Tim Dutta Sr. & Timmy Dutta Jr.: Shaking Up Polo with LineUp

Tim and Timmy Duda embody a refreshingly unconventional polo story that defies the sport's traditional narratives. Where most elite players inherit polo legacies, the Dudas created theirs from scratch – beginning with Tim Sr.'s journey from India to America and the founding of a global equine transport empire that now moves 6,000 horses annually across 16 countries.

Their conversation reveals the fascinating intersection of business acumen and sporting passion. Tim Sr. shares how identifying a gap in specialized horse shipping led to Duda Corporation handling Olympic Games and world championships, while Timmy recounts his transition from show jumping to polo after a life-changing stick-and-ball session with the legendary Gracida family. By 16, Timmy was competing alongside 10-goal titans; today at 23, he holds a 6-goal handicap in Argentina where he claimed four major championships in a single dream season.

What truly distinguishes their approach is their horsemanship philosophy. "They're our family, not sports equipment," Tim emphasizes about their horses, many of whom enjoy retirement on their property after years of competition. Timmy adds depth to this sentiment, describing the magical partnership between player and horse: "When they start trusting you, they allow you to guide them. At the same time, you're trusting them to help you."

Their father-son dynamic brings both tension and strength to their polo pursuits. Tim serves as both "biggest cheerleader and biggest critic," while they navigate the delicate balance of professional partnership and family bonds. Together, they're focused on ambitious goals – winning the US Open, competing in the Argentine Open, and continuing to build both sporting and business legacies.

Want to witness this unique polo journey firsthand? Visit Flying D Farms in Wellington during the season and follow the Duda team's quest through the prestigious Gauntlet of Polo tournaments. Their story proves that in polo, passion and perseverance can create extraordinary new pathways to success.

Transcript

Introduction to the Duda Family Legacy

Speaker 1 0:02

You are listening to the Outside the Boards podcast. I'm Daniel Leary. For most of my professional career, I have worked in mainstream sports for some of the world's leading sports organizations and properties and blue chip brands, helping to create award-winning omni-channel marketing campaigns, result-driven sales strategies and impactful brand building initiatives. But all that work doesn't compare to the fun, excitement and challenges I've been fortunate to experience working for the king of all sports, polo. For nearly a decade, I've put my heart and ambition into helping advance the sport of polo. I've made lifelong friendships, met some incredible people, traveled to memorable polo destinations and heard the craziest stories. My goal is to share these people, places and stories with you and provide a unique behind-the-scenes perspective of the game that breaks all the common stereotypes, all while discussing key issues affecting the sport today and the constructive sharing of ideas, insights, solutions and best-case studies for the purpose of advancing polo globally. Every week, I will have honest conversations with polo industry leaders, enthusiasts and awe-inspiring people who make this sport great and fun to be around. I hope, through their knowledge and their unique perspectives, they will motivate and inspire you. Together, we will explore ways you can make small tweaks to boost your polo business, whether you are a club, event, team or player. That will amount to big changes in revenue, participation, attendance and exposure Saddle up. Welcome to Outside the Boards with me, daniel O'Leary. Hi everyone, daniel O'Leary here, welcome to Season 5 of the Outside the Boards podcast.

Speaker 1 1:53

On this episode of Outside the Boards, I'm excited to bring you a special conversation with two dynamic figures whose impact on the world of polo spans generations Timmy Duda Jr and Tim Duda Sr. This father-son duo has not only made a name for themselves on the field, but they've also built one of the most recognizable equine transport businesses in the world, seamlessly blending family sport and international enterprise. Timmy Duda Jr, now in his early 20s, is one of the brightest young stars in high goal polo. Today Based in Wellington, florida, timmy has already competed in some of the sport's prestigious tournaments, representing teams like Duda Corp with poise well beyond his years. Known for his aggressive yet thoughtful style of play, timmy is a new generation athlete with a global mindset and a deep passion for horses, competition and team culture.

Speaker 1 2:39

At the foundation of Timmy's journey is his father, tim Duda Sr, a powerhouse in the world of international horse transport. As a founder and CEO of the Duda Corporation, tim Sr has been trusted for decades to fly the world's top equine athletes to competitions from Dubai to Argentina, from the Olympics to Wellington's Winter Circuit. But beyond the business, tim Sr has been a driving force behind his son's development, not only as a player, but as a horseman, entrepreneur and ambassador for the sport. Together, the Dudas exemplify a rare synergy of legacy and innovation. Their shared love for polo, paired with a global business sensibility and a deep respect for the horse, has made them influential voices in the international polo scene. Influential voices in the international polo scene Whether it's training ponies, chasing high goal titles or managing the logistics of elite equine travel. They approach it all as a family and with purpose. So, without further ado, let's welcome Timmy Duda Jr and Tim Duda Sr to the show. Enjoy.

Speaker 2 3:41

Hey, we're Rosanna and Alice, the co-founders of Line Up Polo. Before this episode starts, we wanted to introduce you to the platform we've built for the sport we love. Line Up is where modern polo comes together. For club managers, there's a powerful web platform where you can create and publish tournaments, fixtures and teams, and that info instantly appears in the Line Up app, where players, fans and organisers can see everything in one place, From live scoring and team entry to player stats and schedules. We've made it easy to run and follow Polo, Whether you're organizing games or just turning up to watch. Lineup makes Polo more connected, accessible and future-ready. Search for Lineup Polo on the app or Play Store to get started.

Speaker 1 4:19

Tim and Timmy Duda. Thank you so much for joining me on this episode of Outside the Boards.

Speaker 3 4:30

How are you guys doing?

Speaker 1 4:31

We are well, we are in Wellington getting ready for the season and we are looking forward to speaking to you. Well, it's great to have you both. You are my first family duo that I've had the opportunity to have this on my podcast. A lot of people have recommended multiple people, including you two, yourselves and joining me today to really talk about the family dynamic when it comes to polo, because it's very often that you see a lot of polo dynasty families. Their father, their grandfather, their mother, their grandmother had started playing or they were in another equestrian discipline. They were invited to polo. So there's a lot of these equine families that you see.

Speaker 1 5:04

But what I what I love, tim about your story is it's a bit, I want to say, abnormal, but your business with dudacorp and all that had really kind of gotten you into the sport. I could be wrong, but I really, really want to talk about and then timmy will get to you in time but I really want to start at the roots with this Tim and you coming to the US. I think I read somewhere right out of high school.

Speaker 3 5:31

I did. I fell in love with horses first when I was four years old or three and a half years old, when my father took me for a Christmas pony ride, and ever since then I've been hooked with horses and I was introduced to polo around eight or nine years old and I played polo in India before I arrived in the United States for a summer vacation 40 years ago, and still here. So I had about a 25-year break of not being involved in the sport other than watching the sport from the sides. And about 13 years ago a very, very dear friend of ours who's no longer with us, Carlos Casita, the great polo player, got us back into the sport on a Thanksgiving afternoon to go ride his horses and take Timmy to show his barn. So that fateful year made the switch from Timmy sport was show jumping to polo. So 10 years later we are still doing it. And then we have grown every year and fortunate enough to love and spend time on the sport.

Speaker 1 6:42

Now, where from India are you originally from? I mean, I feel like I want to give a shout out to my friends out there that are either in Delhi or Jaipur.

Speaker 3 6:49

Yeah, I was born in Calcutta, raised in New Delhi, spent some time in Jaipur, so I have seen all parts of India, but I was born and raised in Delhi.

Tim Duda Sr's Journey from India to America

Speaker 1 7:00

Now you mentioned Calcutta. Now, for those who are listening, I think today Calcutta is still the oldest polo club in the world to date that is still operating.

Speaker 3 7:11

Is that right? That is very correct. When Colonel Tarun Sero he was the commandant of the 61st Cavalry, I organized Carlos Graciela to go play the 150th year celebration of Calcutta Polo Club play the 150th year celebration of Calcutta Polo Club.

Speaker 1 7:27

That's great, that's wonderful.

Speaker 3 7:28

Now was that the club that you really kind of embraced the sport, or where was it specifically? No, I embraced the sport in Delhi. I was mentored by some great Indian polo players and I played a lot in Delhi, a little bit in Jaipur and I think I had two seasons in Calcutta, if I remember.

Speaker 1 7:45

Now, did you reach any particular handicap? Did that really exist back then? Was it organized like it was here in the US?

Speaker 3 7:52

It was organized, I did raise my handicap and at that time in India they were accelerating people's handicap to get to a level more than 8 and 12-goal polo. So at that time we played up to 14-goal polo in India and of course now they have played up to 20 and they're back to 16.

Speaker 1 8:12

Now did your parents play? Were they equestrian? Obviously they're equestrian enthusiasts, but was polo kind of their backbone?

Speaker 3 8:18

No, they were in the military and through them I had access to horses, and then, of course, I had access to horses, and then, of course, I had access in school. So I had access through the military at that time.

Speaker 1 8:29

It's amazing how, when you go back I want to say 50, 60, even longer military has almost a component, I feel like, in anyone's polo career, especially way back when their father, grandfather, great-grandfather, started getting into this game. Because obviously, when Calvary is around and they use polo as a means to teach those Calvary officers to better their horsemanship skills for even training horses, for that matter, old Brook, what I managed for a number of years, I know, entertained India's military's polo team to come over regularly for training. It's refreshing to hear that, tim, because in another country the same roots almost apply here in the United States when it comes to polo's heritage and its ties to the military. So that's great to hear, because we've had other podcasts that we'd actually talk about polo's direct ties with the United States, military and elsewhere throughout the world. So that's really really neat. So what brought you over to the US?

Speaker 3 9:31

Well, I had a break after high school then, as I was joining my father's footsteps in the Indian Army and I had just been to Australia in 1984. So I decided to come see the wonderful West before I would immerse myself and join the army, and that would take me close to five years to get to be an officer. So I came for 90 days and I'm still here enjoying my summer vacation.

Speaker 1 10:01

Now, when you came over here, did you immediately pick up polo and if so, where?

Speaker 3 10:07

No, I did not pick up polo. I was looking around to see what America is all about. I was involved in the equestrian world as a groom and from there I did not return back to my home country of India. So certainly I missed the opportunity joining the National Defense Academy to be an officer and I did all kinds of work, mainly grooming, rode a little bit and in the equestrian world of show jumping. From there I became a truck driver. I was driving horses around and September 13th 1988, I formed the Duda Corp. So the rest is history.

Speaker 1 10:47

Wow, now how did Duda Corp start? What did you find? And need I read an article somewhere which talked exactly about like you're a bartender, a truck driver, a janitor at one point and then like overnight, duda Corp, like it was a very unexpected journey and I'm really curious how that started.

Speaker 3 11:04

For sure. You know, sometimes in life you are destined to do something. During my time as a truck driver shipping horses and working for a competitor of mine, I saw the need where shipping of horses in the late 80s and early 90s till 2000 was mainly an operational by freight forwarders where they would ship tomatoes one day and pigeons the next day, and horses the third day and Siemens computer the fourth day, and there was no specialized companies that only did horses and horses of the highest level and who understood horses at every level. So I started the company and it has grown leaps and bounds and it's been a very satisfying journey to see the company grow and I look forward to the growth every day that I work.

Speaker 1 11:59

Now did you start mainly with? What types of horses were you mostly trying? You're talking about the highest caliber of horses. Were they race horses? Were they equestrian? Was it mainly in the US?

Speaker 3 12:11

I am a market maker for show jumping, dressage and eventing horses in the world, and that's what we continue to do. Along the way, of course, we ship race horses and we ship polo ponies, endurance horses, driving horses, horses and we ship polo ponies, endurance horses, driving horses and hobby horses. Whether it's someone's Pasafino or a child's first pony or someone's warm blood, it's the same for us.

Speaker 1 12:36

Where does your business revolve around? Are you going from one country to another more, where is this a market for?

Speaker 3 12:42

Our weekly business. Three times a week. We go back and forth to Europe, okay, and around two to three times a week, depending on the season. We fly coast to coast, okay, and in between you mentioned a lot in the Hunter Dressage Jumping.

Speaker 1 13:00

Did you have anything to do with transporting of horses for international championships or the Olympics?

Speaker 3 13:04

Yeah, that's our specialty. I've done seven Olympic games. I've done all the world equestrian games World Cup finals, global champions, tour, league of Nations, nations Cup finals, pan American games. The bigger the championships we are involved.

Speaker 1 13:20

Wow, and how do you transport a horse?

Speaker 3 13:24

Well, it depends on what the mission is. Mainly our aircrafts that we use to go to South America, to Argentina, brazil, mexico, peru, colombia, etc. Or to Europe weekly, are large, wide-bodied aircraft, 777s, 747s. We used to use MD-11s a lot and sometimes we're now using the seven, six, sevens. And inside the United States we partnered up with Federal Express and we use Federal Express three times a week. I mean this week we've flown four times. So we go back and forth to the coast, or to Kentucky, or to Chicago, or to Seattle, to Dallas, texas, you name it. We go there.

Speaker 1 14:08

That is fascinating. And then, how are horses typically shipped?

Speaker 3 14:11

They are in the upper deck of the airplane, which is for your audience. We have special jet stalls that get put in. The horses are placed inside the jet stalls and once they are inside the jet stall they get transferred through a K-lift to the fuselage of the airplane and then there are actual railroad tracks inside the airplane and they get moved around in positions to manage the weight and balance of the aircraft. Fascinating.

Speaker 1 14:39

And how do horses react to flying?

Speaker 3 14:42

They're like you and me Some people need a rosary, some people need a gin and tonic and some people, like me, go to sleep before you have pushback. Horses are individuals just like us, and it's my team's responsibility. Who are the flight crew or, in simple terms, the flight attendants? Their job is to manage the situation, make sure each horse is comfortable and, like Polo, find out what they want and give them before they ask.

Speaker 1 15:15

Now, are there beverage carts on the plane? Do you provide in-flight meal service?

Speaker 3 15:20

Absolutely. If the owners want a brand match, they get a brand match. Some people like their horses fed so they stay on their schedule and minimize their acid reflux. Some people don't like their horses fed. Some only want Timothy Hay, some like haylage. Some people want alfalfa cubes with water and apple juice, some like electrolytes, some like fluids. We are a very bespoke company, so what your horses need is what they're going to get, and then some.

Speaker 1 15:54

I hope you don't mind all these questions around it, because I find this to be incredibly fascinating and, for someone who's come from mainstream sports, I get a lot of questions very often. Is you know, do people fly their horses everywhere? How do they do it? Do they fly pony, ponies and their whole entire strings and things like that? People are just fascinated by this world, and so I apologize in advance for asking this question because I'm fascinated by it.

Speaker 3 16:24

We fly about 6,000 horses across the ocean and across the country, so every day we are moving somewhere in 16 destinations worldwide. So we've got multiple balls in the air and we're trying to jiggle as we go forward during the day.

Speaker 1 16:41

Do you transport a lot of polo ponies?

Speaker 3 16:44

We do some polo ponies. We are not the market makers of polo ponies, but we would like to grow in that business and as Argentina becomes more business friendly and a cleaner environment to do business, I'm sure we will be getting there more often, okay.

Speaker 1 17:02

That's cool, and your son works for you, is that right?

Building Duda Corp: International Horse Transport

Speaker 3 17:06

He does. He started working in the company when he was 16 years old. He's done Pan American Games with me in Lima, peru, as my right-hand EA. He did the World Equestrian Games in Tryon, north Carolina, where we did the world's largest airlift. We moved 1,083 horses from 81 countries worldwide. It was a bigger airlift than World War II. So he's gone to battle with me and he's learning the business very well. I'm very proud of him. He's actually managing South America for us. Step by step we're growing there and since he spends five months a year, very soon we will have an office there. I hope once the environment the typical problem with Argentina is the business environment is not conducive for us to meet the compliance to do American way of doing business. And once Argentina comes across, which is very soon they've got a great government, the president is pro-business and he's cleaning up the way money moves we will be certainly there to take advantage of the situation. I think we will do a very good job in that environment.

Speaker 1 18:10

Are there a lot of policies, procedures, ordinances, laws that you have to deal with when it comes to the transportation of. I would think that they horses fall under livestock.

Speaker 3 18:22

Yes, I mean horses, have you know, you have customs clearance, you have agriculture, you've got different governments involved in movement and of course, it's international trade. So we are constantly dealing with different governments. Disease mitigation we certainly have to worry about biosecurity and we work with multiple governments mainly customs, immigration, agriculture departments and, of course, board of Health to make sure we are not bringing in any foreign diseases back to the states and, of course, do trade. That makes sense for everyone.

Speaker 1 19:01

Incredible, incredible. Timmy, your dad carved out a very, very niche business, that's for sure I got to imagine there's very, very few people that do this.

Speaker 3 19:12

Oh, we have competition and we take them very seriously and we try to stay one step ahead of them. But it's a global business and we have very friendly and good competition and we respect them. But I have to say we are a cut above the rest and we try to do that every day.

Speaker 1 19:30

Now going back to your polo career. You know what brought you guys down to Wellington. When did you move down there?

Speaker 3 19:37

Well, timmy was born in Wellington. He's a Florida cracker, born in Lockheed Hatch, just outside of Wellington, at Palms West Regional Hospital, and he was raised in Florida and I obviously travel every day somewhere, and so he's Floridian as Floridian comes, that's for sure.

Speaker 4 19:57

My dad and my mom moved down here chasing the horses, as everybody in Wellington. And what year did you come to Florida for the first time?

Speaker 3 20:05

I came to Florida in 1985, february for the first time and Wellington was a swamp and where I was stable, working as a groom, across was the Polo Stadium and I could see the Gracita boys and the Hipwoods and Ernestos and Frotz and whoever else at that time and Ernesto's and Frott's and whoever else at that time.

Speaker 1 20:27

Garahans and Piers' playing A different era you know Wellington has also just grown so much since then too. Yeah, it's the mecca of everything. I always try to describe what Wellington is these days, and I always tell people I'm like you never know if you're going to bump into Jerry Springer's daughter Not Jerry Springer, jerry Springsteen. I apologize.

Speaker 3 20:48

Lou Springsteen's daughter is a great client of ours. I've been working with her since she was 11 years old and I'm very proud of her. She's done amazing and he's a very cool guy.

Speaker 1 20:59

So, timmy, is your dad the reason that you got into the sport of polo itself, despite the fact that the dudacore mostly does other horse discipline sports?

Speaker 4 21:11

100. I was born to, obviously, in question family. I would like to say I was born for horses, but it means bred into me. Since I was born, I've only known horses. My mom's an international dressage rider, so I grew up chasing her around horse shows. So I've been around the horse business my entire life.

Speaker 4 21:28

I originally started off as every other kid in a horse show family, going to the horse show. Then you get a pony, you start riding the pony with my mom and she started training me a little bit. She didn't love training me, so she always took me to the right people and then I started jumping. I started jumping around eight years old, so she always took me to the right people. And then I started jumping. I started jumping around eight years old, seven, eight, and I jumped to about 12 years old of age. And then one day my ponies were at a little break and my father took me for his birthday to go stick and ball, which was November 14th. That was actually November 14th 2013. Took me to stick and ball with him and I fell in love, and that was with Ruben Gracita. So that's Memo and Carlos' cousin. From that day onwards, I've never been on a jumper again.

Speaker 3 22:12

But before that, Carlos took you for a gallop.

Speaker 4 22:14

Yeah, but that was around the stadium. Yeah, it wasn't stick and ball, no, Correct. I stick and balled with Ruben and my dad and I fell in love and ever since then I have never been on a jumper and I have slept polo ever since. So was your mom disappointed? No, no, she knew that I wasn't really into dressage and jumping was because of my godfather, Guido Glata. They're very, very big in the jump industry and also there are partners in Europe and the horse shipping business incredible family. And he's my godfather and I've always loved jumping horses and dressage. I love horses in general, all disciplines, but jumping wasn't for me. It wasn't my real deep down in passion and something with Bolo clicked with me inside and I've been chasing that ever since.

Speaker 1 22:59

Now, did you play any other sports team sports during this time?

Speaker 4 23:03

I mean I grew up as a normal kid public school and all that growing up-wise Soccer, baseball, football, golf, tennis, everything, paintball Big thing for me was fishing, fishing and, you know, being outdoors. I mean, growing up in Florida all we do is fish. So I've been fishing since I was three years old two years old, by the time I I could walk I had a fishing rod in my hand. So a lot of things hit growing up sports wise, even tournament fishing I've been doing that. You know we're in south florida so our ecosystem is incredible and having access to that's fabulous. And you know we're an outdoor kind of family. We get outside, so it's always been there, but but mainly horses. I mean, that's just what I know and that's what I do.

Speaker 1 23:46

I think you probably put a big smile on every Midwestern's face when they learn that a professional polo player is a big fisherman Fishing.

Speaker 3 23:56

That's an odd one. No, we've got a beautiful lake at Flying D Farms and around our racetrack, where the horses gallop and you can sip a glass of wine or have a beer or a whiskey or whatever your passion is and fish.

Speaker 4 24:11

I mean, listen, we're right next to Lake Okeechobee, so if anybody who knows fishing or anything about waterways know, the Lake Okeechobee, for bass fishing, is the creme de la creme.

Speaker 1 24:19

Oh, we're going to have a lot of common. We could probably have an episode just in itself. Talking about fishing, I was just talking to a friend of mine organizing a muskie trip up into the northern wisconsin, or I was also invited to alaska oh, one of my dream places to go that's very cool, very cool. But since we're on the topic, do you have a great fishing story?

Speaker 4 24:40

I feel like everyone does well, I mean, I used to do in sail fishing that I love. I love tournament fish. I think I there's something about competition that sparks something inside me, um, and then can bring something into it like, uh, sail fishing I'm a big sail fishing guy when I can get the chance to. I love the bass fish as well, but I mean fishing stories. The hard part is talking about them is what's real and what's not, and what's the middle of it. I don't know. I don't have any good ones to super good ones to talk about, but I just have to say that I love to sailfish. That's my biggest thing. I love to sailfish.

Speaker 1 25:16

That's awesome well, you're both.

Speaker 4 25:17

I love to be on the water and you love to be in the barn oh yeah, my dad loves to be on the water, but it has to be someone of a larger size vessel because he can't swim exactly. I got the life jackets. I'll just hug on to him, you'll be okay, I love it.

Speaker 1 25:32

We're a lake rat family. You'll see us multiple times over the course of the summer. My kids will jump into freezing cold water. We'll play in it for an hour until their lips turn purple. Oh god, yeah. But getting back to the theo world, I ask this question to all my guests, and maybe you guys have a different answer is what is so alluring about the game of polo? What was that thing that attracted you so much that you knew that this is what you wanted to do?

Speaker 4 26:03

I'll let my father go first.

Timmy's Path from Show Jumping to Polo

Speaker 3 26:05

Well, honestly, I'm living some of my 25 years missing the game through Timmy. But it's an incredible sport because it's two hearts that are beating at the same time. You've got two athletes, you have a thousand pound animal underneath you, you are hitting the ball the size of a tennis ball plus at roughly 30 miles an hour, or 35 miles an hour. You are playing with seven other people on the field, four against you, and it's the ultimate adrenal junkie sport. I mean it is true horsemanship, it's true riding, it's a lot of strength. People don't understand that. That how much physical ability you need to be a top player or a player who just enjoys the sport. And it's the love of horses and Timmy and I are very, very blessed that we have so much fun spending time with our horses that we love very much. They're our family. They're not sports equipment to us and whether the string in Argentina or the string at our farm, they're family. They're like our home dogs or family members. So we care about them and they're extremely well taken care of. We've got a vet on team that stays at the farm all day long and is managing the care of them and we have a therapist on top, et cetera. But it's an adrenal sport and it's an incredible sport once you get in it.

Speaker 3 27:36

And I think when people saw polo as shown in Netflix, they really saw what it takes to get a high goal team to the field of play and what those horses are. They're incredible athletes. I mean, you respect a racehorse that runs two and a half minutes or two minutes. You see a horse at the highest level. The rider is breathing and they're doing things, which is incredible. You see short jumping, where you say this is not possible. How does that horse understand how wide that oxer is or how tall that jump is or how wide the water jump is? You see the eventers, which is the triathlon of the sport of show jumping, eventing and dressage, and it's wow. And polo is certainly all of it because, on an average, a horse runs somewhere between seven and 10 kilometers during seven and a half minutes. They are stopping, turning, they are bumping, they're grinding and they must love the sport, otherwise they would not do it. Yeah, and the good ones follow the ball.

Speaker 1 28:43

Yeah, follow it like a dog.

Speaker 3 28:46

You know, they know what's going on, they know what a backshot is, they know and people say horses are colorblind. How the hell do they know that the blue guy hit the backshot? And I'm supposed to turn, but they, because they are so tuned to you, they are listening to your every command, they are listening to your heartbeat and they are just an incredible animal. So we are very blessed that we're in this sport. We thank God every day that we have this opportunity to enjoy them and play the sport at the highest level here and in Argentina, and we have a lot of fun and that's what it's all about. That's great.

Speaker 1 29:23

Tim, what made you fall in?

Speaker 4 29:24

love. I think for me there's a a couple aspects to it and some will probably be repeats my father says, but for me the biggest thing is number one's the horses. I'm in love with my horses and all horses to me in general. But to have a special connection with a mare, with a galleon, with a stallion that you play it's hard to put into words the feeling that you have with that horse, the connection that you have playing with them, because they give you everything. They trust you. I think the biggest thing is when they start trusting you, they allow you to guide them. At the same time, you're trusting them to help you. So it's really a camaraderie between you and an animal. They speak so much, they have their own language and I think for me, every day, I'm just trying to listen and speak that same language to them, be able to listen to them what they need, how I can make them better, how I can be a better rider for them, how I can be a better pilot, because it's a combination between me and the horse to become a better athlete as one, I have to be as fit as I can and a better rider every day to be able to make this horse shine as it deserves and I have to be in the barn trying to figure out if this is the right feed, if this is the right supplements, if this is the right therapy, what's the right way to go about this to make them a better athlete. You know, everybody's a superstar in their own right. You just have to find the right keys for them and what their levels are. I'm blessed to have an incredible strength. My father has done an incredible job, bounty me, and we've made some beautiful horses and bought some beautiful horses, but every day I have to be there to try to make them better and I think that's for me.

Speaker 4 30:53

The journey is what I love. You know, I obviously listen. I want to win every game and every, even if I play every practice or even young horse practices. I want to win. I don't like to lose, but the journey of it all is what I love about the sport the family, the camaraderie, the aspect of it, the horses all of that together. The journey of going through a championship season, like you know, the Gauntlet of Polo, 22 goals or playing the 24 goals in Argentina or Camara or any of that level. It's the journey to get there is what I'm in love with, because it's really a fairytale story, right? You do all this hard work, all the hours in the barn, all the struggles throughout the season, just to to lift a trophy and 24 hours later you're back to the same grind. So you have to love and enjoy the grind every day. For me, that's what I enjoy the most.

Speaker 1 31:41

Yeah, I really appreciate you shedding light the way you both have have talked about the horse and what's involved in the game. You know, for people who are listening, who view polo as this very elitist sport and think of this as a bunch of rich people going out there and playing croquet on horseback, it's not. It's far from it.

Speaker 3 32:00

It's far from it. Oh, it's his high gold string. We have 24 horses on a string to get ready for the gauntlet and out of the 24, 16 will get shortlisted and then 14 before we start the CV Whitney and then the rest are reserve horses. As they get better, they're younger horses that will be ready for next season. It's a journey, you know. We are there at the barn every day. Timmy spends on an average 10 hours a day Monday through Sunday. Doesn't go out on Saturday nights or Sunday nights because you can't get up in the morning with a hangover. Yeah, care to the horses. And it's not the destination. Of course, everyone who's playing the gauntlet wants to win the US Open. If we do our homework on time and do it right and the team clicks and everything goes our way, that's the result.

Speaker 1 32:50

Yeah, winning is, of course, for us very, very important but I love how you you mentioned that there's a grit and a grind. Yeah to this game. It's 4 am wake up calls. It's mean that the attention of these horses all time. I tell people all the time like if someone was a polo groom or worked in equestrian sports, I feel like I would hire that person a second because they show an element of grit, grind, responsibility, bravery, a level of character that is instilled in people when they work around horses. That's why I had my daughter riding as early as she did in six years old.

Speaker 3 33:24

And it's the greatest gift you can give her, because horses bring out the best in humans. It gives you a character that you have to care for someone. It has to give you responsibility. It has to give you that there is something else in your life than partying and being on TikTok and whatever else. You know kids do, and I'm very proud of Timmy that he is extremely dedicated to the sport. It shows being a non-polo family and a non-Argentine. He carries a six goal handicap in Argentina and he's on his way to seven, and this didn't happen by mistake. Of course he's very talented, but how to manage his horses? It's all about horsemanship. You know. It's what goes on in the barn every day that brings you to the field. And the field if everything goes well and you have a little bit of good luck and all the work you did goes your way, you win.

Speaker 4 34:18

At the end of the day, when you strip everything back, all we are just horsemen. That's the end of the day, that's the basics out of it. We have to be able to speak the horse's language and be able to communicate with them and do the right things that they need at the right time, if it's the right therapy, or if it's the right schooling, or what they need to work that day, if they don't need to work that day, if you can understand what they say and read them, that's where the difference comes now to me.

Speaker 1 34:45

I want to go back to your polo career and you getting involved in it. It sounds as though you both mentioned you had access only some immediate access to their Grisita family and for anyone who's listening that you've heard of me talk about the Grisitas before. They're an iconic polo family, huge dynasty, and that's an unbelievable opportunity for both of you especially you, timmy, as a young, up-and-coming polo player to have access to some of the greatest and most iconic people that play the game. Who has helped shaped your game over time or in those early stages as you got into the sport.

The Love for Horses and Polo's Unique Appeal

Speaker 4 35:21

So I have a few mentors throughout the sports in my career history. I would say I started out originally with my father and Pato Garcia, ruben Garcia this is the very, very beginning. And that was probably a year, two years with Pato and then I graduated to Memo. Sadly, I didn't get to play with Carlos. He sadly passed away. I was just coming into my first like real game practices that I could start playing, getting a little bit better every day, and he sadly passed away. I was just coming into my first real game practices that I could start playing, getting a little bit better every day, and he sadly passed away. So I never got to play with him. I got to stick them all with him once or twice, but that's about it. So, memo Garcia, I played with him. I played my first 12 goal with him at Port Mariaco Polo Club, full circle. Now we have a farm there, which is amazing, and then I really Memo farm there, which is amazing, and then I I really memo and me. He took me under his wing and mentored me for a bit and then I went with alejandro diaz alberti, we met with each other and grand champions polo club and I went to argentina for a few weeks to do some training and try some horses and kind of start my education with him and haven't looked back since biggie's like my second dad. You've been with them 10 years, yeah, and it's honestly I don't know where, where my career would be without Piki. He's given me not just polo knowledge, but also as a human being and as a mentor, as a horseman. Piki's incredible, but there's no words to describe him. He's just he's amazing.

Speaker 4 36:51

What would you say to me was your big break and entrance into becoming a professional player? I would say 2018, pilots' first year in the high goal in the United States. I played with Facundo Pires and Gonzalo Tapiris. We played four 20-goal tournaments here in Wellington and it was my first time really playing at IPC in a big team here in Wellington and it was my first time really playing at IPC in a big team. That same year, I went and played for SD Farms in the US Open. I also captained Team USA Juniors against England. I won the Westchester Junior Cup. So that was my biggest year, my real break. I went from one to two goals and from there I continued on here in the States. I'm currently rated four goals and an Argentine. I'm six. How old were you in?

Speaker 1 37:31

2018?

Speaker 4 37:32

17 years old man playing alongside Facundo Sorry, I was 16 during that season Facundo and 10 goalers Facundo and Vanzelito. I was 16 years old and I that was my, because I my birthday's in September. So I was 16 years old and it was something that's very special to me and I still hold to this day and I'm still friends with them.

Speaker 1 37:51

So that's amazing so are we allowed to call you a phenom at that age?

Speaker 4 37:55

at that time, I was definitely the hottest young player on the block and they saw that and and I got to to experience to play with two ten goalers, which is incredible, and and Curtis is a really nice guy and, honestly, curtis is one of the nicest people you can ever meet.

Speaker 1 38:13

When did you earn your first one goal handicap 18,.

Speaker 3 38:16

we played with pilot 19,. We won the Triple Crown ourselves. We won everything 17,.

Speaker 4 38:21

I played as a sub for Annabelle as a hero. So yeah, 2018,. I went to one goal, okay. So yeah, 2018,.

Speaker 1 38:27

I went to one goal, okay, so we're talking within six, seven years, maybe that you went from one to almost now seven in Argentina. And what are you in the US? Four, okay, yeah, that's pretty spectacular man. It just goes back to the grit and grind that you talked about in terms of perfecting your game 100%. What does it take to develop your skills in this game?

Speaker 4 38:51

I would say you need a couple different things for Catalyst to grow in this sport. Number one, I would say, is love for the sport and the horses. If you don't love it, don't do it. Sadly, because it's too much work not to do it if you don't love what you do, sadly, because it's too much work not to do it if you don't love what you do. So I believe you need to have love love for the horses especially.

Speaker 4 39:11

They are the superstars here and then love for the actual sport, like for me, for example, I don't care what level polo is if it's from Green Horse Chuckers, if it's playing, keep away. If it's the US Open, if it's camera level, open level polo, I love to play it. And I could play polo every single day and never get sick of it. So you have to love what you do, because that will drive you, that will keep you hungry and keep you wanting more and more and more.

Speaker 4 39:37

The second thing is a coach, someone that you trust and that you believe in, will guide you in the right way and give you good feedback from the ground that will allow you to improve. And the third, which is also probably one of the most important, other than the love is the horses. To have good horses that allow you to grow not necessarily the best of the best of the best horses, because sometimes you need to be able to grow into a horse, but you also need the horse to to guide you as well. You know, when you're out you need good school masters that help you and take you to the right places and keep you safe. Safety is utmost priority, so you need safe, good horses to start out with and as you continue to grow as a player, then you continue to grow with better horses, because when your skills get better, then you're allowed to really use the horse to its most advantage.

Speaker 1 40:24

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Timmy's Rising Career and Championship Wins

Speaker 1 42:04

And now back to the interview. Stay tuned, stay refreshed. And tears the pain, the injury that comes with it, you name it right. I mean those are somewhat to say negatives, but if you're willing to endure, you have a love for it. I oftentimes I tell people I said you know people who play polo at the highest level. They have a bit of a screw loose. And I said you know you know Ironman people like. Think about it. How many people would swim that long, do a marathon and bike over 100 miles?

Speaker 4 42:51

there's something wrong with you, I'm sure they love every second of it, though it's the same for us. I mean for me. I love every single second. I can be in that stable with those horses. Honestly, I don't even have to ride them, I can just sit in front of their stall and look at them. I have one named chevy. I may give him diabetes from giving him so many cookies, swear to god. I just love being around him and he's like he's one of my best friends and he's a horse. I, my horses are my best friends. I love them. Obviously. I have a good name, by the way chevy. Oh, my god, he's the best. You're gonna see him this season. He's amazing. He played last year his story. Yeah, check out his story on my social.

Speaker 4 43:26

Oh he's on Netflix. Yeah, he's my baby. I posted a story on my socials about his story, which he came from Argentina. I'll sum it up real quick had a dual lung ammonia and fought for his life for over two years and came back last year to play the whole season with me and then this year he's absolutely incredible, he's fit, he's 100% back. So he's absolutely incredible, he's fit, he's 100% back. So it's so happy for me to have him with me.

Speaker 1 43:49

Was Chevy the horse that you were petting and scratching as the credits started to roll. That's the one that's Chevy. That's the one that's Chevy. Okay, no one knew that. All right, so they didn't say the horse's names of it Exactly.

Speaker 4 44:00

I wish they would have shown that more Noah's had cookies in my back pocket to get him to come close.

Speaker 1 44:06

He loves cookies. Now, timmy, you also had a very successful career, not just in the States, but in Argentina recently. Can you talk about that? Yeah, so in Argentina.

Speaker 4 44:16

I won this would be two years ago now 23. Not a lot of season. 23 season I won Metro Alto, Metro Mediano, Provincial and Soho. I went to the finals of a 17, 23 and then 22 went to the finals of the statement law. So it was really good year for me because every time we played we either went to the finals, we went to all the finals, pretty much. Well, you paid five cups.

Speaker 3 44:36

You won four cups. Yeah, you were mbp of the metro alto on field one of palermo and they wouldn't give you the best playing pony because the horse was not registered in the start of Argentina no technicality, yeah it's.

Speaker 4 44:52

It's one of those things that it was a dream season in Argentina doesn't happen often 136 out of 38 games it was one of those years that everything clicked.

Speaker 4 45:02

The horses clicked, the I mean my incredible staff and the stable, my manager, the countless hours those guys put in. Everything just worked out perfectly and we're continuing with the same team and the, even from the driver, the truck driver is taking us to the field, the, the ferry. It was just all worked out just right for everything to happen perfectly and that was all one of the seasons. To play that level and to win at that level was a, you know, a career highlight. For me, the provincial is probably the greatest tournament that I ever won. It's the third most important trophy to win in Argentina, other than the Argentine Open, triple Crown, argentine Open, tortugas and Herliham and Gamera. It's the one in the 24-goal level, it's the best one to win. So for me it was really a dream to put my name on that trophy and to be able to win that. Soho is another incredible trophy, 20-goal level. You know it's just so difficult to win down there. If anybody's been down there and seen the not club polo but the association polo, so the association cups there's, you know 30, 40 teams per cup and just to get into the final, you know quarters, semis, finals. It's so hard and for us to have to take home four of them and get to the finals it's not easy. It's something that I will cherish with me every day and it keeps me pushing, but it's a dream season.

Speaker 4 46:18

I finished the season. I was like to be honest with you. I had no time to absorb all of this. This was insane. This was awesome, but we just kept on going. You know, saying this is awesome, but we just kept on going, you know, and it just shows that hard work. We worked now almost 10 years 10 years in Argentina to get there. That was our idea. We drew it out in a plan 10 years ago. Obviously, I was a little dough boy of a kid, but we said, okay, we're going to get there and we did it, and that's a testament to planning, execution and delivering the goods Same thing my father tells me every day when I go to the work in the office. And we put that to to the test and we did it. And you know we're. The goal now is to play Gamera and to excel in that level of polo, that open level polo, and I think that's where we're going next.

Speaker 1 46:58

From your experience, Timmy playing in Argentina playing the US, I like asking this what are the key differences in the game? Some people say it's the pace of play the horses playing in Argentina versus the US. From your perspective, what are the key differences in the game?

Speaker 4 47:16

My ideology of this USA is this USA. The amount of money being poured into the teams here is some of the most I would say. The organizations coming here are kind of like the same thing in England as you get into the 22 goals in England, the amount of capital that's being put into the teams. They're bringing top horses, they're buying top horses, the best players are coming with the top organizations. So the competition to be able to beat those competitions so we're talking 22 goal level in USA Gold Cup, us Open, cbw you have to perform and everything has to click for you that day, because the big teams have the numbers of horses, have the qualities of horses and have the quality of players to win against you every day of the week. Now you have to be on your best and they have to have not the best day and the stars have to align and we have to play incredible to have that opportunity to beat them and you have to. When the opportunity presents itself to score the goals, you have to score the goals and you have to beat them. Any way you can beat them and that's the trick.

Speaker 4 48:15

Now in Argentina, you see four guys coming together to play. Maybe they don't have the best organizations. Maybe they don't have the best individual organizations, but they are on the same wavelength and they want to make teams together and they go play organizations, but they are on the same wavelength and they want to make teams together and they go play. So then you see, the pace is picked up because they don't have the horsepower to do maybe like small, more dynamic plays, but they can play that team polo and it all can fly and they all go together and I think that's the dynamic. Obviously, when you look at Argentine Open, they have everything Camara, you have some big teams that are super well that are playing argentine open level polo. But then you see some lower level teams in camera that are just four guys that came together and said, hey, we want to play, let's go out.

Comparing Argentine and American Polo

Speaker 3 48:55

I mean this year we beat, uh, la dolfina, and we got beat by el astina and we didn't go forward because you lose one game, you're out also it comes down to in argent.

Speaker 4 49:05

The cost to have horses is cheaper, so it allows players to be involved in the sport and more families to be involved in the sport, which more players equals the odds of good players coming out. You know there's more, so odds are there's going to be more good ones and it's ingrained in the lifestyle, right? They even think bolo.

Speaker 1 49:26

It's all they do, and you raise a good point, because I often get this question a lot is why are there so many Argentines? Why is it so popular down there? And you're right, you know the financial access to the game is drastically different. I'm sorry. The horse is very much part of the culture down there. It's not so much here in the US, limited to leisure and entertainment. Yeah, and those placards play an enormous role based on the number of American players that are playing People here go to play baseball as a five-year-old.

Speaker 3 49:54

They have a mallet and the little pony and mama, daddy, grandpa, grandma, uncles, here they go stick and ball.

Speaker 4 50:02

Yeah, it's ingrained and it's a fundamental sport, like we used to have polo like that in 1920s. Right, there's more polo fields in America than football fields and baseball fields. But then you look at Argentina and it's still that way. Right, there's so many polo fields and the culture around it is there. Right, it's like one of the national pastimes. You have rugby, soccer and polo. That's your three national pastimes in Argentina. So it's the same way that we breed in America football players and baseball players, they breed polo players.

Speaker 3 50:32

And opportunity. You know, because your uncle or your father or your cousin or your generational polo, you have opportunities. Us Americans are not having the opportunities in teams and when you don't have opportunities you cannot excel and we lose a lot of our younger players, people like Timmy's age that are coming up and that are actually has some ability to go forward, simply because they don't have the opportunity to play a high goal. You know, for us a 16 goal and above is difficult, and whereas in Argentina a 16 goal and above is difficult and whereas in Argentina medium goal is 20 goals. You know. So when you say you're playing 20 goals, it's a medium goal tournament.

Speaker 4 51:14

And I think, honestly, we talk about this a lot actually, me and my dad and with other folks too, and it's a big conversation. What can we do to improve American polo, like what's the ideology behind it, like what's the ideas to do? And it's just a lot of different small dynamics we can do, but it comes down a lot to it.

Speaker 3 51:36

It's expensive to have horses in America. It's just how it is. You know, hay is expensive, the basic stuff, the veterinary medicine, for example, an average blacksmith or our blacksmith, I'm paying an average $130 for a pair of shoes. In Argentina, for the same job, I pay $30. There's a big difference. You know, our labor cost is one quarter. The horses cost the same. In fact, a good horse in Argentina probably costs $20,000, $30,000 more because the same horse the English guy wants for the season and when you're getting this kind of money.

Speaker 3 52:07

But like Timmy said to you, the best polo, the quality of the sport bar none in National Polo Center in Wellington, florida, is the best of the best. You've got the best 10 goal players competing for real, for a real paycheck. And this year we had the Castellanos the Cambiasos. I had the Castellanos the Cambiasos, hilario Facundo, fran Alizalde All these guys are here.

Speaker 3 52:30

I think our team is the only four-man team playing without a 10-ball player. Our two boys are seven and two fours, so we're on a team going forward and four ninjas. So if they have a good draw and the horses are in good shape, we're going to go after them. So at the end of the day when you get that kind of money, without salary caps, you expect your 10 goaler to perform. And one big difference between Argentina 24, 28, 30 goal polo. We don't have a patron on the field and if the patron is on the field, he's six, seven, five goal player, so you don't need to watch over him and you don't need to watch over him and you don't have to stop all the time to make sure you're placing the ball somewhere. Yeah, it's flowing, you know, and here you can stop. You can we call it pause? Because you have the horsepower to blow by the next guy and make all these complicated plays against the board, whereas in Argentina you stop, you're going to lose the ball, you're going to get crashed.

Speaker 4 53:27

Then it's all one-on-one. It's all one-on-one sport. You always get paired up, so it's like the one to the four, the two to the three, the three to the two. Everybody gets paired up and obviously everything switches and the rotation of the play, but you're constantly Nobody's along. Yeah, of Argentina is one versus one. Right, you win your play, I win my play, the next guy wins his play and we see where we go. Kind of ideology. Everybody wins their play and that equals a goal and one mistake is a goal. Yeah, normally In that level, the players.

Speaker 1 53:58

I loved how you talked a little bit about the team and how kind of the Duda team was kind of structured. The last time I saw kind of a non-patron team was with Daily Racing Department and Jared Zenni.

Speaker 4 54:09

Yeah, exactly the same, and we're going to try to do it. I mean, and Jared is on.

Speaker 3 54:13

We are on a similar pathway to Jared. Jared plays Argentina for real and you know is very competitive and I think we have very few Americans there that we are fighting to get in that qualification and then the open slot. And there that we are fighting to get in that qualification and then the open slot and I believe in the next three years you'll see one or two of us in the open Now.

Speaker 1 54:33

Tim, when did you decide to field a Dudacorp team?

Speaker 3 54:37

I think when I saw Timmy having talent and well in 2019, we won the 320 goal, the triple, and we won seven Sundays in a row and won 16 games. And in 21, we came with our US Open team, our first Open team. We were through the semifinals of the Gold Cup when COVID stopped us. We were unbeatable. We beat the Mojitos by 14 goal difference that day and 22,. We paired up with Stuart Armstrong. We went to the semifinals of the Gold Cup. We lost to Scone with Camiaso, with Poroto and 23,. We went with Avandanya. We had a good run 24,. On paper we didn't win much, but we didn't lose much. The most we lost was two goals to Cambiaso and we lost three big major games that would send us to semifinals on overtime. So we were there but we were not there. It's all about winning, but we learned a lot. We reformatted the team. I think Timmy's going to play one this year. We have Nicolas Diaz-Alberti Timmy's played 10 years with him. They grew up together in the same household of Piki Alberti, a former 10-goal player who's Timmy's mentor and our polo manager. And we have Iñaki Laprida, a great, great player from Argentina in the middle. We put Thomas back in the fourth slot where he's very comfortable and he's a great. He's Thomas has been with us for five years in Argentina and great dude, dear, dear, dear friends. So we're playing with friends and family and and we're going to fight, and Timmy is extremely well-mounted. He's as mounted as any 10 goal player that's in Wellington and then some. So we'll see if it goes our way, or we're certainly going to try.

Speaker 3 56:19

How many horses do you guys own? Timmy String is 24 horses here. We have a couple of young ones, which brings to 28. And I think we have a bunch of retirees on the field, because I'm a hinder. They don't go away. I owe it to them to give them their last breath and they're turned out and I look at them every day and their 20 acre field having fun. And these are the horses we have collected over the last 10 years. We have three clones and three coming in Argentina and we've got 15. So I think we've got 50 horses.

Speaker 1 56:53

I commend you, tim, for hanging on to your retired horses and having them live out their days in the open past years. I think that's one thing that I always tell people who might have a negative perspective of the game when it comes to horses, and I always tell them like I have not met a bad owner that doesn't take care of their horses long after they've retired their horses long after they retired.

Speaker 3 57:19

They gave us all the years Timmy's first polo pony, and I inherited him and we had some amazing five years with her. I just turned her out from her stall, so she's in the field and now it's who we are. We take care of them.

Speaker 1 57:31

No, that's great. So what do you guys have planned going into this year's Florida season?

Speaker 4 57:37

I think this year's Florida season it's not many times we get opportunities to play with guys that are all like-minded individuals.

Speaker 3 57:44

We're a 26-goal team. You know, in Argentina we're 26 goals and we're here 22 goals. So I think USPA has given us an opportunity that we cannot let go. So we're going to grab that horn and try to ride it the best we can that's awesome and we're going to go to the first game like it's the finals. Every game, every chucker is there to win. So we're not angling to win a cup, we are angling to win the first game. First chucker yeah, one game at a time, one chucker at a time. One throw in ball to ball and then worry about the next seven minutes that's my instruction to the boys and to get the horses ready for our first game. We're coming.

Speaker 1 58:24

Now, Timmy, how do you feel working alongside your father and him coaching and being the team patrone?

Speaker 4 58:30

It's a dynamic. It's hard to explain. There's a dynamics to it. For sure he wouldn't do this if he didn't believe in me. So, mixed to it, for sure he wouldn't do this if he didn't believe in me. So I take that with me every day and I take that in my heart.

Speaker 4 58:41

It's difficult sometimes because we agree and we disagree on a lot of things and we agree on a lot of things. So you know, you have to find that happy medium and the balance of it both. If you can find the balance like in the office, I walk in and I'm his employee and when I walk out I'm his son on the field he talks to me like I'm any other player and whatever he wants to say he can say I may agree with it, I may disagree with it, but with the information that he gives me I have to make a decision on what I'm going to do. Sometimes we agree on the delivery of it in the moment is the wrong way, but when you have a moment to kind of cool down from a situation and think about it, nine out of 10 times we agree on the same thing.

Speaker 4 59:19

You know there's many different ways to roam, but we all both want to go to Rome. You know we both want to get to the same direction. Yeah, I see a lot of different things from different people that I like to try, you know. Try to grow, try to see different people, see different sports, you know, from eventers, jumpers, dressage, to try to improve us.

Speaker 1 59:36

You know, after when the Netflix series came out, I had a few people come to me and say is the Tim and Timmy duo, is that a father-son dynamic? Is that real or is it just kind of for show? And I said no, it's real. I said there are a lot of dynamics like that in the sport of polo and I said I don't think it would be any different than Serena or Venus Williams and their dad. Same thing. Or Tiger Woods and their dad. Think of it. You know some of these iconic players who had helicopter moms and dads that were all over them. How is this any different?

Speaker 3 1:00:11

And the most important is he's my best friend and I'm his best friend, yeah, and what I say to him, I'm his biggest cheerleader and I'm his biggest critic and I have recently I would say the last two years I don't have to be that involved because he is an ultimate horseman and I have the highest respect for him and he is growing. He is doing the right thing. Now, if I see something out of the field where he's not seeing it, do I go when I give him water to say my two cents, yes. And I know when we are two or three goals down and we need to win the six chucker and tie the game or to win the game on overtime and he's won it many, many, many times. I know where to get his gander. I tell him stuff that makes him crazy and he uses the explicit word to tell me to F myself. And guess what? We deliver the product. I know where to get him and I know where to calm him and I don't have to do that too much because he's winning himself.

Speaker 3 1:01:13

He's a winner. He just needs opportunity. He has four shots on the polo field that he can hit as hard as anybody. He can reach anyone at 140 yards to your sterile. He has a neck shot across the field. He has a back shot that goes across the field. His riding is as good as anyone and the horses love him. They fly for him, you know, and the rest he is as a back in Argentina, 10 goal players don't go by you. They simply cannot penetrate him and he can reach the ball from defense to attack at anywhere he can place the ball. So now it's opportunities and politics, you know, and I'm not interested in politics. All I'm interested is in producing results, and for us it's winning, and that's where it ends All.

Speaker 1 1:01:58

I'm interested is in producing results and for us it's winning and that's where it ends. So, during when I had my Netflix interview, there was a part that, in my three hour interview that I had, I talked about how guys like Timmy Duda, proto Cambiaso and young talent coming up through the game and how they're almost changing the pace, the skill level, no different than when Michael Jordan came into the game, when he did, or LeBron James, you know. Do you, timmy, feel, and Tim, do you guys feel this level of pace, skill and the game is transforming because of guys like your son, timmy, and guys like Proto Cambiaso.

Speaker 3 1:02:36

I will answer first and then Timmy. For sure, he is in that group, but he doesn't have the skill set of a Proto or a Heta with the ball. What he has is pure power. He has so much power to reach the goal. That's the difference. He is outriding them, he will outplay them, but they have so much skill set. And that skill set of the ball is we play polo. Three months in Florida and four months in Argentina. They play polo 12 months and that's the difference why we are a few years behind them.

Future Goals and Building the Duda Team

Speaker 3 1:03:11

If Timmy could play 12 months a year of that level of polo 22 plus goals, 30 goals polo like he does in Argentina twice a day, the acceleration would be much there. And the ball. It's weird. I think you're going to see better players when they're 11 or 12 or 13 year olds today because they get on these e-bikes single wheel, little things with a hand mallet. They're flying around at 30 kilometers an hour with a hand mallet. They're flying around at 30 kilometers an hour, never losing the ball. Then kids get on horses and they have the same feeling, whereas Timmy missed that generation of polo.

Speaker 3 1:03:48

But polo is different today. The sport has changed and, yes, you're right, he certainly is one of the American kids. America has a few and he certainly is one of them right at the top of the heap. That is there. But for us Americans to beat the Argentines or get close to Argentines, we have to simply go there, eat dirt, fight the fight, play the highest level of sport we possibly can.

Speaker 3 1:04:15

The only way to get into Argentina is respect, and you got to beat them. When you beat them, they invite you. If you don't beat them, you're just another schmuck tap dancing around playing 14-goal polo. And we have lived it and we've gone in. Now we are broken into this category that we're going to the next step. We are in the qualification stage of the game, so we are one step away closer to the gate. But it is not easy. You know you need to. It took me 18 months to put a string of horses in Argentina for him. We bought five-year-olds, four-year-olds, two-year-olds, 10-year-olds, 11-year-olds, but he has horses that he can compete at the highest level and in Palermo, if he wants more horsepower, he simply says come on, boy, let's go, and he'll blow your doors open. And that takes time. We drove thousands and thousands of kilometers looking for these horses and we're glad we have them.

Speaker 1 1:05:09

I love how you talk about the game and putting its teams together and just sharing, just like the next level of commitment meeting the dirt in Argentine and exposure to polo at a level that already Timmy is getting so much of it. But it's just like there's another level that he's not getting.

Speaker 3 1:05:28

That's true and you know you have. It's a superstar. I mean, their fathers were amazing. But these people are in a different level to play them. When we beat Bartok Castellanola last year in the semifinals of the Metro Alto and Timmy scored four goals on him in one chakar, fourth chakar, he learned more from playing from that guy when he played Poroto Heta, all these guys, luke and Monteverde, the Chavan kids these are superstar kids coming up. When you play them you learn much more from them.

Speaker 3 1:06:00

If we're unlucky, I say we are lucky because last year we played Papa Cambiaso or Junior Cambiaso four or five times. We got them in every damn tournament in our draw. People said, how the hell is this happening? I said, hey, I'm getting my money's worth. He's playing against the best player in the history of the sport and if we can lose to him by one goal, we lose to him on overtime and he comes and congratulates you we're winning. He beat us because he had even six chuckers. We had one low chucker three minutes when we put the wrong spares on or our spares were not good enough. With his spares he scored two goals. It's a mathematical sport and when you play the best of the, when we play Hilario, when we play Facundo, when we play Poroto or his father or the Castellanos, or Pablo McDonough or Juan Martin Nero, it's amazing, and if we don't go home learning from them, there's something wrong with us. It's an honor and a privilege to share the field with these amazing athletes, the Michael Jordan of our sports.

Speaker 1 1:07:08

Well, and even to provide a little bit of an analogy, it's like if you ever remember the movie the Rookie, the baseball movie, where the high school coach started pitching to them at a pro level, they became better hitters of it and then they end up winning their district championship. It's, using that analogy, like going down to Argentina. You're playing at a level that's only going to make you better, and so when you come back to the US or you play in other countries, it's slow for you in a way. By the way, outside of Argentina and the US, have you played anywhere else overseas? Have you gone back to India to play.

Speaker 4 1:07:40

I played in India this year in December, it was last year in December, and I also played in England one season.

Speaker 1 1:07:47

Okay, you guys planning on going back To India or to UK?

Speaker 4 1:07:50

UK, yes, I will go back to the UK, but only if it's the right opportunities and I can be mounted correctly, ie in my own horses, or find the right string for me to play there. English Bowl is very competitive. It's a different type of sport and for me to be able to compete there with my current handicap, I would need to be really well mounted.

Speaker 1 1:08:12

Now Timmy in parting ways with this podcast. Guys, what does the future look like for the Duda team and Timmy Duda? What does your future look like for the next five, 10 years? What are your plans?

Speaker 4 1:08:25

My roadmap right now, as I've written out for myself, would be to become the best player I can possibly be the highest handicap and to be the best, at least in America. To be the best American that's for sure my goal Currently. I would like to be the man himself of America and I would say that outside of polo, I want to become a better businessman. I want to follow my father's footsteps and to become an icon in the international shipping business for horses and grow the company. Maybe go different ways, go into freight forwarding business. There's so many opportunities to get into grow South America that I would love to, and, to be honest, to be the best horseman I can be, to learn from everybody, from veterinarians to different discipline riders, to truly be a remarkable horseman and to be, you know, a jack of all trades, so to say, great man.

Speaker 1 1:09:11

I mean, how about the Duda team, Tim? Are we going to see more of it out there? We're going to win.

Speaker 4 1:09:16

You know, if you're going to put five to 10 years, there are going to be a US Open, a couple of US Opens, on that record right there.

Speaker 3 1:09:25

Argentine Open is our less than five-year focus to play there. I think we have a very, very, very competitive Camara team that we have put together for this year and hopefully that's our target, that's our big goal for this year. 2025 is for the Argentine season, for the Camara, and with seven or eight on the handicap, then you can think of playing the qualification. And the nice thing is, the Camara boys that we have put together they'll stay together for the three to four years, and that's what you need. To be an outsider, you need that much time to grow your horses, to build the string, the organization, to beat the big boys or even to be competitive with them. Beating is a different word To be competitive and if it's your day you clip them, great, you can't beat them. These guys are on a different level. Yeah, that's for sure.

Speaker 1 1:10:13

Well, hey guys, I cannot thank you two enough for joining me on this podcast. While we were talking, I've been jotting down notes. You have given another layer of insight and wisdom into this game that I was really hoping to accomplish with both of you, and I greatly appreciate pulling back the curtain, breaking down those stereotypes, which is what I absolutely hope to do with this podcast, because I didn't fall in love with it as a young kid. I fell in love with this game in my 30s when I hired by the USBA and if you are in Wellington, do come and visit us.

Speaker 3 1:10:46

You're welcome to our farm and cheer us on as we start the journey of the CV Whitney.

Speaker 1 1:10:52

Oh, 100%, absolutely, guys, and I think we should talk about.

Speaker 3 1:10:56

We should have a call again after the open is over and we are in argentina in in may. To recap, but what I would love to discuss with you further is I think we need to delve in how the polo is different in argentina, united states and england. It's a sport that says polo, but it is played completely different different players, different horses different field conditions and, at the end, different budget.

Speaker 1 1:11:24

Yeah, well, and even and then, timmy, you mentioned something I had jotted down, this term was a fundamental sport. Yeah, and this actually goes back to a conversation I had, I believe it was, with Stuart Armstrong, and it was how do we make it more of a fundamental sport, imprinting the game on a younger audience so that we hope that when they're Timmy's age or older, when they have more of a discretionary income, they take up the game Correct? So that's the kind of wisdom that I absolutely loved. It's brilliant. It sheds further light on the differences between the countries and what needs to be adopted. It sheds further light on the differences between the countries and what needs to be adopted, ignored, taken away.

Speaker 1 1:12:00

What have you in order for the legacy of this game to continue? Because it is incredibly beautiful and I love the way that you guys talk about it with such emotion. It's wonderful. So I greatly appreciate you guys taking more than the last hour to take time to educate our audience more about this game. And, like you said, I will definitely be calling you up when I'm in Wellington and hopefully I get to make my way down to Argentina for Palermo, for the Open down there. That's the dream of mine. Hasn't happened yet.

Speaker 3 1:12:28

Well, come visit us. We are in Pilar, we are 45 minutes away and visit us, but, most importantly, we love that you cheer us on. Thank you, most importantly, we love that you cheer us on.

Speaker 1 1:12:36

Thank you, yeah, no, 100%, absolutely, and we'd definitely love a follow-up too. Again, any parting words, guys? Well, thank you to the listeners.

Closing Thoughts and Upcoming Season

Speaker 3 1:12:43

We appreciate it and thank you for giving us this opportunity. We sincerely enjoy talking to you. Thanks guys, take care All the best.

Speaker 1 1:12:58

In 2012, the founders of Outside the Boards witnessed their first polo match and were stunned by the sport's beauty and brutality. Few sports, if any, have these combined qualities. The sport's grace, intensity and warlike imagery create a shock and awe viewing experience like none other. Combine this with the sport's party-like atmosphere and lifestyle and you have a recipe for success. Today, the sport has yet to witness its full potential. The industry is fragmented, riddled with politics and inexperience. Outside the Boards was purposely designed to change all that and bring clarity to the sport by introducing best practices, insights, trends and consulting services to industry stakeholders and interested brands so that they can reach their marketing potential and better navigate the sport. Whether you're a club seeking custom sponsorship and marketing solutions or simply looking for strategic advice, we encourage you to contact us today or subscribe to gain access to industry insights. Visit us at OutsideTheBoardscom or to learn more, or email us at info at OutsideTheBoardscom. Let's change the game, and that's a wrap for today's episode. A heartfelt thanks to our season sponsor, hive 2.0, for helping bring outside the boards to life.

Speaker 1 1:14:21

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