It was a devastating message that came through to me last week. The loss of Carlos Gracida was certainly unexpected and weighs heavy on me under the circumstances of our relationship and all that he meant to the horses we love.
Carlos Gracida was a dedicated athlete able to rise to number one in the world. At the same time, he had a quiet dignity about him that the world of polo has rarely seen. Carlos could and did associate with royalty and at the same time possessed the humility that allowed him to strike deep friendships with the ordinary working people of the game he loved so much.
Carlos will be missed by each and every person who met him, but he left us all with the hope and confidence of better times to come.
The game of polo is immensely better off for having known Carlos Gracida and the horses that play this game will be thankful for his presence for generations to come.
Carlos and his brother Memo, along with Adolfo Cambiaso were the first to take the message of non-violent training to Argentina and throughout the game the brothers excelled in. The loss of Carlos ignites within me the desire to press forward in the work that was noted by Queen Elizabeth II at Guards Polo Club, June 24, 2012. I am certain that Carlos would encourage me to press even harder on my goal to leave polo in a better place because of the techniques he, Memo and Adolfo took to Argentina beginning about five years ago.
It’s only fair to say that Joel Baker was the first to introduce me to Carlos, Memo and Adolfo. He brought them to my farm and started a relationship that caused the trio to bring “breakers” from Argentina to learn the value of the methods that I use in the early training of horses for any discipline. Joel played on a winning US team and came to have an extremely close relationship with the Gracida brothers. I feel certain that Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth would want us to take even more seriously the meaning of the certificate that Her Majesty presented to Carlos. It is my opinion that, if not now, in the near future the world of polo will know the value of Carlos, Memo, Adolfo and Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II.
