VOLUME IV / ISSUE VIII / AUGUST 2020
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR “POLO IS ON,” this month’s cover announces, and it’s true. Not that it means we’ll be traveling to enjoy polo on the sidelines anytime soon. The rules of the game, coinciding with the rules of 2020, have changed. Those two sets of rules have significantly impacted the way we’ll watch and play polo this year and… beyond. Recently, Gilda, a representative of a PR firm in Venice, emailed me. “How are you… how are things going over there (the USA) concerning COVID-19? We hear terrible situations and would just like to know how you are.” I was deeply touched by the message. Gilda and I have been corresponding regularly since early spring when Italy was at the height of infections and the United States was just beginning to issue stayat-home orders. Italy has since emerged from lockdown while here in the USA, the outlook is grimmer. Gilda had shared with me over the course of dozens of emails the difficulties associated with working from home and life in general in Italy. I did not, and do not, know the extent of her responsibilities at home or other personal matters, but I do know she performed her job under very difficult circumstances for months, including acting as the gobetween for Polo Lifestyles and the department at Dior responsible for the 2019 Tiepolo Ball. It's often easier to put difficult days and memories behind us, but Gilda’s note showed me true humanity and compassion. It was unexpected and moving. And as I read headlines of areas highly affected by COVID-19, I hope that my concern and compassion for friends and acquaintances in those places is the same beacon that Gilda’s note was to me. Here to comfort us this month is Zindfandel (in moderation), an exploration of community building, putting fears behind us and an artist who exalts the female role models in his life. Read, share and enjoy. Be well, Josh Jakobitz josh@pololifestyles.com
page Photo 20 by Alice Gipps Equine Photography