I grew up in the Midwest just outside of Chicago in Northwest Indiana. My early life was mostly consumed with sports, and while I had several scholarship opportunities at various colleges, I chose to go to Purdue University with the intention of getting into Veterinary School and attempting to walk on to the basketball team. I was successful in the former, but not so much in the latter. I received my Bachelors, Masters and Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degrees, all from Purdue. I was also a researcher and instructor at the Veterinary School in Veterinary Physiology and Pharmacology.

After a brief stint as a surgeon in the Veterinary Resources Branch of the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, I headed out to California to pursue my dream of working with racehorses. That journey eventually allowed me to establish a private practice in Del Mar, CA where I found myself also working at the San Diego Polo Club. It was there that I was introduced to polo, a sport I had always wanted to play but just never had the time. I was instructed and learned the game from Tom Goodspeed and Graham Bray. I was also fortunate to spend the best part of the glory years at the San Diego Polo Club playing with many other friends and also under my Del Mar Equine Polo team.

In the winters, I both worked and played at the Eldorado and Empire Polo Clubs in the California desert. I also have owned a polo ranch with my wife Jessica Bailey at Deer Creek Polo Club in Thermal, CA for the last 20 years and consider it our “home” club. Though I leave most of the polo playing to my wife these days, I did return to play last summer at a newly formed club in Bonsall, CA near our home in San Diego County.

My time is mostly filled with my work and my passion for promoting the Equine Veterinary profession and equine welfare issues. I have served as the Chairman of the USPA Equine Welfare Committee for the past 5 years. I have always been in awe of the equine athlete and the pleasure they give us - that is no more evident in any equine sport than it is in polo. In a game that is so dependent on a good mount, I will continue to dedicate my time as an advocate for the horse.