7-Goaler Santi Torres Is Always Working And Training To Become A Better Polo Player Story by Jack Lowenstein • Photos by David Lominska
For polo player Santiago “Santi” Torres, the sport and the culture of polo were part of his upbringing and made him who he is today. Everyone in his immediate family rode and played the “sport of kings” at some point in their lives, and polo continues to be the lifestyle Torres chooses to lead. Santi Torres, shown here at the tender age of six, became a professional polo player at age 10.
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april 2017 | wellington the magazine
“I grew up in the sport. Both my parents played. So, I was born right into it. My big brother plays. I started from there,” Torres recalled. Torres was born in Santa Barbara, Calif., where he would go to school for half of the year, and then he spent the other half in Palm Springs, Calif. After playing for the Valiente team last year, Torres is a free agent this season, but returned to Wellington for the winter with his horses to train and seek out new opportunities. “I’m still young. These past few years have been great,” Torres said, before adding that this season has not gone as smoothly as he hoped. “In anyone’s life, there will be ups and downs to go through, so I’m trying not to freak out about it.” But even when he is not playing on the high-goal teams, he still keeps to his regimen. “Even if I don’t have anything, I still have to work and try my hardest to get the next opportunity,” he said. The 2017 season did bring some unexpected opportunities outside of the high-goal tournaments. As a Team USPA member, Torres played on a USPA-sponsored team at the $50,000 National 12-Goal Tournament staged at the Grand Champions Polo Club in March. Team USPA is a United States Polo Association program designed to enhance and grow the sport by identifying young, talented American polo players and providing mentored training and playing opportunities. Torres also is involved in the new Gladiator Polo program, which has been highly recognized in the local polo community and across the country. He plays on Team Crixus with Matias Magrini and Mike Azzaro in the new arena polo league.