Carlucho Arellano Of Wellington Named Executive Director Of Services At USPA

The United States Polo Association recently announced that Carlucho Arellano Jr. of Wellington has been selected as the association’s executive director of services.

Arellano earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Virginia, which enables him to effectively manage financial budgets. He comes to the USPA after having worked as a professional polo player and president of Capataz Polo for the past 16 years. His experience in hiring and managing employees, coaching and mentoring, combined with his extensive knowledge of the polo industry, were key factors considered when adding him to the executive team.

“I’m excited to have Carlucho join our team,” USPA CEO Bob Puetz said. “He brings with him a lifetime of polo experience, along with an in-depth knowledge of the culture of the sport. His understanding of the players, clubs and the inner workings of the association will be a great asset and addition to the leadership of the USPA.”

Arellano will serve the members and clubs of the association and oversee the responsibilities and staff of USPA Services. He will focus on facilitating improved external communication between the association and players, members and clubs, as well as assist with internal communication between the board, committees and staff. This will be achieved through oversight of handicaps, tournaments, club approvals and board meetings, along with communications and committee objectives.

Arellano has many achievements to his name as a polo player, ranging from intercollegiate to international titles. Some notable accomplishments include: Intercollegiate Player of the Year in 2000; University of Virginia Varsity Polo Team Captain and National Men’s Intercollegiate Championship finalist in 1998 and 2000; member of the U.S. Team for the Camacho Cup in 2009; Team USPA coach and mentor from 2015 to 2017; member of Villa del Lago Herbie Pennell Cup winning team in 2017; and Team USPA assistant coach in the XI FIP World Polo Championship in 2017.

“Joining the USPA staff when so much is happening for our sport and the success of our future players is most gratifying,” Arellano said. “This is an opportunity to give back to polo all that it has given to me. I look forward to working with my fellow players, the board, committees and staff to strengthen American polo.”

Founded in 1890, the USPA is the national governing body for the sport of polo. The association is currently comprised of almost 300 member clubs with thousands of individual members, and oversees 40 national tournaments. For more info., visit www.uspolo.org.

Addison Piper Builds A Strong Base
For A Great Future In Jumping

Growing up in Wellington, Addison Piper comes from show jumping on all sides of her family. She has been competing at the Winter Equestrian Festival for 10 years and enjoys the confidence building and learning that comes with the local 12-week series.

Both of her parents, Will and Tiffaney Piper, competed in equitation and jumpers as young riders.

“My mom rode, my dad rode and my grandma still rides,” Piper explained. “I was basically born into horses. I started off with the ponies, like most riders, and then I moved onto the horses. I love it.”

Piper has had some great results along the way. In 2017, she placed fifth in the nation at the Platinum Performance/USEF Show Jumping Talent Search in Gladstone, N.J., judged by McLain Ward. This year and next year, she has the opportunity to compete in the Dover Saddlery/USEF Hunter Seat Medal Final and the ASPCA Maclay Equitation Finals before she ages out of the junior division.

At 17 years old, she has big goals for the future.

“I want to keep excelling in the jumpers,” Piper said. “I have a new jumper that I am getting to know, and two other jumpers, plus my equitation horse. I just want to keep moving up. I will go to Spruce Meadows this summer, which is exciting because I will get to jump some big courses. If everything goes to plan, I will do indoors this fall with the junior jumpers and all the equitation finals. I want to stay competitive in equitation. I got a ribbon last year in Gladstone. Hopefully, I will get a ribbon again this year. That is the goal.”

With four horses to ride, sometimes more, Piper is always on the move.

“Bonita Z, I just acquired from Eric Lamaze and the team at Torrey Pines. She is awesome. She is a cute little chestnut mare, really feisty,” Piper said. “Then, there is Hermine 44; I have had her for two years. She took me to my first NAJYRC FEI Junior/Young Rider Championships in Colorado. And with All About Anjes (aka Onions), my other jumper, we do the Low Junior Jumpers. She is one to get into the ring for practice. For equitation, I lease a horse named Skara Glen’s Prologue.”

A typical day includes school and horses.

“At home, I start at 8 a.m. I usually have four to five horses to ride,” Piper said. “Most days are riding on the flat, or I may have a jumping lesson or two. When I finish around 2 or 3 p.m., I go straight to school until around 5 or 6 p.m. Then I start the next day all over again.”

During the winter 12-week WEF series, Piper has classes in the early mornings and throughout the day.

“Today, I started off with the Junior Medium Classic,” she said, explaining how she schooled her horse, Hermine 44, at 6:30 a.m. and made sure she was ready. “Then I walked the course at 7:30 a.m. and competed at 8:15 a.m. It can be pretty busy running from ring to ring.”

The schedule includes showing two or three horses in a week. To give her horses, and herself, a rest, she takes regular breaks. “I do two weeks on and one week off during the season,” Piper explained.

Piper is coached by Ken and Emily Smith of Ashland Farms, whom she travels with on the circuit all year.

“I have been riding with them for almost six years now,” she said. “They also have two great people who work for them, Chrissy Kear and David Nation, who have been a huge help in my junior career. They have always found great horses for me, and they are so supportive.”

She is currently completing her junior high school year at the Palm Beach International Academy. “It’s an awesome place. I have been going there since eighth grade,” Piper said. “I’m starting to look at colleges and preparing for the ACT. When I am traveling, my teachers Skype with me. It has been a great program for my college preparations.”

Piper approaches her career with sincere insight and a drive to learn.

“I love the horses. Even if I didn’t show, I love being around the horses and being back with them in the barn,” she said. “I also have that competitive drive to do well. My horses try so hard for me, and I have a very supportive team behind me. It has been a great opportunity for me to grow up here in Wellington.”

Wellington Offers The Perfect Home For Quality Saddle Fitter Debbie Witty

When Debbie Witty first visited Wellington 10 years ago, she immediately felt at home with its charming atmosphere and sense of community.

Although she originally planned on only residing in the equestrian hub for the winter seasons, seven years later, she officially moved her family from Ithaca, N.Y., to become year-round Floridians.

An avid dressage rider, Witty fell in love with all that Wellington has to offer in addition to the abundance of equestrian networking opportunities at the highest levels of the sport. From the Olympic sports of dressage and show jumping to the thrilling game of polo, Witty had found the ideal location to further establish her company, Trilogy Performance Saddlery.

“When I began riding, I noticed that the expectation from riders was to swing their leg over a saddle, sit on their horse and everything go perfectly,” Witty said. “I quickly recognized that many riders were struggling with their performances due to incorrect saddle fit for themselves and for their horse. Personally, I remember taking a lunge lesson in a saddle that was so uncomfortable and left me sore, and the trainer said, ‘Don’t worry, you’ll get used to it.’ I decided at that moment the saddle-fitting industry needed to be revamped.”

After embarking on her entrepreneurial journey, with stories of rider discomfort and saddle shopping nightmares inspiring and motivating her, Witty dedicated her life to developing a line of saddles that would provide comfort for both the horse and rider.

“I saw the opportunity for change, and I enveloped everything I had personally experienced and witnessed with fellow riders into designing my own saddle line,” Witty said.

Early in her career, she gained extensive knowledge and expertise on equine biomechanics from her 10-year tenure at the Cornell Veterinary College. Thus, the Trilogy Performance Saddlery design process became ingrained with scientific studies.

Witty also spent a great deal of time in England learning from and becoming certified by the prestigious Society of Master Saddlers.

“It was my desire to show people that I was really passionate about the correct fit of the saddle,” Witty said. “I am always hungry for information and a thorough education. During my time with the Society of Master Saddlers in England, I was among the first group of international students to be accepted as a qualified fitter, while more than 50 percent of the participants failed. It showed me how, as an industry in the United States, we needed to step up our game. The qualifications proved that I was knowledgeable, and I wanted to share my expertise with my potential clients and the equestrian community.”

Over the years, Witty’s Trilogy Performance Saddlery has developed into one of the top saddle manufacturing companies in the United States. The firm is dedicated to achieving a greater level of performance and awareness for horse and rider through education, service and design. From observing riders’ performance while training and showing to listening carefully to their feedback, Trilogy Performance Saddlery has successfully fit many Olympic champions, such as Debbie McDonald, as well as amateurs and young riders.

“Our saddle collection fits virtually every body type. Usually, if someone comes in, they’ll always find something that is comfortable for them,” Witty said. “We also work hard at making the saddle user friendly for the horse. Our design features a nice wide flat panel, a wide gullet and they’re all wool flocked so they’re totally adjustable. I always stress to everyone that adjustability is the most important element, no matter what saddle you’re looking at, because as the horse develops in his body, the saddle must change along with him. However, you must have a highly skilled technician adjust the wool flocking correctly to ensure proper fit.”

Trilogy Performance Saddlery offers customers a distinct advantage over other saddle competitors, not only in the quality of its products, but also in providing access to a vast network of specially trained saddle fitters, who have all passed an extensive education program developed by Witty.

Located across the United States, Trilogy Performance Saddlery’s fitters specialize in hand fitting, flocking and providing ongoing client support. Witty requires that every member of the saddle fitting team participate in continual educational sessions, as well as benefit from ongoing training in new techniques and methods of evaluation.

“One of the things I am most proud of is our saddle fitting training for our consultants,” Witty said. “They’re talented, trained technicians. They’re professionals, but they all continue to come back for more education, and many of my training sessions take place in Wellington.”

The equestrian community in Wellington has accepted Witty as one of the top saddle experts in the industry, and she has a packed schedule during the winter season. Being in the center of Wellington allows her to spend time at the horse shows, where she can continue to grow her connections and share her knowledge, while also personally meeting with clients at their barns for fittings.

“I love the atmosphere of Wellington,” Witty said. “It’s beautiful, clean and the sense of community is what sets it apart. I love being a part of something as special as Wellington.”

To learn more about Trilogy Performance Saddlery, visit www.saddlefit.com.

Young Horseman Timmy Dutta  Knows Polo Is His Passion

Young American polo player Timmy Dutta found his passion for polo early in life. Born and raised in Wellington, Dutta has always been around horses, and started his equestrian career at the age of five with a little black pony named Stripey.

At age 12, after a few years in the show jumping world, Dutta picked up a mallet for the first time, and immediately knew polo would be his future.

“One day I had the opportunity to stick-and-ball with my father. From that day on, I was hooked,” Dutta said. “Playing polo is an addiction. I want to play every day. It’s my love, it’s my passion, it’s my life.”

Dutta’s father, Tim Dutta, also a polo player, is the founder of the Dutta Corporation, a world-class international equine transportation company, and his mother is an international Grand Prix dressage rider.

With parents so immersed in the equestrian world, it is no wonder that the young Dutta is excelling on the polo field. At just 16 years old, he is one of the youngest players on the field in the high-goal tournaments in Wellington.

During the 2018 season in Wellington, Dutta has been playing with the Pilot team in the 20-goal tournaments at the International Polo Club Palm Beach, alongside Curtis Pilot and Facundo and Gonzalito Pieres, who are widely recognized as some of the best players in the world.

“It’s a great pleasure to play with these guys,” Dutta said. “They are amazing players; they’re the top in the world. It’s a learning experience for me. As a young player coming up in the sport, playing with the top players is something we all dream about.”

He is also playing on his father’s team, Dutta Corp, in the Grand Champions 20-goal events.

Dutta has learned from his parents’ example that success in riding starts in the barn. He has 14 horses in work and is very involved in the daily operations — riding five to 10 singles a day during the season and paying close attention to his horses’ nutrition and exercise regime.

“Every horse is different — some need more, some need less,” Dutta explained when asked about his nutrition program. “We have a base Triple Crown feed that we use, and then we add in supplements. Sometimes the base feed will change depending on their needs.”

Dutta’s inherited commitment to horsemanship and horse care has drawn him attention and support at a very young age. He is sponsored by the leading supplement company, Vita Flex, as well as Triple Crown Nutrition. Both companies admire the young player’s passion not only for the sport, but the horses themselves.

Being a young American player is not easy in a sport that has historically been dominated by Argentina.

“As a young American player, there are a lot of challenges,” Dutta said. “We have great polo here in America, but down in Argentina, you get to play every day. I’m lucky that my dad supports me and allows me to go down there to play.”

Dutta is quick to recognize how vital his father’s support has been to his polo career. “My father has taught me a lot. I respect and admire him, especially his work ethic. He has really taught me to manage my horses,” Dutta said. “He has put me in a place where he has bought me the best horses, and he has been helping me from the start and training me. I couldn’t do it without him.”

Dutta also credits his coach and mentor Piki Diaz Alberdi, and said that he has tried to model himself after both Alberdi and his father. Some of the horses that he is playing in the high goal have come from Alberdi, as well as legendary player and horseman Memo Gracida and Carlitos Gracida. A true horse family, the Duttas know that good horses make the polo player, and they have mounted Dutta as well as possible.

Although a career in polo is Dutta’s main focus, he does intend to pursue a college degree in international business and psychology. However, most likely it will be online so that he can continue to ride and play at the same level.

The future looks bright for this upcoming American player, but the ever-humble Dutta is quick to turn the attention back to his father’s support.

“I wouldn’t be here without my father,” he said. “He’s been here for me and taught me everything.”

Laura Graves

Laura Graves and her horse Verdades have a strong bond of harmony and talent clear to all who watch the pair master the sport of dressage. Graves and her mother bought the horse as a foal from Holland, and she set to work to master each step of the training. In 2014, she blew the judges away at the U.S. Dressage Championships in Gladstone, N.J. She not only placed second overall, she also received one of the highest scores of any American rider and qualified for the 2014 World Equestrian Games. That summer, her first time in Europe to compete, the pair impressed the judges at the CHIO Aachen 5* and then at the WEG in Normandy, France. In 2015, at the FEI World Cup Finals in Las Vegas, she finished fourth. Later that year, she competed at the Pan American Games in Toronto, where she won the team gold medal and the individual silver medal. In 2016, Graves competed at her first Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. She won the bronze medal in the team competition and earned the fourth position individually. So far in 2018, she scored an 84.675 percent in CDI-World Cup Qualifier FEI Grand Prix Freestyle, in which she has her first of two qualifying scores to be invited to the FEI World Cup to be held in April in Paris.

Arlene ‘Tuny’ Page

Tuny Page is a champion for the sport of dressage on two levels, first as a top competitor for the United States and second as an advocate for others. She has long been a champion of the Vinceremos Therapeutic Riding Center and also one of the founding members in building the Adequan Global Dressage Festival. A true perfectionist, Page works to refine her mindset about how to ride in a competition with high results. Her philosophies, in her own words, include, “Riding dressage is about trusting in the process and concentrating on the moment. It is developing habits so that I always subconsciously and naturally do things in a consistent way.” Page credits Vincente Guilloteau for allowing her to develop a great partnership with her world-class partner, Woodstock. She, and many other Wellington sponsors, spent years volunteering their time in finding ways to make a winter series come to fruition for all riders competing in dressage. Every year, the final competition in the 12-week series includes the CDIO Nations Cup, which is sponsored by Page’s Stillpoint Farm.

Christoph Koschel

Christoph Koschel comes from the best in Germany, as his father recently retired from running one of the top training facilities in the world. After graduating as a lawyer, Christoph joined his father at their training stables. Koschel competed at the 2010 World Equestrian Games and the 2011 European Dressage Championship, winning top medals. He has had the most success with the gelding Donnperignon, placing sixth at the World Equestrian Games in Lexington with the bronze-medal-winning German team. Koschel is known as a great coach. He coaches a lengthy roster of international riders, including his niece, Felicitas Hendricks, a top German Junior Division Rider, and all of the Japanese dressage team riders, including Kiichi Harada here in Wellington. He coached Harada at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. Koschel is a master of focus in the international arena, and many of the riders associated with him achieve great results.