Going to the US Open for the second time in two years was again a
real treat for me. We tried out some horses, bought lots of new tack
and supplies, and generally had an excellent time. There's
absolutely no comparison to attending the US Open and all the events
and parties with the Muldoon's. This family is legendary at the
highest levels of worldwide polo and the respect that they are given
by the movers and shakers in the world of high-goal polo is
commensurate with their contributions to the sport. It's really an
honor to travel with Mary and her dad and be granted such access to
the participants at the ultimate level of the sport. Traveling from
the games to the Polo Museum and then to the Polo Ball and to the
players-only parties with Mary Muldoon is like attending the Academy
Awards with Julia Roberts. No matter where we went in the world
capital of polo that is West Palm Beach everyone knows Mary and is
more than thrilled to see her, chat with here and learn about what
she and her family are doing. It never ceases to amaze me how
beloved she is by the biggest sponsors and the highest rated
players. Whether spending time with Tommy Lee Jones and his wife
Dawn or chatting with Glen Holden and his wife, sharing possibly the
best table of the Polo Ball with Fred Fortugna and George and Brenda
DuPont of the Polo Museum; meeting Mike Azzaro, Adam Snow, Hector
Galindo, Carlos Gracida, Red Armour, David Cummins and one of the
greatest British players in history-Julian Hipwood; and the list
goes on and on. I'd have to say a highlight was spending a good
amount of time discussing the semifinal game with Memo Gracida.
Memo of course went on to lead his team to the Open championship
only two days later and I was fortunate to grab a few choice photos
of him and Mary poolside at the post-championship party at the
International Polo Club at Palm Beach. We also spent some time with
the editors of Polo Players' Edition magazine and our discussions
were quite fruitful so you should expect to see some feature stories
as well as photos of our favorite students in upcoming issues.