice. So, I just started going at it. It was the biggest pleasure ever. I kept going and I love it.”

For Eddy, the highlight of his polo career was not putting his name on a particular trophy, but playing alongside his son Alan, who also took up polo later in life. “Alan learned to ride but he was in High School when he started to play,” Eddy said. “But he was always a good athlete - he played tennis, baseball, basketball.” Alan and his father played off six goals on the same team at a certain point. “We did really well, playing together because he was on his way up and I was on my way down,” Eddy said.

Two years ago Eddy replaced playing polo with umpiring professionally. “I love it because I stay involved with horses which is the thing I really care about,” Eddy, who keeps a couple of young horses around to keep him busy, said. “Being an umpire is keeping me involved in something I love.”