NEWS

The aptly named Gaviota (meaning seagull in Spanish) earns her name every time she flies down the fields at the International Polo Club Palm Beach. She soars from coast to coast, eating up the ground in long easy strides, barely touching the grass. The beautiful grey mare is an off-the-track Thoroughbred by Imperialism out of Champagne on Ice and as such is built for speed and is one of the fastest mares in American 7-goaler Jeff Hall’s string. As is common with many polo ponies, her calm outward exterior belies a truly athletic mind and physique; to look at her standing quietly and patiently as her photo is taken, you almost wouldn’t recognize her as the flash of silver that tears up the fields under her rider. As beautiful as she is quick and agile, she is a true polo pony in every sense, easy and docile to manage (although she is not averse to the odd nibble if a groom happens to be in the way when she’s being tacked up) and a machine on the field.

Speed is certainly in her blood thanks to her racehorse breeding, but it takes more than pure power to make a polo pony. Bought from Silvia Firestone at just four years old, Hall could see the potential in her and has nurtured her to become one of the staples of his high-goal string. Four years on and now nine years old, she has fulfilled and even surpassed this potential, proving that an eye for a good horse and the knowledge of how to bring out the best in a pony can lead to unbeatable partnerships on the field.

How did you know at just four years old that this mare had what it takes and what did you do to bring the polo pony out of her?
“To be honest, I tried her a few times, it wasn’t instant, but I knew that there was something there. She’s a mare that almost pulls you a little bit so it can be a bit weird if you’re not used to that. She has a great mouth, but she pulls a little bit. I think she just needed to be pushed. She was just turning five when I bought her and I could tell that she had all the right ingredients. She had a nice mouth and she was good looking and she was well balanced, but she needed to be finished. So I took her to Santa Barbara that first year and finished her and she played really well. I brought her back and after a season or two she became one of my best. I think she’s matured and after a few seasons of just putting base training into her and not pushing her too hard, she just got better and better.”

What are her strengths?
“She’s pretty young still, but she does everything. She’s really calm and she’s a really nice horse to hit off. She’s got a lot of power, she’s got a lot of speed, she’s strong, she’s complete. She’s just one of those mares and she’s big enough that you can hit people on. She’s just an easy mare. She’s never had any issues or problems. She’s always the same, whenever you play her except that she is getting better and better every year.”

When in the match do you bring her out?
“I usually play her in the first and the sixth chukkers. This year she’s played really well. I think she’s starting to get a little bit tired now because it’s a long season and I’ve doubled her a lot so she will need the break. If there is a match that I think I can win without doubling her I don’t, but in the finals and the semis I always double her because she’s just really good. I play her at the beginning and then I know I can always bring her back if I need her. Sometimes she’s better in the first then she is when she comes back and sometimes she comes back stronger than the first chukker.”

What are your plans for her now?
“At the end of her career if I still have her I might breed from her. I don’t really know what’s in her future. I have no plans to sell her. For now, at the end of this 20 goal season, I’ll turn her out in Texas at the farm for a couple of months and then bring her back in June. She’ll have April and May off and then get legged up in June to play July and August in Santa Barbara. Then she’ll go out for September and October and come back in beginning of November. So she gets two months off now, and then two later.”