D e s e r t E x p o s u r e
May
2009
Playing on the Ponies
From southern Dona Aña County to Quemado, Yvonne Golston is reviving the classic sport of polo.
By Jeff Berg
Most of us think only of the wealthy and privileged when we think of the sport of polo. Or maybe Ralph Lauren comes to mind, the designer whose omnipresent "Polo" logo mars many an otherwise nice-looking shirt.
 |
Yvonne Golston in action as a polo
umpire. (Photo by Gail Cohen) |
But the gentry don't have a corner on the market for the highly skilled sport of polo — not in this part of the world.
A small and rather unusual area, near the south end of state highway 28, runs through the western edge of Las Cruces, and through the small towns that dot the landscape south of here — La Mesa, La Union, La many things — to the Texas state line. The area is an odd mixture of pecan orchards, small vineyards, farms and old adobe buildings and abodes, all sandwiched in and around a number of places that own, breed, race or all of the above. . . horses.
It is here where Yvonne Golston lives, in a pleasant but unobtrusive house, on the edge of 50 sections of land, with her current remuda of equines. These currently number just three horses, although she has owned as many as 14 at one time.
Ms. Golston, whose resume clearly indicates that she has never worked for Mr. Lauren, is an all-around polo person. Player, instructor, horse trainer, umpire — she does it all.
She has lived in southern New Mexico and El Paso almost all of her life, and has been settled in here pretty firmly since her father retired from the military in 1964, as a lieutenant colonel.
It was he who probably started her polo odyssey, by taking her to ride horses at the El Toro US Marine Corps base in California when she was a youngster.
"I've been interested in horses all of my life," Golston says enthusiastically, adding with a smile, "I used to watch horses run in the clouds, and all my dreams went to live there. I wanted to live in the country and have horses.
"I can't explain my love for horses, except perhaps to offer the quote that the outside of a horse is good for the inside of a man. I just really enjoy working with them and training them. I always try to be fair with a horse so that it understands what it wants. My patience in communicating with a horse is then rewarded."
Golston dabbled in rodeo in high school and then in college at UTEP. She still wanted to expand her horse sense, "so I could learn more about other areas of riding."
But before she got to do what her heart wanted to do, full time, Golston had to take a 28-year detour. That career path took her to being the president of Library Services, Inc., which, as part of Xerox, provided equipment and supplies throughout Texas and parts of New Mexico. She took her leave in 2003, when the business closed as a corporation.
She has also worked on cattle ranches, roping and rounding up bovines. "That was the hardest work in the world," she attests.
Now Yvonne Golston runs Peaches' Polo, which she says is far less stressful and certainly more fun. Golston is the owner/operator and also does training and development. In her "spare" time, she also handles Peaches' Properties, a rental agency she has operated since 1976.
She recently returned from Florida, where she attended a US Polo Association (USPA) clinic. She is working to become only the ninth certified woman polo umpire in the US.
"An umpire in polo is close to the action, but out of the way at the same time," Golston says. "One of an umpire's main jobs is to help maintain safety and to watch for procedures that might cause the slightest bit of danger to the horses or riders."
Golston's interest in polo began in earnest in the 1980s while working near a place that trained polo ponies.
"The man was retraining horses to learn polo, and I was working nearby," she recalls. "When I had time, I would go over and help him, and ride horses around the racetrack. He would then sell them to others who were looking for polo horses." He later bought one of Golston's horses to train as a polo pony.
Training horses for polo is not for someone who needs instant results, Golston says. "You train them very patiently. There is a misconception that they have to be strong, fast and excitable, but the truth is that they need to be quiet and stable and able to be obedient. The horses are not trained to follow the ball; they are trained to do whatever the rider wants them to do." She adds with a nod, "You don't want them to think too much" — the horses, that is.
"They usually weigh between 900 and 1,200 pounds, and can go up to 35 miles per hour on the field," Golston goes on.
Racehorses can often get a second lease on life as polo ponies, she says.
"I've worked with horses that have been mistreated or are confused, and once they are treated well, those that like the game seem to kind of know that it is a game and really perform well."
Polo is actually played on two different areas/arenas. One variation is arena polo, which is played on a dirt field that measures 300 by 150 feet. The other is field polo, where the playing area is much larger at 300 yards by 160 yards. Each has runoff areas to help avoid collisions and crashes, and both employ similar rules with a few exceptions.
"Arena polo has walls, and they are used to bounce the ball off of," Golston explains. "The rider with the right of way has the right to hit the ball, and the wall is considered another 'man' on a team."
A leather ball is often used for arena polo, as opposed to a plastic or wooden one for field polo.
The point of the game, of course, is to score points, which is achieved when a player hits the ball between the posts of goalpost. Field polo has four players per team, and the goals change sides after each point. Arena polo utilizes three players per team. There are two umpires to monitor the action, while a third official sits midfield to act as a go-between in case the two umpires disagree on a call.
Each player has a handicap, which is not a bad thing. Winston Churchill, a fan of the sport, is quoted as saying, "a polo handicap is your window to the world." Handicaps help balance the field a bit, with a -2 being a low rating, and 10 being the best. A team's combined handicap can also allow it to have a bonus point or if one team is weaker than the other.
A match consists of six chukkers (periods) of seven and a half minutes each. Riders switch ponies often, almost always after each chukker so to not overwork the animals.
Although it seems that most players would need to have a stable full of fresh mounts, Golston says that it is not uncommon for players to rent ponies for a game, by the chukker.
"The umpire also has the right to order a horse off the field if she says that it is in distress. They are required to do that."
Golston notes that often the rules are at the discretion of the umpire. This can, of course, result in a fair amount of carping about a decision.
Nationwide, the USPA has nearly 4,000 registered members, of which about a quarter are women. Notables, who have or had an interest in this intriguing sport include Will Rogers, Gen. George Patton and actors Sylvester Stallone and Tommy Lee Jones.
"Polo is also used for training by the US military," Golston says.
Tommy Lee Jones, who owns a ranch in far west Texas, near San Saba and Marfa, is an avid player, and will occasionally show up at the Rancho Santo Mario Polo Club on the far west side of El Paso, just over the New Mexico border. Golston has played in games with him and umpired others.
Another club, the Tarahumara Polo Field in La Union, was closed in late 2007. It was discovered that the owner/operator, Dr. Raul Villalobos — a widely respected philanthropist who'd helped raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for charity through polo and was an authority on dental implants — was not licensed to practice dentistry in Texas or even in Mexico, where his office was located. Villalobos was charged with mail fraud, money laundering and lying to the IRS.
Villalobos' polo field now stands idle and forlorn along Hwy. 28.
The origins of polo seem to suggest that at one time it was used as a war-training game, perhaps as far back as 600 BC. Indications are that the game started in Persia. Later it went to India, where again the sport was probably used for cavalry training. There, polo was hijacked by the British — who came up with their own set of rules, of course. According to Wikipedia, the term "polo" comes from the Tibetan word for ball, pulu.
"Chinese women played polo in the early days," Golston says.
Polo remains a worldwide sport, and there is a movement to get it returned as an Olympic event. Golston says that Argentina is where polo is most popular.
"It's as popular there as football is here," she says. "A game can draw 30,000-40,000 people. They have the best players, and fans will sometimes even know the horse's names. The Argentine Open is played in the center of Buenos Aires."
In the US, polo's heyday was during the Depression, as a form of escape for all of the weary people of the land.
Besides the local polo field, Golston is also involved with another polo facility, near Quemado, north of Glenwood. Known as the El Caso Ranch Polo Club, it is on a large and vibrant ranch owned by a grandson of Will Rogers, Chuck Rogers.