4 hours ago
1
They’re a royal family in the sport of kings.
Professional polo player Juan Redlich is having a summer to remember on Long Island, riding side by side with his son, Juancito, as the 16-year-old strives to follow in his father’s footsteps — or, rather, hoofprints.
“I am 47, I don’t know how many more years I will play,” Juan, a member of LI-based Steel Polo, told The Post.
“We share every day together. … So for me, this is the biggest gift that life has ever given.”
The father-and-son teammates hail from a farm in the flat and green Venado Tuerto — a passionate polo town located about 4 ¹/₂ hours northwest of Buenos Aires, Argentina — where they play during the South American summer, which spans from December to February.
“My father taught me a lot of stuff about horses, the relationship with the grooms,” said Juancito, who is still learning English and uses his time on LI to improve.
“We’re in the field all day to practice, to ride, and I learned a lot from him.”
The polo patriarch added that their home nation is ecstatic over the development of a family dynasty, and it shows when they take on big tournaments in the capital city and elsewhere.
“They get very excited about us, about what my son is doing,” said Juan, who first came to Long Island as an 18-year-old and took a job caring for horses during the summer months.
Greener pastures
Since then, the Redlich family has spent its days enjoying the beauty of the North Shore, usually from June to September, in Huntington.
Juancito and his dad typically train and play weekly at the free-to-attend Thursday “sunset” evening matches at Meadow Brook Polo Club in Old Westbury, as well as at Sunday’s “Polo at The Park” at Bethpage State Park, and occasionally at other matches in the tri-state area.
Juan, or “Johnny Juan” as announcers call him at the weekend match, is a crowd favorite at Bethpage.
Given the sport’s complex nature and the physical limitations of the animals, the matches require jockeys to substitute their horses through each of the usually four to eight chukkers, which each lasts 7 ¹/₂ minutes.
Sending a horse from Argentina costs upward of $12.5K per animal, and the expense lands on each individual player with help from sponsors, according to a handler familiar with the situation.
“We flew nine up for this summer. They just got here the other day,” said Juan, who commended his son’s handling of the creatures.
“He’s very natural with the horses. … I never saw him fighting with a horse or making one tired. He brings out the best in them.”
Not horsing around
Juancito has loved horses since he was a little boy riding in the fields of Argentina.
The teen athlete, who also plays soccer and rugby, drew closer to polo during the pandemic’s isolation period, as riding was one of the few opportunities to get fresh air.
Since then, Juancito said he naturally underwent his father’s tutelage, but quickly showed his own moxie while saddled up.
“I can say one thing, from the beginning he was a very natural rider,” according to Juan.
“I never tried to push him to play polo because I think he has to choose whatever makes him happy.”
Now, Juancito aims to refine his game over the next two to three years, adding finesse, coordination and striking power to prove why he deserves a shot in the pros and at major tournaments.
Long Island’s Constitution Cup, a two- to three-week tournament that began this week, is the ideal platform to showcase weeks of improved play, he said.
“If it doesn’t work out, I want to go to college for agriculture and have a Plan B,” said Juancito, who is fond of his almost entirely polo-dedicated summers on Long Island.
“But no matter what, I want to work with horses for the rest of my life.”
For now, however, the goal is striking while the mallet is hot.
“I want to be a better player,” he said. “Doing this with my father pushes me to be my best.”
English (US)