POLO Equestrian low

Sunny Hale
Late pioneer enters Hall of Fame
BY Y.A. TEITELBAUM
Sunny Hale, a pioneer who was the first woman to win the prestigious U.S.
Open, headlines the Polo Hall of Fame Class of 2018.
Hale died Feb. 26, 2017 due to complications from cancer, cutting short
her illustrious career.
Joining Hale will be four-time U.S. Open champion Ruben Gracida, as well as
renowned polo manager Jimmy Newman and Roy L. Barry, who each will receive the
Iglehart Award for lifetime contributions to the sport at the annual gala on Feb. 16
at the Museum of Polo and Hall of Fame, west of Lake Worth.
Hale won the 2000 U.S. Open with Outback, playing alongside Adolfo Cambiaso,
Lolo Castagnola and Phil Heatley at Palm Beach Polo in Wellington.
In addition to her remarkable playing career,
which spanned more than 20 years,
she was equally as impressive off the field.
Hale, who reached a 5-goal handicap (out
of a maximum of 10), created the American
Polo Horse Association to establish polo ponies as
a breed and preserve their information for posterity and started the Women’s
Championship Tournament to give greater opportunities
to women.
Hale has a room dedicated to her amazing success
in the male-dominated sport, including numerous
heartfelt notes on blue Post-it notes. Blue was
her favorite color and it dominates the room,
along with framed photos, polo trophies and
some of Hale’s polo equipment.
Not content to rest on her laurels, she strove
to promote the sport, horses and horsemanship
as an avid mentor and inspiration to aspiring
polo players male and female, young and old. She
wrote a series of polo “help” books, created an
online clinic and traveled the world lecturing and
giving polo clinics and seminars.
Gracida, who is based in Wellington, won his
four U.S. Open titles in 1980, 1982, 1983 and 1993.
He also won the 1981 and 1988 Camacho Cup, a major
international match between the U.S. and Mexico. Gracida
is a cousin to Hall of Famers Memo Gracida and the late
Carlos Gracida.
Newman, a part-time Wellington resident, has played and/
or worked in polo for more than 50 years, managing 27 U.S.
Open tournaments, more than anyone in the history of the sport.
In addition to being the manager at International Polo Club since
its inception, he has also run some of the most prominent polo
clubs in the U.S., including Palm Beach Polo, Retama (outside San
Antonio) and Santa Barbara Polo.
The Museum of Polo and Hall of Fame is located at 9011 Lake
Worth Road. Accompanying exhibits include documents, works of
art, historic trophies, artifacts, books, films and other memorabilia.
It is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays; during season, January through
April, it is also open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturdays. Admission
is free.
Top and right: Sunny Hale
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