Emilio Urrea Kirby is a third generation polo player from Colombia and one of the newest additions to Umpires LLC.

His after school activity growing up was “get home and ride,” he said. He would join his schoolmates and other local children to play polo and also participated in international kids tournaments that led to him playing in India on a reciprocal trip. “The kids from India, were staying at a friend’s farm, and they invited us to play polo in their country,” he said.

Emilio’s grandfather and father played polo “My father was my main teacher,” he said. “I remember growing up with horses and later teaching kids and beginners how to play polo, focusing on the rules and how to play - as well as having fun.”

Emilio enjoyed the polo lifestyle as a player until back surgery was required at a point where “my stirrup [leathers] were different sizes.”

While he is still recovering from the procedure a year and a half later he is fit enough to umpire and he is enjoying it. He realized that there are limits to how much you can teach players when umpiring, but when it is appropriate - perhaps when children are involved - he takes the opportunity to help. “I come from a teaching background and you can’t always say what you are thinking when you are umpiring,” he said.

But as a former player he can apply his experience to the game. “When I was playing I always believed that the game should be fair but I also got frustrated sometimes. So I understand the polo frustration and that is also very important. I can relate to the guys playing,” he said.