Martin Maldonado and Martina, his favorite, pose for a photo. He laughs when asked if she was named after him and says: "Everyone ask me that question, and I say, yes, because she's good, she's like Papa!" Photo by Lauren R. Giannini

      Martin Maldonado grew up in Mexico, and his family was into horses. They were essentially vaqueros. He admits that he fell in love with polo the moment he saw it after arriving in the USA. That was 25 years ago. Since then, he has worked for many patrons and players: "My favorite place is West Palm Beach, Florida - Wellington is the best polo in the whole world."      
Maldonado trains horses and teaches polo. He plays at least two games each of four- and eight-goal polo every week. Right now he's one of the professionals at Dr. Stephen Seager's Chetwood Park near The Plains, VA. He has built a solid reputation for being good with horses and kids of all ages, whatever their riding and playing skill levels.      
His students rave about his horses and their tack, about what a great rider he is. They appreciate how Maldonado matches them to their playing ponies: the right horse helps them to gain confidence and that enables them to follow the action better, because they know what to expect from their mounts. They praise his patience and how he takes the time to explain the intricate and complex rules until they get it.      
"It's not like work, work, work," says Maldonado. "I love coming to work everyday. It's fun to do."

Sidelines: Who is your favorite playing pony?
MM: Martina - everybody ask me that question [Was she named after you?], and I say, yes, because she's good, she's like Papa! (he laughs). She's Thoroughbred. I've had her for seven years. I bought her when she was three. I made her, I trained her and she's one of my best.

Sidelines: You train and sell ponies to players, and you have a very good reputation as a horseman. What do you look for and what's the most important thing for the ponies to learn?
MM: Conformation helps a lot for a horse to be a good playing pony. I like a Thoroughbred, not too tall, normal-sized. The most important thing is for them to learn to stop and turn. Martina - she is very good at that. Martina follows the ball. If the ball passes her, she turns to it. She follows the action.

Sidelines: Who has been your major influence for horsemanship?
MM: Memo Gracida - one of the top top players. He's a 10-goaler in the game and outside of the field. He's one of the best. I worked for him just one year only. He's a very, very good guy.

Sidelines: Who was your biggest influence in terms of playing the game?
MM: From the time I was young, I try to copy the really good players. John Gobin is one of the best - I've known him for 10 years, maybe more. He's a very nice guy. You always get something from watching better players.

Sidelines: Why are you able to encourage and teach anybody, whatever their skill level in the saddle or with a mallet? What's the most important thing for your riders to learn?
MM: I think we all have something natural we can do. I think that having the right job is important. [Teaching polo] takes time and a lot of practice. You have to repeat things over and over. It's a lot of fun to teach when they really want to learn the game and every lesson they try hard, spend a lot of time on it and pay attention.
It's important for my students to learn the rules and go slowly at first. If one thing goes wrong, it's like being on the highway - you go too fast, you can crash. There are so many rules and the number one rule is 'don't be ugly on the field.' From polo you learn about life, because you learn to control yourself and your horse.
Most of all, I want everyone to have fun.