POLO LIFESTYLES Haiti VOLUME II / ISSUE IV / APRIL 2018
MEET YOUR MATCH How cloned ponies are changing polo
CHEF THIA HEATS UP THE KITCHEN
Celebrity chef Cynthia Verna on her island roots
HIGH FASHION IN D.C. Designers dazzle D.C. society
EQUESTRIAN PRODIGIES
MEL VAN DER KAMP HILARIO FIGUERAS & POROTO CAMBIASO
VOLUME II / ISSUE IV / APRIL 2018
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N E W YO RK CIT Y
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POLO LIFESTYLES Haiti T H E M AG A Z I N E
L’ÉQUIPE:
Claude-Alix Bertrand
Publisher/Executive Editor
Josh Jakobitz
SVP Marketing/Editor
Trystanne Cunningham
Senior Global Style Curator
Mystique Boivert
Fashion & Style Contributor, New York
Hans Ebenman
Travel Contributor
Giulia Di Palma
Lifestyles Contributor, London
Mark Wine
Fitness Columnist
Joey Velez
Wellness Columnist
Kemissa Racine
Fashion & Style Contributor, Berlin Advertising Team
Jamila Sabha Trystanne Cunningham
Contributing Photographers
Richard Lecoin Roy Wilten Will Johnson/LIFE Training Sheryel Aschfort/The Polo Paparazzi Shannon Finney Sandra Lemaire Alex Pacheco Polo Lifestyles is a publication of HT Polo Co. 995 Detroit Avenue, Suite A, Concord, CA 94518
Copyright © Polo Lifestyles, 2018 All Rights Reserved. For information or to advertise Contact editor@htpolo.com Read online at www.pololifestyles.com On the cover: Mel van der Kamp Cover photo credit: Roy Wilten
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ARE YOU GOING?
Indio, California Empire Polo Club Season runs January 1 to April 1 Palm Beach, Florida International Polo Club 114th US Open Polo Championships April 4-22 Augusta, Georgia US Masters Tournament April 5-8 One°15 Marina Sentosa Cove Singapore Yacht Show April 12-15 Coachella Valley, California Music & Arts Festival April 13-22 Buenos Aires, Argentina Copa de la Republica March 20 to April 5 Antigua Antigua Sailing Week April 28 to May 4 Milken Institute Global Conference April 29 to May 2
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CONTENTS Al Amal Polo Day
Chef Tia’s healthy takes on traditional island delicacies, pg. 56
pg. 24
POLO LIFESTYLES EDITORS & CONTRIBUTORS
Ambassador Claude-Alix Bertrand
Publisher Polo Lifestyles
Giulia Di Palma Lifestyles Contributor London
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Josh Jakobitz
SVP Marketing and Editor Polo Lifestyles
Hans Ebenman
Travel Columnist The Rooftop Guide
Trystanne Cunningham
Senior Global Style Curator Polo Lifestyles
Mark Wine
Fitness Columnist & CEO Functional Muscle Fitness
Mystique Boivert
Fashion & Style Contributor New York City
Joey Velez
Mental Wellness Columnist Velez Mental Performance
Will Johnson
Contributing Photographer San Francisco
Kemissa Racine
Fashion & Style Contributor Berlin
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Sabrina Mittler pg 70
Cannes pg 86
Prajjé shows at DC Fashion Week, pg 62
Cloning ponies, pg 34
Equestrian and polo prodigies pg. 42
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COMMENTS TO THE EDITOR “Love it!” “Great pics.” “Looking forward to fabulous things” “The earth without art is just EH.” “The best of the best.” “What a beautiful shot!” “Cool.” “Enjoyed!”
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR A season of change is upon us at Polo Lifestyles. On International Women’s Day, we proudly introduced three new female powerhouse contributors: Mystique Boivert, Giulia Di Palma and Kemissa Racine. These women join the ranks of our international contributors and we couldn’t be prouder. It’s been our pleasure to get to know a young Dutch equestrian and his mentor Stal Wilten as of late. Eleven-year old Mel van der Kamp, who’s our charming cover model this month, dishes out advice on horses like an old pro. With his eyes set on Olympic glory, we can’t help but feel a tingle of excitement for him ourselves. He’s on our radar and should be on yours, too. The highest Haitian diplomat in the United States, Ambassador Paul Altidor, put on a show-stopping presentation of four of the hottest Haitian and Haitian-American designers last month at the Embassy of Haiti in Washington, D.C. The diplomat intended – and succeeded – in changing the narrative about Haiti. This month’s island inspiration continues with a well-deserved profile of Cynthia Verna “Chef Thia” whose recent journey through veganism involved transforming some traditional Haitian dishes into tasty, highprotein, meatless versions of the flavorful originals. A believer in home-cooked meals and whole-family participation in the process, she has taken her brand and products to new levels with chart-topping cookbooks and the launch of a new TV show. I would be remiss to not mention the departure of Polo Lifestyles contributors: Christelle Pierre and Wendelle Theodore. They both landed full-time gigs and other contracts recently, leading them upward and onward to new adventures. And finally, the hottest subject of the spring: cloning ponies. Since La Dolfina mounted and narrowly won the Argentine Open while riding cloned ponies last fall, all eyes have been on science. Cloned ponies will change the future of polo, but at what cost? Best, Josh Jakobitz josh@htpolo.com
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ZAG R EB, C ROAT I A // WWW.M U CCAM U CCA.COM
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Reposted FOR THE RECORD Curated Instagram posts from last month
sagawards @lupitanyongo Wakanda warrior on screen, a #loveourgirls activist and Sag Awards red carpet queen
hampoloclub Photographer Stephen Bartholomew captures polo action in the UK at The London Polo Club
pololineok Polo players @skruegs10 and @joaquinpanelo share the PoloLine #photooftheday
danaemercer Gentle giants... love has no language. Photo by @adventurefaktory wearing @hayascloset from @namshi
Stunning supermodel @kendalljenner dazzles at the Vanity Fair Oscars Party
teamdelpotro Juan Martin Del Potro and his team celebrate his victory at Indian Wells #tennis #tennisplayer
blackpanther The highest-grossing movie in the world “Black Panther” starring @chadwickboseman @lupitanyongo
thepolochannel Young polo player to watch @porotocambiaso is featured in this month’s issue
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haitirediscovered “Haiti Rediscovered” profiles Haitian female entrepreneurs by @francoiseelizee and @pipeyanguas
doll_memories
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Click and comment on our choices... tag @pololifestyles We will share noteworthy comments with you next month
jordanpeele Jordan Peele, Oscar-winning Best Director of the horror film “Get Out,” was a guest on @oprah
harpersbazaar Children bring bouquets to the soonto-be-princess Meghan Markle at The Commonwealth Celebration
valientepoloteam Colorado’s Valiente Team takes the Butler Handicap trophy for the first time in Wellington, Florida
bomerholic_titzi1982 Dinner with @MattBomer and @janellemonae at the Vanity Fair Oscars Party
wta Haitian-Japanese tennis star @naomiosakatennis wins her first title at Indian Wells @bnpparibasopen
tennistream At Indian Wells, the legendary @rogerfederer congratulates an emotional @delpotrojuan
ricky_martin Ricky Martin joins @americancrimestoryfx third season: “The Assassination of Gianni Versace”
theshaderoom Jay-Z and @Beyonce Jamaican takeover as they shoot on location in the birthplace of reggae and Bob Marley
zendaya @pololifestyles editors selected Zendaya for Oscars best-dressed celebrity on the red carpet
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Scoreboards & Cocktails TOURNAMENTS & ACTION
Oxford University Polo Club’s Ball A Modern Day Fairy Tale London, United Kingdom - February 23
Oxford University is a brand that sells itself. It does not need any introduction. Like every proper millennial institution (the University has been established in 1096) it has its history, rituals and clubs. As we are here to celebrate polo, we interviewed Natasha Salonen, Ball President at Oxford University Polo Club (OUPC), who organized and hosted a fairy-tale ball nothing less than at the famous Tower of London on February 23rd.
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About 240 lucky ladies and gentlemen got the chance to have a private visit to the Crown Jewels, drink champagne in the White Tower and dine in the Armories. Like in a modern Disney movie, after midnight everyone moved to a romantic cruise on the Thames, it up by the flashing city of London, with its Shard, Big Ben and House of Parliament standing tall in the skyline.
Fancy more action? Don’t miss the next Boat Race and Polo Varsity Match at Guards Polo Club, where it will be all about Oxford versus Cambridge. It’s time to pick up your blue: which side are you? Reporting by Giula Di Palma thebritishmallet@gmail.com whose Instagram account @thebritishmallet covers all polo lifestyle events in the UK.
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Scoreboards & Cocktails TOURNAMENTS & ACTION
Al Amal Polo Day
Ghantoot Racing & Polo Club Supporting and embracing children with disabilities
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Ghantoot Racing & Polo Club hosted the 8th edition of Al Amal Polo Day on a beautiful Friday. Spanish dressage shows featuring flamenco dancers, an equestrian art exhibition, a kids’ fun village, pony rides and magicians were all part of the special activities to mark the poignant event whose central theme was to raise awareness about children with special needs and create a fun day for them at Ghantoot Racing & Polo Club. An initiative by Sheik Falah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Chairman of the Ghantoot Racing & Polo Club, Al Amal Polo Day promotes the principle of embracing and supporting children with physical, as well as, learning disabilities. The highlight of the event was an exhibition polo match played between the visiting Royal Cavalry of the Sultanate of Oman and the Ghantoot Racing & Polo Club. After an entertaining spectacle of exhibition of field polo, packed with audience participation, the hosts won by
six goals to one. All four players representing Ghantoot, Abdullah Bin Dasmal, Ali Al Marri, Yousaf Bin Dasmal and Nasser Al Shamsi put their names on the scoreboard during an impressive display of polo. Al Marri was the only player to score
a brace, when he scored two goals in the second chukker. Khalil Al Bulushi ensured that the Omanis went home with a consolation goal, when he scored a beauty during the third of the four chukkers. page 25
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Butler Handicap at Engel & Vรถlkers Field Valiente & Colorado Take Highest Honors International Polo Club, Palm Beach March 8
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Established in 1954, the Butler Handicap steadily gained back its initial prestige since its re-launch at the Greenwich Polo Club in July 2016. Incorporated into the 26-goal lineup last year at IPC, this year’s competition featured a four-team single-elimination format. While superficially the teams remained unchanged from the C.V. Whitney Cup, many player variations took place for similar, yet fresh, tournament play. Despite these shifts, the semifinal double-header on Wednesday, March 7, yielded a repeat final as Colorado defeated Daily Racing Form – DRF Bets 14-11 and Valiente overtook Grand Champions Polo Club 9-6.
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Boys & Girls Club “Great Futures Polo Day” Grand Champions Polo Club, Palm Beach March 11
The Neil S. Hirsch Family Boys & Girls Club of Wellington honors its namesake with a day of polo. The “polo chic” day began with a celebrity polo match at 10 a.m. at Grand Champions Polo Club featuring Nacho Figueras, Nic Roldan, Brandon Phillips and Martin Pepa. Free to the public, it was a perfect opportunity to enjoy a morning of relaxation and fun for the entire family. The celebrity match was followed by brunch at the International Polo Club, where guests stayed to watch the 3 p.m. Piaget Gold Cup match. Proceeds from the event benefited the Neil S. Hirsch Family Boys & Girls Club of Wellington. page 28
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USPA Gold Cup & Carlos Gracida Cup International Polo Club, Palm Beach · March 21
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The high goal season at the IPC resumed with matches for the USPA Gold Cup and the Carlos Gracida Cup. It was a wonderful, sunny day and many polo fans came out to watch superstars Facundo Pieres and Adolfo Cambiaso play together once again. Sunday also marked the debut of Flexjet in the 26goal tournament. In the battle between Valiente and Flexjet on IPC’s Field 1, Flexjet managed to take control of the game in the opening chukker, clearly showing their intentions of putting up a fight in the tournament. But Valiente gained strength and quickly tied the game. Flexjet battled back and made it to halftime with a 6-4 advantage, to the surprise of many in the stands. Pieres and Cambiaso set things straight in the fourth chukker, however, and quickly tied the match at 6-all. The fifth chukker was the best of the game, with good runs and goals from both teams. Valiente went into the sixth and final chukker winning by one. The game ended with a final score of eleven to eight in favor of Valiente. The youngest player on Valiente, Tommy Beresford commented, “I started off a bit slow, but a couple of words from Adolfo helped me get into the groove of the game.” Flexjet’s Nico Pieres was named MVP during the awards ceremony on Sunday. “It was a tough match against a team that should be considered as one of the best of all time,” said Pieres after the game.
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SPECIAL REPORT With reporting by Joe Pinkstone, Lesley Stahl, and Josh Jakobitz
Science and Polo
Genetically Modified Ponies by 2019 The term “genetically engineered” doesn’t just apply to crops—soon it may also apply to horses. Genetically engineered “super horses” may be born as soon as 2019, thanks to a breakthrough made by a lab that has cloned polo ponies in the past. Currently, there are no rules prohibiting these genetically enhanced horses from competing at international events, including the Olympics. Kheiron Biotech laboratory, an equine cloning lab based in Buenos Aires, uses a gene editing technique called Clustered Regularly InterSpaced Palindromic Repeats, or Crispr, to make very precise edits to DNA. This technique could create racehorses that are faster and stronger—and they already have a healthy embryo, which will be implanted into a recipient mare within the next two years. page 34
The company has focused on “the myostatin gene sequence which controls and limits the growth of muscles,” reports the Daily Mail. It’s believed that
same results are traditional breeding in a shorter amount of time. Cloning has been in use in the equine world for over 10 years. The international governing body for horse sport, the International Federation for Equestrian Sports (FEI), lifted a ban on cloned horses in 2013, but states that they will continue to monitor cloned horses and their progeny in international competition.
by changing this, the horses will be able to develop more muscle mass, which, in theory, will allow them to run faster for an extended amount of time.
Genetically modified horses, however, would allow breeders and owners to “customize” the DNA of the horse to obtain the most desirable traits. Currently, there are no rules regarding genetically modified animals from international competition.
Cloning does not improve a horse; it simply creates a genetically exact copy of the original, and can achieve the
The laboratory expects to use these scientific advances in other animals for additional purposes.
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MEET YOUR RUOY TEEM
MATCH HCTAM
Adolfo Cambiaso: the new frontier of cloning polo ponies The CBS 60 Minutes story, “The Clones of Polo,” which aired in March, follows in transcript form.
Adolfo Cambiaso in Argentina A perfect polo pony whose success on the polo field was abruptly cut short, Cuartetera’s legacy lives on. And on. And on. And on. Fourteen near-identical clones of Cuartetera are the result of years of attempting to replicate the champion pony. While the cloned ponies different slightly physically, Adolfo Cambiaso, who knew Cuartetera the best, says the ponies all share her disposition and natural inclination for the game of polo. During the Argentine Open, Cambiaso and the other La Dolfina team members mounted cloned ponies to face Valiente in the final match. It was a historical moment for a centuries’ old sport. Cambiaso recounted to 60 Minutes that he put great consideration into the selection of which of Cuartetera’s clones he would mount for the final chukker. Would it be #9? #5? #6? The cloned ponies don’t have individual names; to Cambiaso they are all Cuartetera, numbered 1 through 14.
You don’t expect to hear that some of the most cutting-edge biotechnology is now part of the elite game of polo, “the ancient sport of kings.” But on a trip to Argentina last December, we went to a big polo match -- and discovered that several of the champion horses on the field were clones. It’s a big day in Buenos Aires — the final match in this year’s World Cup/Super Bowl of polo called the Argentine Open – with the usual pageantry, the tango included. In polo, the horses, called ponies, are just as important as their riders. The two teams are La Dolfina in
white and Ellerstina in black. Each team has four players who ride as many as a dozen horses during matches. All of the players today have reached the highest ranking in the sport – a 10 goal handicap. The player generating the most interest is the man in the blue and white helmet, Adolfo Cambiaso. He’s led his team to victory for the last five years. At 46, he’s the Tom Brady of polo. Adolfo Cambiaso: I love the sport that I do. I love polo. I love horses. And so I try to be the best. Lesley Stahl: You are number one in the world in your sport. That’s stunning, isn’t it? AC: It’s strange. When they say it to you, you don’t feel like it but…
While not as controversial as genetically modified ponies, cloned ponies present an interesting ethical dilemma to breeders. Stallions are not necessary to create the cloned ponies, as the embryos are created in a lab and then transferred to the mares who will carry them during gestation. Cloned embryos have a slightly higher risk of mortality than their counterparts. Neither the international governing bodies of polo, equestrian sports, nor even the Olympics have taken a stance against the use of cloned ponies in competition, leaving the decisions up to the breeders, patrons, and players. Cambiaso, for one, would prefer to play on Cuartetera for the rest of his polo career.
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LS: How long have you had this title? How many years?
through cloning.
AC: For 22 years.
AC: I was really sad and I say cloning should work --
LS: You’ve been the best in the world for 22 years?
LS: How did that come into your head?
AC: That’s what they say.
AC: I don’t know. I decided to keep some cells from him, just in case years later-- cloning-- is normal.
At age 25, Adolfo decided to create his own polo team called La Dolfina, and a breeding business from scratch. Today he has nearly a 1000 horses that are fed a special diet of plants and grasses grown on his massive farms. AC: If they have a little pain somewhere I dig a swimming pool for them just to swim. A swimming pool for the horses, where they do laps and stretch out their sore muscles. LS: And they like it? AC: They love it. LS: They do? They like to-AC: They love it. They jump on. It’s amazing. His most prized horse for a long time was named Cuatretera. But at the Argentine Open 12 years ago, Cuatretera’s leg was broken. And Adolfo was devastated. AC: More than anything, I say, “Save this horse.” LS: He was your favorite-AC: Yes. But the horse could not be saved. Before they put him down, Adolfo made a fateful decision: he asked his veterinarian to save some of the horse’s skin cells. He thought that one day he could bring Cuartetera back to life page 36
He remembered Dolly the sheep, the first cloned mammal. Since then, scientists have cloned cows, pigs, goats, and in 2003, the first horse. Biologist Adrian Mutto, one of the first scientists to clone in Argentina, showed us the process: he starts with an egg extracted minutes earlier from a mare. AM: You can see here, this is an egg. And with that needle, we eliminate all DNA of each egg. Next, he replaces it with the DNA of the horse they want to clone. AM: The next step is introduce again into the, into the egg the needle. This is the DNA into the egg. LS: You did it? AM: Yeah This is our cell and this is the egg. LS: And that’s it. AM: That’s it. The new embryos are then incubated for one week. No sperm has been involved. AM: We don’t need the sperm. LS: There’s no male-AM: Yes. Yes, no male here. Only me.
LS: But-- but that’s incredible. The-- there-- it’s-- so it’s not a male-female reproduction at all.
that knew Adolpho.
AM: Yes.
LS: Was he considered one of the best breeders? Not just the best players, but also one of the best breeders?
LS: You’re just taking a cell from whichever. Could be a mare or could be a male horse--
Meeker: Breeders and owners of horses. His horses were performing better than anyone else.
AM: Yes.
LS: When Alan first approached you about cloning?
LS: And you’re putting it in this egg-AM: The cell, into the egg. LS: No sex at all? AM: And-- we, no. Poor horses. The incubated egg is implanted in a surrogate mare who gives birth to the clone –- like this one that’s 3 weeks old. Cloning represented a business opportunity to this man, Texas oil heir and polo enthusiast Alan Meeker. He had long dreamt of building a fleet of champion horses, and now had a way to do it. Meeker: I did some short math and I realized it would take 50 years and about $100 million to do what I wanted to do. And I thought, “Well, why don’t I just clone a bunch of horses, really, really good horses. In 2009, Meeker founded a horse-cloning business and, a year later, licensed the technology that was used to clone Dolly the sheep. Meeker: “Okay, now-- now I need to find the best horses.” So I put together an idea of licensing the genetics from the very best-- breeders in polo. I knew some people
AC: And I say yes the first day. LS: Immediately. AC: Yes. LS: And, “Guess what,” you said, “Alan, guess what I have”? AC: Yeah. I wanna tell him that I have-- cells from a horse that I really loved that I would love to clone. It took a while to get it right – one attempt failed, but after two years, Adolfo got his wish. The birth of a clone of his beloved Cuartetera who grew into this magnificent, healthy horse, almost exactly like the original in strength, athletic ability and temperament. AC: When I saw him, I couldn’t believe it. LS: Did you know by just looking-- and of course it was a little foal at that point-AC: Yes. It was. But… LS: You could tell? AC: To make sure, I took some hair from him, and I bring him back to Argentina to do the DNA. LS: To double-check. AC: To double-check it was
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him.
eight of her clones.
At the same time, he decided to clone another horse -- his biggest star -– a mare called Cuartetera.
AC: You see those-- these two little points--
Now 17 years old, the original has been playing polo since she was 4 - a year younger than most polo ponies – simply because she took to the game so quickly.
AC: From this little point is where you make all these horses.
AC: I think she’s born to play, you know? There is those horses in life or like soccer players like Messi. It’s not many. LS: Like you. AC: No. I don’t know. No. But what I’m saying, this horse is amazing. He took us to the barn where Cuartetera lives with
LS: Yeah.
LS: This is where they took the cells— AC: Exactly. LS: --to make the other-AC: To make the other. Because of her you get all these ones. LS: And that was what you were thinking? AC: Yes. LS: “I’m gonna”--
AC: That was my dream but everybody was--
AM: This is-- Cuartetera number five.
LS: --”clone the best.”
LS: Oh my God.
AC: --saying that I was crazy. And I like it right now because I’m having a good time hearing those people.
AM: This is number four. Number three. Number nine.
LS: Yeah, they’re saying, “He’s not so crazy anymore”And look what he’s done: in seven years, he and his partners have created more than a dozen clones of Cuartetera. AM: It’s incredible for me. I never lose my, wow, this is-my production. This is my equine daughter. Dr. Mutto, who was hired as the lead scientist in Adolfo’s cloning business, took us to see the Cuartetera clones he thinks of as his children.
LS: Oh my God. AM: Number six. LS: You can tell which one. AM: Yeah, be-LS: You’re not reading anything-AM: --because I know her by the-- but-- they are-- are all clones. AM: Yes. Right now, we have 14. LS: Just from Cuartetera? Story continues on page X
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YOUNG GUNS The Netherlands Mel van der Kamp
Josh Jakobitz | josh@htpolo.com
From the prestigious Stal Wilten grounds in Nieuwleusen, a small town in Overijissel, emerges an 11-year old equestrian prodigy, equal parts accomplished rider and photogenic middle schooler. Mel van der Kamp is the shining star of the Wilten brand. He began riding only three years ago, when he was 8-years old. Under the coaching of owner Roy Wilten, Kamp’s on a trajectory toward his Olympic dreams. “The horses love him,” says Stal Wilten about the young rider he scouted at a horse show three years ago. “And I believe so
much in him – he’s very special. He demonstrates such appreciation for the horses and opportunities he has.” “I love that, with horses, you have to work together as a team,” says the young rider. “All horses and ponies react in different ways, so you must have a connection with each one to establish trust.” Between riding lessons, shows, and school, Kamp has the schedule of an adult, but he faces it with it positivity. “I plan my training around competitions, riding at home and also continued on the next page
In His Own Words: What I’ve Learned About Horses and Ponies In an interview earlier this year with Noelle Floyd Style, Mel shared 10 things about horses he’s learned during his apprenticeship with the Wiltens.
Ride with feeling.
To me, this means that if I am relaxed on my horse or pony, I can feel what’s happening beneath me and can then adjust my ride to what I feel my horse will most benefit from.
Horses are individuals.
Every horse or pony is different and each one teaches me something new. They can all react in their own ways to different things while riding or tacking up.
Patience and persistence.
Sometimes, in training, you won’t always succeed on the first try. But I have learned that you need to keep on going because in the end, you will notice the progress you’ve made.
Think like a horse.
To me, it is very important that my horses come out of their stalls a few times a day. This is not only good for
training, but also for their happiness, be it getting turned out to play or going for a hack in the forest.
Believe in yourself and your horse.
This way, even if you are not as successful as you’d like in a competition, you’ll still remain positive in the long run. Also, it helps you to have confidence in yourself that you can make it better the next time.
Ride all the horses as you can. I get to ride different horses and ponies at Stal Wilten and I learn a lot this way. I am so glad I get the help from [Roy Wilten]. He lets me figure out a lot of things on my own, but he is always there to answer my questions or help me work through a particular issue.
Set high goals.
I hope my experiences at Stal Wilten
will make me a well-rounded rider and that I develop the skills to ride all types of horses. This way, I might get good enough to ride in grands prix one day, and maybe reach the Olympic level. This is my goal.
Actively participe in training.
Listen to what your trainer has to say so that you always have things to remember and practice when you are in competition or training on your own.
Hang onto the positives.
Your confidence will grow when you do well and win prizes and you should think back to those moments when things don’t go as planned.
Keep smiling!
Roy Wilten always says to, “Keep on smiling.” In Dutch, it is, blijven lachen!
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a few times a week at Stal Wilten. At the sports academy (I’ll attend this summer) I can easily do school in combination with my riding.” With the upcoming outdoor season, Kamp will be busy competing. “There will be a lot of nice shows this season. The level at which I compete always depends on what my ponies are ready for,” he shared in Dutch via Wilten. He is one of three siblings – himself and a set of twins – adopted from Ethiopia by a Dutch couple. His brother Abdissa van der Kamp rides as well. “Abdissa has been a bit in the background, but I’m pushing him more,” Wilten says. Abdissa will be 16 this summer. Neither of the brothers have seen a polo match live yet, but are both interested and have asked Wilten about coordinating a trip to see one. As far as whether either of them would make for future polo players, all Wilten knows is that they accomplish what they set their minds to. “Mel, especially, could be a great polo player if he developed a passion for it.” page 45
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YOUNG GUNS Hilario Figueras: Cria Yatay Polo
Hilario Figueras, the 18-year old son of Nacho and Delfina Blaquier, made headlines in 2013 when he replaced his injured father at the Veuve Clicquot Polo Classic Cup. He plays regularly with his father and mother on the polo tour. His social media account @hilariofigueras documents the tournaments he plays while he’s a source of constant coverage on his mother Delfina’s blog, We Are Figueras. page 50
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Poroto Cambiaso Polo’s Super Kid Another young polo player making headlines this year is Poroto Cambiaso the son of Adolfo Cambiaso. Poroto recently played in the Sterling Cup alongside his famous father. Referred to as the Super Kid, he scored four of the nine goals for Valiente, who defeated Team Audi 9/8. At the age of seven, Poroto made his debut at the Palermo field. Now at 12-years old, he is usually the youngest player on the field. Son of the highest-ranked polo player in the world, Poroto shines on the field alongside his dad. His sister, Mia, often joins Poroto and Adolfo on the polo fields.
YOUNG GUNS
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YOUNG GUNS “THE CHILDREN OF” big names sm By Xavier Prieto Astigarraga, originally appearing in La Nacion
Cambiaso, Monteverde, Merlos, Magrini. It would be a good team with a 33 handicap for the Triple Crown, but this one has 0 and overwhelms ... in the children’s competitions. It’s La Dolfina, but with other names: Adolfo and Lucas are sons of Cambiaso and Monteverde; Santos Merlos, of Sebastián, and Kristos Magrini, of Matías. They are 12-years old and making their mark in the world of polo. The Martindale tournament, the Diamantitos Cup, the Tolo Polo contest and the Los Potrillos Cup are their peak season, for which they wait all year. Especially the latter, which is the Palermo Open for the young polo players. Each year it is larger than the last since its inception in 1962. In these 55 years, growing in participation and skill level, to the point that in its different categories there are 55 teams (including six female), composed of 220 boys. Recently on a long and happy day at the Pilar estate of the Argentine Polo Association, 238 players between 4- and 14-years old gathered to demonstrate their skills In this version of a young boy’s Palermo, always played at Los Indios (under the direction of Eduardo Heguy for the last few years), amazes the increasing complexity of organization: there are professional referees and the boys play on the same horse for the whole game (they are three chukkers in the two largest categories, and at least two per set). As if the difference between the sons of first-class polo players and the rest was between the professionals and the amateurs. That La Dolfina - powerful already from the name - won the Cup Potrillitos (years 2005 and 2006) and swept the circuit: it took the four trophies in this page 52
category. And it has another advantage: three of its members played their third season together.
skill”) in Pilar. “We were not the children of any player” the former 10-goal 40-year-old reflected.
“It’s great what Luquitas is doing, I try to have him mounted as well as possible, much better than when I was his age, “commented Lucas Monteverde, who followed his son (“he circulates on the court like me but with twice as much
Why do you do it, then? “Because it’s fun, but if my son likes something else, it would not bother me, he thinks he’s going to play, he wants to play polo, if he really likes it, let him do it, I would not recommend it, it’s not easy. If you do
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mashing polo The children of Cambiaso, Merlos, Monteverde, and Magrini: Adolfo Cambiaso Jr., Lucas Monteverde, Santos and Rufino Merlos; and Kristos Magrini play in a youngboys version of the Palermo Open under the direction of Eduardo Heguy at Los Indios.
not have passion or do not like this, it’s not a joke, it has a lot of nice things, but if you start looking all the way... They have it easier because they have all the way armed by me. What I want most is for them to be happy doing what they like,”said Monteverde. In the highest category, aged 13 and 14, Indios Chapaleufú II won, becoming champion of two of the four cups. Another strong
name, other protagonists: Cruz Heguy, son of Eduardo and most valuable player of the contest, and Antonio and Silvestre Heguy, Alberto’s sons, “Pepe”, plus the English Luckey Wiles. Several were foreigners who took part, including one, the Pakistani Jed Gabler, who came to Argentina only to intervene in this circuit. Much sophistication among the greatest, but
the amateur spirit continues well aliveIf there was a fall, no one pouted, because they were thinking about the Los Potrillos cup all year. Thus, between amateur passion and professional organization, the Argentine pole guarantees its future.
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W W W. LO U I S V U I T T O N . C O M
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One s ma l l esthec ho c a d ay helps t o r eg a i n y o ur s k i n h e al t h and slow d o w n y o ur agi n g pr o c e s s
Photos by Richard Lecoin / Makeup by Patricia Desamours
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OOH LA LA!
Chef Thia heats up the kitchen Josh Jakobitz | josh@htpolo.com
There’s something about the flavors of Caribbean island food: the fusion of French, Spanish, African, and indigenous traditions; prepared with citrus, slow-roasted in broths, peppered with fresh herbs and fragrant spices, and finished with spicy condiments and served at a table set for your whole family.
island food. Hailing from Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Verna recently adapted traditional island foods to be vegan-friendly, resulting in a 30-pound weight loss. At 42-years old, Verna looks better than ever and is promoting healthy Haitian cuisine in her cookbooks co-authored with Jamaican Chef Irie “PBS’ Taste the Islands” host and a new TV show. Her goal is to lose another 10 pounds and then slowly introduce lean meats back into her diet. One of the staple dishes of her vegan diet is the beloved Haitian mais moulin (polenta) with spinach, tomatoes, riz djon djon (black mushroom rice) and black beans.
“Haitian food is one of the best culinary experiences in the world,” Chef Thia says.
Celebrity chef Cynthia Verna, better known as Chef Thia in culinary circles from Miami to Port-au-Prince and beyond, knows the power of well-prepared
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Chef Thia dishes in the kitchen In the Verna household, the kitchen is the de facto living room, where conversations begin with “Grab the tomato paste, measure the rice, and dice this for me, please.” Her three children, ranging from 21 to 7, are sous chefs. “Everyone opens up in the kitchen. By the time we’re down cooking, I know everything I need to know for the day.” “Everyone’s involved in meal prep at home,” says Verna. “Making a meal at home is the best way to bring everyone together. We never say ‘Oh, I’m too tired to cook,’ instead it’s a family activity of dividing up responsibilities – a labor of love.” Verna’s culinary love was instilled by her mom’s side of the family growing up in Haiti. “The Leroy and Mangonès (from her mother’s side) families have great cooks. Sunday was always church, followed by a big family meal,” Verna reminisces. “Even in the islands, growing up with maids, everyone was still involved in the whole production.” “Haitian food is one of the best culinary experiences in the world,” she says. There you have it.
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DAZZLING
HIGH FASHION SHOW AT THE EMBASSY OF HAITI IN WASHINGTON Written by Mystique Boivert Photos by Shannon Finney
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Models in creations by Prajjé Oscar Jean-Baptiste page 66
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Mystique Boivert Fashion & Style Contributor Colorful paintings in beautiful ornate frames served as backdrop to well-dressed members of D.C.’s high society, dignitaries, and celebrities who sipped rum sour cocktails created by renowned chef José Andres of Minibar. Models glided down the elaborate staircase and made their way through the lavish ballroom. The event, “Diplomacy by Design,” was hosted by the Embassy of Haiti in partnership with D.C. Fashion Week. The runway show featured collections of four renowned designers of Haitian descent: Victor Glemaud, Prajjé Oscar Jean-Baptiste, Kerby Jean-Raymond, and Azède Jean-Pierre. This event was of special importance to Haiti’s Ambassador to Washington, the Honorable Paul Altidor who, since reports of U.S. President Donald Trump’s disparaging comments about
“The Erzulie collection is not about Voudou, but about a culture that has been rejected, discredited, and dismissed. I wanted to remind people of who (Haitians) are.” - Prajjé Oscar Jean-Baptiste, DESIGNER Haitian immigrants, has been determined to show the side of Haiti that the media seldom covers. Victor Glemaud, a recent CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund finalists, opened the show. Glemaud was born in Haiti and moved to the U.S. at age 3, eventually working in New York and Paris for Versace, Marc Jacobs, Helmut Lang, Paco Rabanne and Tommy Hilfiger, before starting his own label. Always in love with fashion, he began exploring the possibilities of knitwear by cutting up, and re-assembling, some of his father’s old sweaters. Glemaud’s latest collection of bold, colorful, and graphic knits shows an obvious nod to the vibrant colors of his homeland.
Independent womenswear designer Azède Jean-Pierre, known for dressing such amazing women as former First Lady Michelle Obama and Solange Knowles, did not present a runway show, displayed a few pieces for guests to view. Native to Pestel, Haiti, and raised in Atlanta, Jean-Pierre came to the U.S. as a refugee, and now a first-generation American. After graduating from Savannah College of Art and Design, Jean-Pierre headed to New York, where she sharpened her skills as an intern at Ohne Titel and Ralph Rucci, before eventually launched her own label in 2012. Last year, Jean-Pierre made her Paris Fashion Week debut with her Spring 2017 collection, which was an ode to her Caribbean culture.
Pyer Moss designer Kerby Jean-Raymond has never shied away from mixing activism with fashion. His debut at New York Fashion Week earned him death threats when he screened a 15-minute video about police brutality. This season, Jean-Raymond drew inspiration from his father, who migrated to New York from Haiti, and raised his son alone after his wife died. The Brooklyn-born designer, who recently collaborated with Reebok, created custom pieces that were on display at the Embassy that evening. Jean-Raymond is a young designer successfully building a fashion brand on his own terms, and this, is perhaps, his most powerful message thus far. The clear stand-out of the night was, New York-based womenswear designer Prajjé Oscar Jean-Baptiste. As traditional Haitian music filled the air, models entered in floor-length gowns adorned page 67
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with embroidery and beading done by hand in Haiti. The designer, known as a leading exemplar of ethnic-inspired fashion design, is proud of his work with Haitian women artisans. His latest collection Erzulie, named and inspired by the Voudou goddess of love and beauty, is comprised of ready-to-wear, formal wear, and couture pieces, showcasing the designer’s original print “Maîtresse.” When asked what made him take on this usually taboo subject Jean-Baptiste replied, “The Erzulie collection is not so much about Voudou, but about a culture that has been rejected, discredited, and dismissed. I wanted to remind people of who (Haitians) are.” The event hosted by Miss Black America, Brittany Lewis, was attended by an array of special invited guests Haitian-American NFL star player Pierre Garcon, two-time former welterweight world champion Andre Berto, Judge Sibby Elias the first Haitian-American appointed to municipal court in New Jersey, Haitian journalist and filmmaker Valery Numa and former D.C. First Lady Michelle Cross-Fenty. It was an evening full of elegance and beauty, promoting the art, fashion and culture of Haiti. On this night, Ambassador Altidor’s mission to change the narrative on Haiti was accomplished, for the only thing spectators could talk about was the immense and diverse talent of its people. Pictured to the right: designer Prajjé Oscar Jean-Baptiste with his model; below: Haitian NFL player Pierre Garcon; bottom right: Ambassador Paul Altidor addresses the press.
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Sparkling creations of Sabrina Mittler Josh Jakobitz | josh@htpolo.com
German goldsmith Sabrina Mittler’s sparkling creations, adorned in white boxes with “SaM” in gold, are the perfect accessory for an afternoon at polo. “I design for the woman who knows what she wants and enjoys life every day,” says Sabrina. Completely customizable, her pieces are designed in solid precious metals – silver, gold; usually imprinted with a pattern, texture or print to make each piece truly unique. Bracelets with golden and silver emblems, necklaces and rings, and earrings make Sabrina’s clients sparkle in any and every room. Her experience dates back to the tender age of 18 when she apprenticed with a traditional goldsmith. During different periods of studying and working, Sabrina started to travel and on one her trips, she found her new home, Dubai. Now operating her brand and workshop full-time from Dubai, Sabrina also finds time to refine her skills behind the campage 72
era. Her photos are her main sources of inspiration for jewelry designs. “TAKING PHOTOS OF IMPRESSIONS ALLOW ME TO CAPTURE A MOMENT OF INSPIRATION AND TRANSFORM THAT INTO SOMETHING TIMELESS – JEWELRY” Other inspiration dates back to her childhood – movies about Coco Chanel swept her off her feet. The glamour, the shapes, the lines. “I love her (Chanel’s) timeless creations. Tory Burch is another favorite of mine. Her designs are beloved and so many women identify with them. Nathalie Trad makes beautiful handbags.” Like other high-functioning, multi-tasking designers, her work day begins the moment she awakes. “I read my emails in bed,” she laughs. “I’m addicted to coffee, so I don’t lie around in bed too long. I’m up and at it.” She runs each morning
around Dubai’s marina and makes an easy breakfast. Then it off to the office, lunches, client meetings, checking her social media, going to photo shoots, and tracking orders before heading home again. She’s happiest ordering Thai takeout and watching Suits on TV in the evenings. The working from her phone continues as she keeps up with social media throughout the evening. “Social media is such an important pat of the fashion world Everyone can influence a trend. As a small designer, it helps me a lot. Before a new designer would have a hard time getting started; now, I stand before my ‘jury’ each day (on social media). It can be scary, but there’s breakthrough.” Future project plans are kept closely under-wrap, but we understand Sabrina will collaborate with a designer on an installation project with 3D designs. “I will be putting my personal touch on it,” says Sabrina. Some content for this interview was provided by a former Polo Lifestyles writer
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The designer at home
ALESSA DESIGNS
For luxury nomads and timeless fashionistas Josh Jakobitz | josh@htpolo.com
At the age of 14, Alessandra Robles began with sketches and playing with stones as a creative outlet, soon thereafter realizing jewelry design would become her life’s work and dedication. An insatiable appetite for creativity led her to study gemology in San Diego, Calif. In 2009, together with her husband and business partner, they founded Alessa Jewelry, a modern, vibrant and edgy brand. page 76
Their newest collection, Amara, features pieces that took over eight months to make. “My favorite piece right now if a cuff bracelet from the Amara collection,” she says. “THE CUFF IS INSPIRED BY WOMEN AND IS A TRIBUTE TO THE SAME – A CALL TO YOUR INNER GODDESS. THE ETHOS BEHIND THIS PIECE LIES IN THE EMPOWERMENT OF WOMEN.” Referring lovingly to her clients as “luxury nomads” and “timeless fashionistas” one gets the impression that if she weren’t the designer
behind Alessa, she’d be a client. The jewelry echoes her lifestyle and finds its home among those with synergy. “My pieces are designed to transition from day to night. An every day amulet, fine jewelry for my daily lifestyle. Yet, there is a series of memorable pieces that I value truly. They recall particular occasions, including the Spectrum bracelets I created for summers in Greece. They’re inspired by the Aegean Sea. Each design is created with magic and love from handpicked gems from around the world; curated, original and genuine designs with impeccable craftsmanship.” Her favorite materials? Gold and
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diamonds, naturally. Robles counts Fernano Jorge, Repossi and Irene Neuwirth among her personal favorite designers and inspirations for her own brand. Her global tastes are reflected in her vision for Alessa: “I see Alessa as an international desire to be worn amongst fashionable and sophisticated working women. It makes them feel powerful, beautiful and complete. It’s for them that I travel the global in search of unique designs.” And travel she does. “Travel is an escape from my every day routine that allows moments of silence and therefore channeling of thoughts and inspiration. My typical day involves the constant
search of different sources of inspiration.” She also keeps an eye on social media, which plays a large role in her designs “The role that social media plays today is the influence of consumers’ opinions and the creation of a lifestyles,” she says. Part of that lifestyle, for Robles, revolves around bridal jewelry. “I currently design custom-made bridal pieces. I believe bridal jewelry applies to that special and unique bespoke design that tells a magical story.” We have a feeling Robles’ magical story is just beginning. Some content for this interview was provided by a former Polo Lifestyles writer
Pictured L-R: Sword earrings $4,995-$7,495; Arrow necklace $35,995-$41,995; Spear ring: $4,995-$6,995; Shield rings: $5,495-$8,495
ABOUT AMARA A WARDEN OF HOPE, A GODDESS, A FORCE TO BE RECKONED WITH. EMBODIMENT OF ANCIENT POWER, HOPE AND BEAUTY, FROM ANCIENT GREEK MYTHOLOGY, AMARA IS BETTER KNOWN AS THE ETERNALLY STRONG AND BEAUTIFUL. MODERN, YET MYSTERIOUS, EACH PIECE IS A CALL TO YOUR INNER GODDESS AND EMBODIMENT OF THE “WONDER WOMAN”. page 77
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Bejeweled Victorian treasures Josh Jakobitz | josh@htpolo.com
They’re self-acclaimed treasure hunters, for whom travel is a passion and, now, a necessity for sourcing their one-of-a-kind pieces. Chloe, one of Toni’s five children, studied music and theater in college and never imagined co-operating a successful business with mom Toni. Their shared love for Victorian-era jewelry led them to begin creating custom pieces that eventually launched their brand Toni+Chloe four years ago. “The brand came about after a trip to London. While visiting a friend, I decided to explore an antique jewelry market and fell in love with a diamond crescent. Once I returned to NYC, I strung the crescent on a loose chain I found in my jewelry box. It was as if I were wearing a magic gem – strangers stopped me on the street to ask where I purchased my necklace. Everyone was in utter awe of it,” says Chloe. “Regarding Victorian antique jewelry sourced through travel and exploring, we are very sensitive to the fact that each one-of-a-kind piece has page 80
had a lifetime before us and likely tremendous history,” says Chloe. “When making a piece, we want to pay tribute to its past and previous owners.” Toni’s sister, the late Angela Kramer, designed for Fred Leighton. “She was an amazingly creative designer. I am constantly inspired by her,” says Toni about her sister. The two feel connected to every piece of jewelry they design; each piece’s individuality and the process of creation requires tremendous thought and consideration. “IT IS DIFFICULT TO CHOOSE A FAVORITE, BUT IF I HAD TO, I WOULD CHOOSE ‘THE IRIS’ WHICH IS AN UNBELIEVABLE STAR, EMBELLISHED WITH DIAMONDS AND AMETHYSTS. EACH LINK ON THE CHAIN IS HAND-EMBOSSED WITH STARS. I’VE NEVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE IT,” SAYS CHLOE. One of Toni’s favorites is a gypsy ring she found in a shop in the middle-of-nowhere Europe. “Inside the band is in inscribed, ‘To Sarah love John 1892.’ It feels so romantic to me,” Toni says.
Toni+Chloe showcase their antique products via the most modern platform: social media. “It plays such an important role in generating visibility for our brand and also provides a platform for our message and vision. Customer engagement is very important, but the level of influence celebrities and models have is crazy powerful,” says Chloe. “We work with mom-and-pop vendors who help us source, translating the pieces into modern context can be tricky, as we want to present the pieces in their original state, but also resonate with a modern woman.” Toni jokes, “It’s really amazing to see how powerful social media is, especially since during 99% of my life, social media didn’t exist!” Another platform for promotion of Toni+Chloe will be a photo book. Since the inception of the brand, they have photographed each of their pieces. “Creating a beautiful book will showcase each piece of our art,” says Toni. “It will be full of our favorite pieces and materials: diamonds, rubies, sapphires, demantoid and opals. Remember, you can never wear too many diamonds!” Some content for this interview was provided by a former Polo Lifestyles writer
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“I rarely take off a gypsy ring that I found in an antique shop in the middle of nowhere in Europe. Inside the band is in inscribed, ‘To Sarah love John 1892’. It feels so romantic to me.”
Gems adorn antique pieces by mother-daughter duo “Toni+Chloe”
The mother-daughter designers Tonie and Chloe page 81
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EXPERIENCE THE CUISINE OF HAITI
WITH NONSTOP SERVICE BETWEEN HAITI AND ORLANDO WWW.SUNRISEAIRWAYS.NET
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LIFE’S A BEACH
Cannes ships in sand for film festival CANNES, France (Reuters) - Every year the French Riviera town of Cannes rolls out the red carpet to A-list celebrities at the world’s most glamorous film festival. Now it wants to roll out a bigger beach too. The Mediterranean resort is shipping in 80,000 cubic meters of white sand - enough to fill 32 Olympic swimming pools - to widen the beach along a 1.4 kilometer (0.9 mile) stretch of seafront beside the famed “Croisette” promenade. From Brigitte Bardot in the 1950s to Nicole Kidman and Leonardo DiCaprio in more recent years, the Croisette’s fine sands, glitzy hotels and gourmet restaurants have hosted film’s biggest stars during the annual festival. By the time of this year’s event in May, the expanded stretch of sand should be in place and for private beach managers means more room to make money. “We had a strip of sand which was about 20 meters wide, now we’ll get an extra 10 to 12 meters,” said Bruno Richard, manager of the privately owned Long Beach, where a sun-lounger costs 25 euros ($31) for the day. More than half the sand is arriving by boat from a quarry in the neighboring Var region. Mixed with sea water, the sand is pumped via a floating pipe onto the beach, where bulldozers shape the new waterfront. Locals are divided over the development. While some applaud a bigger public beach, others fret it may be a waste of tax payers’ money. “What worries me is whether the sea will just take it all back. It cost the town a lot of money,” said resident Gerard Rollandin. Reporting by Michel Bernouin; Writing by Richard Lough; Editing by Susan Fenton for Reuters
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TRAVEL INSIDER
24 hours in Venice, Havana, Mumbai and Paris
VENICE With domes and towers reflectng calm lagoons, Venice is a place where land, sea and sky slip their fixed boundaries and drift in and out of reveries. It’s time to wander through a real Venetian neighborhood. Try Castello, east of San Marco. In its maze of lanes – and that’s not a metaphor– see gondoliers’ stripey shirts hanging out to dry between ochre-hued houses with windows that are close enough to share whispered gossip. Stop at neighborhood bar and cake shop for a macchiatone (a Venetian specialty halfway between a caffè macchiato and a cappuccino) and a freshly baked brioche. Not far from the Arsenale shipyards– which could turn out a galleon a day in the early 16th century – is an area that became a magnet for Venice’s large Greek and Dalmatian populations. In 1502,the latter asked painter Vittore Carpaccio to decorate the walls of their page 90
Scuola di San Giorgio degli Schiavoni with scenes from the lives of their patron saints. The visual stories are rich in spy detail, , such as the little dog in the Saint Augustine Augustine panel, its ears cocked as if expecting a treat. Wind north to San Francesco della Vigna church and monastery, where sandaled monks grow vegetables in the shadow of the municipal gasworks. Then tack westwards to have lunch at Osteria alla Frasca, everyone’s vision of the perfect, hidden Venetian trattoria. Friendly owner Bruno is a talented blues guitarist, while Sicilian chef Giorgio riffs on the food, running a thread of good balsamic vinegar over seared calamari, cherry tomatoes, lamb’s lettuce and artichokes for the ideal spring salad. Continue west into Cannaregio, where the canals host a distinctly Venetian eating and drinking scene – at its most atmospheric at Al Timon, a wine bar that uses a moored barge as an alfresco lounge. Gondola rides are for tourists, but in this dream you get to row one. Set up by an Australian, Jane Caporal,
the (almost) all female association Row Venice offers hands-on lessons in Cannaregio’s quiet canals. The boat is a traditional “shrimp-tailed” batellina, not a gondola, but the oar technique is no different. Have a quick ombra (glass of wine) before heading to the Fondamente Nove water-bus stop – destination Burano. Enjoy the ferry trip as the sun picks out the Julian Alps on the horizon and enjoy still more the sight of packed boats heading in the other direction. On this island of rainbow-colored fishermen’s houses, timing your arrival for aperitivo time (7 p.m. in summer). Beyond the touristy Ponte dei Sospiri, quiet neighborhood canals beg to be explored hands you a golden hour of light and the chance to hang out with the locals as Burano kicks back and relaxes over a spritz. On Burano, the rooftop of great little seafood restaurant Riva Rosa has an altana (wooden terrace) where the intimate table for two can be booked in advance.
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HAVANA Every dawn is a new beginning in Havana. Jackhammers crack apart old roads to make way for the new; baristas fling open café doors and mop dew from the chairs outside; Habaneros sashay down laneways once heavy with hardship. Wherever you look, optimism and possibility rise like vapor from the crumbling foundations on which the city is built. The queues spilling out from Panadería-Dulcería San-José onto Old Havana’s main thoroughfare signal abundance rather than communist-era scarcity. Savor coffee and sugar-dusted pan de gloria (bread of glory) while watching tourists, touts and locals go about their working lives from your pavement perch. Further along Calle Obispo, entrepreneurs set up stalls selling revolutionary paraphernalia (Fidel Castro pins, Che Guevara posters) and a diversity of Spanish language books: Hemingway, Martí, Shakespeare, the Bible.
Nearby, on the harborside Avenida del Puerto, Cadillac drivers polish windows and tailfins in anticipation of the tourist trade. Relish the sea breeze and the views across the Canal de Entradato Fortaleza de San Carlos de la Cabaña , Havana’s 18th-century fort. And stroll among the tangle of locals that appear to have washed up here: youngsters dangling their legs over the seawall; buskers playing soulful tunes; fishermen casting their lines. Burrow back into Old Havana’s narrow laneways, their aging cases, moldering shop fronts and gutted heritage buildings awaiting a capitalist makeover.
minutes’ walk west, but the turnover is quick and the shrimp enchiladas and beef-stuffed peppers are just rewards. Hail a taxi (bike, auto rickshaw, vintage Chevy) and visit some of the revolutionary landmarks beloved of Cubans: Plaza de la Revolución, where political rallies are overseen by giant steel portraits of Guevara and Camilo Cienfuegos; Museo de la Revolución, housed in the former presidential residential palace; and Havana’s fortress, where you can regard the city from a more expansive point of view.
Stop for a café Cubano (and a bag of freshly roasted coffee beans) at Café El Escorial on Plaza Vieja. The airiness of the plaza contrasts with the smoky, wood-paneled interior of La Casa de Habano, a cigar shop on the second floor of Conde de Villanueva hotel (corner of Mercaderes and Lamparilla), where you can watch the torcedor (cigar roller) make those famous Cuban cigars.
When the sun starts to sink, it’s time to order mojitos at the panoramic rooftop bar of the Gran Hotel Manzana Kempinski La Habana. Back out on the streets, you’ll be enticed into the paladares (private restaurants) that proliferate here. Try Paladar Los Mercaderes for its sparkling atmosphere and dishes such as ceviche and lobster bisque that defy the beans-and-rice stereotype. It’s late but the jazz singers and salsa dancers are just warming up.
Lunchtime crowds stream into tiny tapas bar El Chanchullero, just 10
The day won’t be over until tomorrow has begun.
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MUMBAI Mumbai wakes like a drowsy giant: slowly, noisily and with momentous potential. India’s most cosmopolitan city and power house of finance and film likes to stay up late so mornings start calmly with the cries of green parrots and crows, azans drifting through the air and the dull roar of cars, buses and trains transporting millions of people – all set to a steady metronome of the Arabian Sea crashing into concrete breakwaters. Plug into the entrepreneurial energy at Colaba Social, a shared workspace for artists and innovators that’s a café by day and a bar by night. Doors open at 9am for a breakfast of Iroon Junglee Poro (a supercharged masala omelette of tomato, onion, ginger, garlic, turmeric and chili) or a “hangover” tray with bacon and eggs, a Virgin Mary, toast and bananas.
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Take an Uber to the Haji Ali Dargah, a 15th century mosque and tomb that shimmers like a mirage on the ocean’s surface. It can only be reached at low tide when the concrete jetty linking it to the shore emerges from the murky sea. Open to all faiths, the dargah is intensely spiritual (qawwali singers often perform, their voices echoing off the marble) and ridiculously romantic; a pilgrimage site that can be visited only when the forces of nature oblige. Fortis Mumbai’s mercantile heart and a hive of activity by day, not least with the small army of tiffin wallahs delivering lunches to office workers. Linger with the locals over a glass of hot, milkysweet street chai, pop into Chimanlals for Indian-themed stationery then take a seat at Mahesh Lunch Home, 40 years strong and still the city’s finest Mangalorean fish restaurant. For lasting memories, order the tandoori pomfret. From about 4:30pm, the axis of the city’s energy shifts to Marine Drive,
the three-kilometer seafront boulevard between Chowpatty Beach and the skyscrapers of Nariman Point. In the hour or two before sunset, it’s a magnet for loiterers and lovers, shoeshine men and chaat (snack food) wallahs and anyone looking to unwind after a long, hot day. Marine Drive’s sundown parties, set against a smudgy pink sky, are Mumbai at its most carefree and blithe. The city’s first licensed drinking establishment was Harbour Bar at the landmark Taj Mahal Palace hotel. Take a window seat, with a tall gin and tonic in hand, and watch the world promenade by. Then head upstairs to Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto’s modern Japanese dining room, Wasabi, which is ranked as one of Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants. The omakase (chef ’s choice) and sushi menus are founded on seafood flown in daily from Tokyo’s Tsukiji fish market. Try the black cod miso or scallop gyoza. Reserve a table overlooking the Gateway of India for maximum romance – and maximum Mumbai.
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PARIS Paris is made for dreaming and dallying, swooning and strolling. The only way to truly appreciate its all-encompassing, knee-weakening beauty is on foot, winding through time-worn cobblestoned streets, ambling along grand boulevards and meandering around pretty garden paths. The flâneur – that classic character who loafs about town with no particular aim in mind – could only have been invented in Paris, a city of live-in-themoment pleasures. Of course, eating, that other muchloved Parisian pursuit, goes hand-inhand nicely with walking. But food is not merely fuel; locals live to eat, trekking far and wide for the perfect éclair or crottin de Chavignol (goat’s cheese). Because, as Ernest Heminway – one of the city’s famous wanders – well knew, Paris is a movable feast. Chocolat for breakfast? It’s a Parisian must-have, as is Angelina, on rue de Paris. Rivoli, where the chocolat chaud is thick and velvety and the salon de thé still glows with the golden Belle Époque grandeur. Pop over to the Musée de l’Orangerie in the Jardins des Tuileries for another masterpiece of that period, Monet’s Water Lillies series, then traipse around the ponds and parts of the garden, which was one of the Impressionist’s most-beloved spots in Paris. Across the road, go downstairs to the Quai and saunter east along the Seine, soaking up the panoramic perspective of riverside Paris. Cross the Pont Louis-Philippe to Île Saint-Louis and explore this miniature City of Lights preserved in 17th-century stone splendor. Buy a baguette and some cheese and picnic under the plane trees at the western tip while swans glide by. Still hungry? The island’s Berthillon ice cream is legendary for
good reason. Cross Pont Saint-Louis, admiring Notre-Dame’s flying buttresses, and head to the Left Bank. Just beyond Square René-Viviani, order a box of choux à la crème at Odette then continue to the majestic Jardin du Luxembourg. Once you’ve walked up an appetite here, pull up a wagon-green chair by the basin and enjoy your cream puffs – and the deliciousness of the moment. Stylish Saint-Germain-des Prés is perfect for window shopping – or lèche-vitrine (window-licking), as the French say, probably because their chocolateries and pâtisseries are so tantalizingly merchandised. Be sure to compare the macarons at Pierre Hermé and Ladurée, both on chic rue Bonaparte. As magic hour soaks the city in syrupy gold, find a nook on Pont Neuf and sigh
at the scene before you. When the ambient light turns a moody, Monet-esque lilac, l’heure bleue (the blue hour) is gorgeously captured in Place Dauphine, a triangular “square” across the way; enjoy an apéro en terrasse while you watch locals play pétanque among the chestnut trees. Afterwards, take a riverside stroll westwards, past grand Left Bank façades, and cross at the flamboyant Pont Alexandre III. At Minipalais, the restaurant of the Grand Palais, dine in style on the terrace among lofty columns and palms. After sunset, the Eiffel Tower twinkles on the hour so cross the Seine again to admire the light show. Then continue the sparkly theme at Les Ambassadeurs bar in the luxurious Hôtel de Crillon. Nothing caps off a beautiful day in Paris – or captures its scintillating essence – like a crystal flute of shimmering champagne.
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Welcome Home
THE SAN REMO FARM GRAND PRIX SOUTH FARM WELLINGTON, FLORIDA Listing Price: $8,900,000 USD
The Wellington Farm Experts Wellington Equestrian Realty +1516-818-4299
Village of Wellington is home to the largest horse show in the world, The Winter Equestrian Festival. There are few other equestrian communities more dedicated or tailored to the avid equestrian.
Take a Virtual Tour: www.wellingtonequestrianrealty.com
This exquisite Grand Prix Village South farm features a 20-stall horse barn with two large tack and feed rooms, four wash stalls, on-site laundry room, kitchen area, two storage rooms and one full bathroom. There is a magnificent one-bedroom owner’s apartment on the second level with a spacious balpage 96
cony overlooking the 210′ x 120′ riding arena and five paddocks. The property also has a separate building with a three-car garage/ storage and a two-bedroom grooms’ apartment on the upper level. The San Remo Farm is absolutely stunning!
Additional Information Lot Size: 3.66 Acres Bedrooms: 3 / Bathrooms: 4 Build Year: 2015 To learn more about this property and The Village of Wellington, Florida, contact Craig, Matt, Rob & Chris at (561) 818-4299. Please reference property #WER5458.
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Welcome Home
LAS VEGAS LUXURY PROPERTY AT THE RIDGES LAS VEGAS
Kamran Zand Broker/Founder Luxury Estates +1702-354-2023
The home of the future has arrived! Designed as an “organic” estate by Growth Luxury Homes, this Mediterranean modern masterpiece is enhanced with smart features, making it the largest residence in the nation to exceed the Department of Energy’s Zero Energy Ready Home standards. With a prime location in The Ridges of Summerlin, the property has stunning page 98
Listing Price: $10,500,000 USD
Strip, mountain and golf course views. A marvel of space and natural light, with towering ceilings and luxury features, the home is convenient, efficient and indulgent all at the same time. Body heat and motion sensors know when a room is occupied, adjusting temperature of both the air and water accordingly, offering consistency and comfort without waste. Appliances and fixtures are Energy Star compliant, the home is fully insu-
lated and the air is treated to be clean and pure without any leakage. A cascading waterfall in the entryway sets the tone for tranquility, with a long stone walkway to welcome visitors. Seven spacious rooms, including one designed as a wellness spa, are spread out throughout the residence. Outdoor terrace patios can be found on the second floor in multiple areas, including the master bedroom, which is a stunning example of design in it-
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self. The windows are perfectly positioned to watch the sun rise in the east and set behind the mountains in the west. The master bath has two giant walk-in showers side-by-side, a tub in the center of the floor and an outdoor shower with a view of the Strip. Other luxury features include a 14-seat movie theater, wine room, jaw-dropping gourmet kitchen and much, much more! With tall wood doors, marble finishes, layered ceilings and a grand floating-style staircase, the home makes full use of all available space with towering windows gazing outdoors. With Fleetwood doors, the living room opens wide, offering a majestic entrance to the back patio where an infinity pool twists and turns around corners. The subterranean 12-car garage is column free and has the feel of a showroom, with a driveway designed to protect vehicles from scratching on the slope. This organic home sets a new benchmark for luxury living in Las Vegas.
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Welcome Home
QUEBEC CHALET ST. LAURENT ESTATE PETITE-RIVIERE-ST-FRANCOIS CHARLEVOIX
Guillaume L’ecuyer Christie’s International Real Estate +1418-998-3219
In Charlevoix, near Baie St-Paul, next to the Massif and its ski hills, among the most spectacular in North America. Treat yourself with PetiteRivière-St-Francois and its attractions. Monumental. Perched sky high on a page 100
Listing Price: 1,654,321 $CAD
500 meter promontory overseeing the majestic St. Lawrence River, this luxurious residence provides its future residents with an incredible panorama from each of its three floors. You can even observe the white geese fly
under your feet! This refined contemporary residence designed by Bourgeois Lechasseur was featured in the renowned magazine Wallpaper and has won a 2014 Nobilis prize for the quality of its architecture. An in-
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comparable opportunity within the Quebec Region! Anchored in the mountain, with luxurious living spaces, composed of highest quality materials with abundant fenestration, this house gives you the feeling of sailing a tall ship. page 101
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Welcome Home
BEAUTIFUL CUSTOM ESTATE IN BUCKHEAD 2042 WEST PACES FERRY ROAD
Sotheby’s International Realty Carol Dean Davis +1404-824-4100
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ATLANTA, GEORGIA Listing Price: $14,500,000
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Beautiful custom estate located at the end of the private drive on 10 acres. The exceptional grounds boast fabulous gardens, as well as a pool, summer house, freestanding office and a workman's area. The finest materials and finishes were used to complete this elegant home.
A carriage house apartment offers separate entries. Beautiful rooms with high ceilings, gourmet kitchen. The home's terrace level features a climbing wall, media room, wine cellar with dumb waiter, "jumping room", etc. all on lower level.
There is an elevator to all three floors, as well as full house generator. Six bedrooms, six full baths, and three half-baths, spread over 13,500 square feet.
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M U S C L E
F I T N E S S
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PERFORMANCE TRAINING FOR YOUTH Mark Wine BA; CSCS; USAW; PT, PES, CES
Youth, parents, and the education system should be on HIGH ALERT. Budget cuts, electronics, and an increasing sedentary lifestyle have lead to less developed and overweight youth. The days of yard work and outdoor activities are gone. What is left are overweight, underdeveloped, and less physically active youth. These characteristics result in lower levels of muscular and neurological development. In September of 2009, the magazine Pediatrics released its findings from a study on injuries to youth. The findings were astonishing. Between 1977 and 2007, injuries to youth whom were involved in physical education classes increased by 150 percent. Of the 150 percent, 52 percent were in middle school. The major American sports (football, basketball, and soccer) accounted for 70 percent of page 106
the injuries. If a study were to be performed in 2012, one might assume that the study might factor in sports such as Lacrosse, Ice Hockey, or Martial Arts. If these sports were accounted for during the study we may have paid witness to an even greater increase in injuries. These numbers do not reflect a change in the sport itself, but rather a change in the youth whom are participating.
As doomed as it sounds, there is hope for youth. All youth should be involved in resistance training by an educated coach. Here are “musts” when developing a program that trains youth.
Must make it fun Youth who participate in training programs (exercise regularly) benefit in more than one way. Exercise has been shown to increase and support psychological and social development, as well as self-confidence. In addition, strength and coordination is improved upon. In 2009, a Canadian based study analyzed 7 to 12 years old youth who participate in games, strength training, and nutritional programs. The results showed improved body composition, increased strength, and enhanced self confidence. These results, along with all other adaptations to exercise, are a result of consistent training.
A youth training program should focus on core, strength, power, form, sprint technique, and many others. However, the program and/ or training session must be presented through a fun atmosphere. During youth training sessions the strength and conditioning coach should integrate obstacle courses and/or relay races. These activities should incorporate movements and exercises that were performed and learned during the workout. The most successful youth program places its focus on drills / exercises that emphasize proper technique during all movements. However, after coaching up the technique, youth must be allowed to practice what they have learned at full speed (i.e. competitions).
Must Incorporate injury prevention training Youth training must incorporate movements that utilize proprioception. Proprioception training involves placing persons in an environment that is stable yet unstable. Examples include bosu balance trainers, core trainers, airex pads, single leg exercises, and many others… These exercises require a high degree of core stability and ligament / tendon strength, which make them similar to all athletic movements. Injury prevention training,
or pre-hab, should involve movements or non-movements that place emphasis on core stabilization, as well as ligament and tendon activation (i.e. proprioception). The eccentric portion of all movements, such as the deceleration portion of a sprint, is the leading cause of injury in athletics. Therefore, training the eccentric portion of exercise is vital for decreasing the risk of injury. Secondarily, the eccentric motion recruits the greatest amount of muscle. To ensure proper eccentric motion, require youth to control their downward portion of all movements (step ups, squats, lunges, etc…).
Must select core Movements Any resistance training program should select core movements that it places emphasis on. Youth resistance training programs should do the same. Squats, pushups, pull ups, lunges, sprint techniques, and various other movements should be considered fundamental – core movements for all programs. Each training session should incorporate some of the programs core movements. All core movements should be prescribed every couple of weeks to allow for increased repetition. Repetition and coaching of these core movements will
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PROCEED WITH CAUTION: YOUNG ATHLETES ARE NOT MINI-ADULTS. allow for neurological adaptation. Neurological adaptation leads to injury prevention and increased athletic performance. Performance enhancement will build the confidence of the youth involved. On the contrary, constantly introducing new exercises will limit the young athlete’s chance of mastering the movements. This can lead to discouragement and failure. Although it is important for youth to experience failure, this form of failure is not advantageous.
ments create a platform for development and increased volume training. These are all examples of how variables can be adjusted in order to create a platform for unpredictability to keep youth engaged in the strength and conditioning program.
Must vary the program
When strength and conditioning programs are monotonous, youth become uninterested. Constantly altering the variables of each training session, along with occasionally introducing new movements, will keep young athletes more engaged within the program.
Strength and conditioning programs should focus on its core movements first and foremost; however, variation within a program is a must. Variation comes through alterations within the routine, the exercises, the volume, the load, and/or the intensity. The routine can be adjusted by selecting a set or circuit format, depending on the training goal. You can alter the load, exercises, and volume by selecting heavier or lighter weights. Body weight and core (midsection) move-
All jumping and plyometrics should be limited and performed using functional movements… jumping rope, skipping, hopping, and two leg forward box jumps are all considered preparatory plyometrics / exercises. These exercises should be incorporated into the strength and conditioning program once the youth involved have shown base levels of strength. Squatting is the best indicator of whether or not youth are ready for preparatory plyometrics. If a
young athlete cannot squat properly, then that athlete should not perform any impact jumping.
Young athletes must be gradually introduced to preparatory plyometrics during each training cycle. However, preparatory plyometrics may not even be suitable for youth until the fourth or sixth week. Each phase should have specific focuses and set goals. Phase one, learning proper sprint, squat, push up, and lunge techniques. Phase two, an introduction into more complex movements, as well as adding external stimulus by way of medicine balls, bands, suspension training, or light barbells and dumbbells. Each phase from here on may incorporate exercises with greater technical requirements. These phases must be written as the program continues to account for the young athlete’s ability to perform specific movements.
Proceed with caution Young athletes are not
mini-adults. Creating a specific sport program for youth is not recommended. Young athletes must train to become greater athletes and not basketball players. Once youngsters have shown significant improvement in sprint form, squat form, core strength, coordination and various other movements, then sport specific training might be included. Lastly, training youth during times of growth spurts must be taken with extreme caution. During growth spurts the growth plates are left open and vulnerable. Youth are extremely susceptible to fractures at this time. It is my recommendation that during times of heavy growth spurts the strength and conditioning coach limit the amount of plyometrics performed. Youth training should be considered mandatory. Having helped rehabilitate numerous youngsters with major knee injuries, the time for action is now. Athletic Performance programs for youth that incorporate these “musts” should be implemented to every school and youth sports program. page 107
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Coach Mark Wine with youth at Functional Muscle page Fitness109
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CLONING POLO PONIES Continued from page 37 AM: 14, and next year, 10 more. And 2019, 10 more. In all, there are more than 100 clones from several of their best horses. In each case, he said the clones are strikingly similar to the originals in disposition, athletic ability and appearance. But not exactly. For example, the Cuartetera clones all have white markings, but with different shapes and in different places, some on the face; some on the ankle. But all the Cuarteteras seem to have inherited the originals calm, self-contained personality. LS: So the genetics include this temperament? AC: Yes. LS: And do the clones get along with each other? AC: Yeah, because they live together all year long. So-- from here, they go to the farm together, then they page 110
move in blocks. If you take one out of them, they are looking for it. LS: They miss the one that you take out. AC: Yeah. LS: Did the clones have any special health issues? AC: No. We talked to scientists at the National Institute of Health and were told there is no evidence that cloned animals suffer disproportionate health problems, though they have a slightly higher infant mortality rate. At first, many of Adolfo’s cloned embryos died during gestation. But they refined their technique and now tell us they have an 85 percent successful birth rate and have not experienced any health problems. LS: So as far as you are thinking, they’re exactly the same in health, longevity. AC: Si.
LS: Ability to play the game, all of it. AC: Similar. Similar. Not exactly the same… LS: What are the differences? AC: There is some that are a little bigger. Some eat more, some eat less. Or they move a little bit different. But the mind are really similar. The good thing about it, they are machines, all of them. Machines -– that’s polo talk for horses that never quit. But how would they perform in competition? At the final at the Argentine Open, Adolfo gambled that his Cuartetera clones would be as good as the original and, for the first time, he rode them almost exclusively. Regulators of thoroughbred horse racing worldwide have taken a firm stand against cloning. But there is no such prohibition in polo and so cloning is spreading to teams
beyond Adolfo Cambiaso’s. It raises some thorny questions: does cloning give a team an unfair advantage? Is it ethical? And where will it lead? In December, at the final match of the Argentine Open in Buenos Aires, one team rode clones while the other refused to. The competition was as much about the merits of cloning as it was a sporting contest. Out of more than 850 professional polo players, Argentine native Adolfo Cambiaso – wearing the blue and white helmet and the jersey marked number one, is the best player in the world. He’s held that ranking for 22 years and is now leading a cloning revolution. He’s cloning his best horses; the one he’s riding is a clone. He’s competing on them – and winning. LS: When you’re on one of the clones playing, is there a special feeling? Knowing that
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h-- you know, this is something that was your idea, you brought it to life-AC: Yeah. In this stage of my career-- the last couple of years for me to play and prove that the clone works and play with Cuarteteras and everything is an extra motivation for myself, for sure. LS: I don’t know that you need extra motivation. AC: Yeah, I do. I do. He’s created 14 clones of Cuartetera, his very best horse – a 17-year-old mare who is fast, easy to direct and can turn on a dime. She was honored last year as the best polo horse in history. Her clones seem to be just as gifted. LS: Are they all as good – I want to call her Mama. I don’t–- That’s probably not the right word. AC: The original. Yeah. LS: Are they as good? AC: I already won two Argentine Opens with the clones. So they will end up being as good as her I think. Cuartetera’s clones are identified by numbers. LS: Shouldn’t they have names? AC: They have names. LS: Well, they don’t. AC: Cuartetera. LS: Yeah, but-- m-AC: Cuartetera one, two, three, four-LS: Was that your idea?
AC: Yes. Because I-- I believe that she is a Cuartetera. All of the ones that I ride, they are Cuarteteras.
AC: She’s Cuartetera when I play.
operation was set up here on his 500-acre property outside Buenos Aires that includes three polo fields, and a nursery where the clones are born. They are carried by surrogate mares who treat them like their own.
LS: When you’re-- so six is Cuartetera, is--
LS: Are these all cloned babies in here?
AC: Is Cuartetera.
EG: All cloned babies? Yeah.
LS: And when you’re on nine, it’s the same thing?
LS: And these are the surrogate mothers? And does the mother think it’s totally her baby?
LS: So you actually think--
AC: Cuartetera. LS: But she’s an individual. AC: Yes. But the DN-- DNA, it’s a Cuartetera. LS: But when you have identical twins, they each get a name. AC: But this is not twins, it’s a clone. They can now create 100 clones a year and they’re using them in Adolfo’s already successful breeding business. They mate the clones with champion horses and sell their foals for up to $250,000. But they never sell the clones. AC: You sell the clone, you sell the blood, you sell the line, you sell the DNA, you sell everything if you sell a clone. EG: We keep the key of the genetics and this was, I think, the good business to make that decision in the past. The idea of never selling the clones came from Ernesto Gutierrez, a shrewd Argentine businessman, who became a third partner in the cloning venture. The cloning
EG: Totally, totally. Look at that. Gutierrez took us back to see the newest one – that 3-week-old clone of Cuartetera who has her own nurse. LS: Oh, look how sweet. And frisky. Oh, look at that, oh my. Not everyone in polo thinks cloning is a good idea - including Adolfo Cambiaso’s main rival and opponent at the final of the Argentine Open. FP: There’s a lot of guys cloning. But I think that they have to be careful, you know because, the thing is that they’re opening too much, you know? I mean-LS: Pandora’s Box. You know what that means? They let-opened the lid. And all the problems come out— FP: Exactly. Facundo Pieres is number two in the world, right behind Adolfo. He showed us what he can do, like dribble a three-inch ball in the air while galloping down the
field 20 miles an hour. He’s the captain of Ellerstina, an old-school team made up of three brothers and a cousin. They are committed to keeping it a family enterprise. LS: Do you ever get angry at each other? FP: Yes. Yes, but in a good way. Never-- never bad. His team is headquartered at another sprawling estate where they operate a multi-million dollar breeding business selling foals and embryos. They believe they can produce better horses through their breeding practices - by mixing the DNA of two different horses, rather than by replicating just one. FP: We wanna keep it this way. What we have here is amazing LS: In polo, what’s more important, the horse or the player? I was told that it’s 80 percent the horse. Sorry-FP: Yes, I-- I agree. No-LS: No offense. FP: No, I agree. I agree. I totally agree. I think that the horse is. But of course, you need to have a little bit of-of talent and ability and-and experience in the head, you know? Facundo’s team – Ellerstina - has made it to the finals the last 4 years, but lost each time to Adolfo Cambiaso’s team. Fueling the rivalry on the field is a bitter history between them: Adolfo played on the Ellerstina team for 9 years. AC: Because of what happened, that I left Ellerstina and the rivalry is there-page 111
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LS: Intense. AC: Yeah. LS: To this minute.
LS: So in 30 years, people will still be riding Cuartetera? AC: Yes.
AC: Yeah.
LS: And so it could go on forever.
LS: Do you feel it too?
AC: Yes. Yes.
AC: But it’s fun.
Alan Meeker, the Texas businessman who is Adolfo’s cloning partner, is well aware of the controversy around cloning technology in the U.S. and the ban against it in thoroughbred horse racing.
LS: Oh, you like it-AC: You gotta have rivalry to be better player too. There’s more. Before he left Ellerstina, Adolfo bought Cuartetera, as an embryo, from the Pieres family… the very horse he is now cloning to compete against them. AC: I was lucky to end up with Cuartetera. LS: You cloned from the best horse in the world. AC: But she’s born on my farm. I create her. LS: There are people who object to cloning on religious grounds… Or on moral grounds. So what is the answer when people challenge you? When they say, ‘Man should not be doing this’ because of these difficult spiritual questions? AC: I don’t see it, I don’t see it wrong, to be honest. I’m just-- doing something for-- to improve my game, my sport. And I think the Cuarteteras did improve my game, my sport. And I’m not going farther than that. LS: But, is there an unfair advantage in terms of the game, in terms of the sport? AC: No, because everybody’s able to clone. Now everybody’s kind of trying to start cloning. So the advantage is that I did it seven years ago. page 112
LS: Is a really good polo player-- does he have-- an unfair advantage if he’s on a clone of one of the best-- polo horses ever?
clone.
differences.
Meeker: Could be. Yes.
Meeker: Surprisingly little. Yeah. Surprisingly little.
LS: Do you have any moral problems with cloning a human being? Meeker: Yes. I disagree with it. I know a good reason, lots of good reasons to clone-body parts, like hearts and lungs and pancreases, if it could be done in a productive manner, that can save lives. But I’ve been asked by some of the wealthiest people on planet earth to clone a human being and we-LS: You have? Meeker: Absolutely.
Meeker: Of course. Horses are 80 percent of the game anyway. So if Facundo Pieres finds a horse that is better than Cuartetera than he has an advantage over his competitor.
Meeker: And the answer is always-- a resounding “no.”
LS: But he’ll have only one. And that horse will get tired, and he’ll have to switch to another horse in the game, whereas Adolfo will have 8.
LS: They don’t tell you why?
Meeker: Right. LS: So it’s still an advantage. Meeker: Right. LS: Is that fair? Meeker: Under the rules it’s fair. There’s no restriction on…
LS: Well, they must have a reason. Meeker: And they won’t give it to me.
Meeker: No. LS: I’m thinking if science can do it, science will do it and maybe one day, you know, they’ll be clones and we’ll laugh at all the people who were questioning the morality of it now. Meeker: Someday someone will do it-LS: Yes.
LS: I know but the game — but sportsmanship, just the nature of the game. Has this changed the very essence of the game of polo?
Meeker: And we will either laugh or we will cry. But I’m not gonna be the one to take that-- that leap.
Meeker: No. I think what it’s done is probably raise the bar.
Meeker: Yes.
LS: You’re going to have to
LS: It could be done today.
LS: I assumed there’d be a big difference between a horse and a human. Lots of
At the final match at the Argentine open, Adolfo’s team and the clones were expected to win, but seven minutes in, Facundo’s team was ahead, three goals to one. Adolfo’s team fought back; at halftime, the score was, the cloners, 7; the breeders, 6. It was so tense that at times it was as quiet as a tennis match. The end of the game was thrilling: as expected, Adolfo’s team was ahead, 13 to 10, but then Facundo’s team in a final blast came back to tie the match. AC: I never think I’m-- I gonna lose. I never. LS: Well, we saw you right before the overtime. AC: Yeah. LS: And here you are. Like that. AC: In that moment, I was trying to think, “Which is the best horse for that moment?” He debated, should it be Cuartetera 9? Or 5? Finally he picked number 6. In the first minute of the sudden death overtime, Facundo’s team lost control of the ball. Adolfo’s team recovered and Adolfo on his mighty Cuartetera 6 outran everyone and whacked the ball setting up the winning shot. Watching, you had to wonder: was it the clones or the world’s best player that made the difference?
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VOLUME II / ISSUE IV / APRIL 2018 Wellness Coach Joey Velez/Velez Mental Performance
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MOLD YOUR MIND GO OUT AND DO IT
GET STARTED If you want to lose 50 pounds this year, what will you do if you get sick or if you get injured? If you want to make a certain amount of sales, how do you handle a down month or a streak of “no thanks”? It is important to acknowledge that some of these scenarios may be out of your control, but the key is to have a backup plan if these situations become reality.
Joey Velez, M.A., M.B.A. joeyavelez@yahoo.com
How badly do you want it? How badly do you want to achieve your goals? How badly do you want to be successful? We spent the last two columns discussing what you want, understanding why you want it, and how to properly set goals in order to achieve what you want. However, planning is the easy part,
NOW YOU HAVE TO GO OUT AND DO IT. No matter the path you take toward your goals, there are bound to be challenges that present themselves. This is inevitable, so think about potential challenges that you may face toward reaching your goals.
One tool you can use is adjusting your performance goals along the way. For example, if you goal is to run around the neighborhood twice a week, but you are sick that week, you can run three times a week for the next two weeks to make up for the difference. Previewing potential challenges is important and should not stop you from reaching your destination. Motivation throughout this process is going to be key.
UNDERSTANDING YOUR WHY is very important, but you have to be able to remind yourself of that reason and have motivational affirmations along the way to give you that quick boost of energy when things get tough. Asking yourself questions like “How badly do you want it?” telling yourself “You can do it!” or “Just one more mile” can help increase motivation, build confidence, and allow you to perform your best and keep going when you want to quit.
Having a solid support system to help keep you accountable with your goals is just as important as self-motivation. There are times where you need to hear those motivational affirmations from somebody other than yourself, and that is just as good.
Some people are more externally motivated than internally, therefore, it is acceptable to give yourself a reward at various checkpoints throughout your journey. This is another way to keep us motivated. For example, when I was on my journey dropping 40-50 pounds back in 2012, I allowed myself a “cheat day” every Sunday if I followed my meal plan the first six days of the week. This day would include sweets, or even pizza, but it was something to keep me motivated throughout the week because I really wanted that pizza.
ENOUGH TALK. What can you do starting today toward reaching your goals? No more waiting, no “I will start Monday.” What can you do right now to get started? The sooner you get started, the sooner you will be able to reach your goals. The hardest part is starting. Once you start and you start making progress, the internal feeling you get will make it easier to continue along your journey to reaching your goals. Find out what you want, why you want it, how to go about it, get motivated, and get started!
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Coach Velez and the team before a competition page 119
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PROUD SPONSOR OF THE HAITI POLO TEAM.
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