Guillermo "Memo" Gracida Jr. (born July 25, 1956) is a Mexican

polo Polo is a stick and ball game that is played on horseback as a traditional field sport. It is one of the world's oldest known team sports, having been adopted in the Western world from the game of Chovgan (), which originated in ancient ...

player whose international career includes several record-setting achievements, including the most U.S. Open victories (16) and the most consecutive years as an American 10-goaler (21). These feats and dozens of major tournament wins led to Gracida's selection as Player of the Centennial Era in 1990 and his induction into the National Polo Hall of Fame in 1997 while still an active player.

Early life

Gracida was born in

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

into the first family of Mexican polo. His paternal grandfather, Gabriel Gracida Sr., was a well-known horseman, but it was father’s generation that cemented the Gracidas’ reputation on the polo fields of North America. In 1946, the Gracida family represented Mexico in the most prestigious tournament in American polo, the U.S. Open Polo Championship, at New York’s

Meadowbrook Polo Club The Meadowbrook Polo Club (originally styled as the "Meadow Brook Club"), located in Old Westbury, New York, is the oldest continuously operating polo club in the United States, first established in 1881.Marie, Kim (August 27, 201The Power of The ...

. Their 11–9 victory in the finals stands as the only instance in history of the

United States Polo Association The United States Polo Association (USPA) is the national governing body for the sport of polo in the United States, and a retail chain that manufactures and promotes a lifestyle sports fashion brand of ready-to-wear casual footwear, apparel, and ...

that the U.S. Open was won by four brothers. The second oldest brother on that winning team was Memo’s father, Guillermo Gracida Sr., who had his son riding at 2 and playing tournament polo at 10. In 1976, father and son teamed with Pablo Rincon Gallardo and Javier Rodriguez to represent Mexico in the Camacho Cup, an international competition pitting Mexico against the U.S. The tournament marked Memo’s first opportunity to play international polo. Mexico won 7–4, 14–6, and 12–5.

Career highlights

The 1976 Camacho Cup was not only the first time Mexico won the international competition, but it marked the debut of the up-and-coming polo star in American polo. By 1977, Gracida had relocated to San Antonio to play for Stephen M. Gose, sponsor of the powerful Retama polo team, where he would win the U.S. Open in 1977, 1979, 1982, 1984. Playing for Retama, Gracida also won the USPA Silver Cup in 1980, 1981, and 1984. Gracida also enjoyed a long and successful career playing for Les Diables Bleus, a team sponsored by fine art dealer Guy Wildenstein. Les Diables Bleus won the U.S. Open in 1988, 1989, and 1990. Gracida’s other wins in the U.S. Open came while playing for Carter Ranch (1985), Aloha (1987), Hanaleia Bay (1992), Gehache (1993), Aspen (1994), Outback Steakhouse (1995, 1996), and Isla Carroll (1997, 2004). Since winning the 1976 Camacho Cup, Gracida has participated in numerous international events, winning the Argentine Open (1982), the Australian Open (1990), the British Gold Cup (1983), the Coronation Cup (1985, 1986), and the Queen’s Cup (1986, 1997). He captained Mexico to victory in a total of four Camacho Cups (1976, 1981, 1988, 2009).

Awards and achievements

Best results in major tournaments: U.S. Open
Won: 1977, 1979, 1982, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2004 Argentine Open
Won: 1982 Australian Open
Won: 1990 British Gold Cup
Won: 1983 Camacho Cup
Won: 1976, 1981, 1988, 2009 Coronation Cup
Won: 1985, 1986 Gold Cup of the Americas
Won: 1996, 1997, 1998 Pacific Coast Open
Won: 1988, 1993, 1994, 1996, 2001 Monty Waterbury
Won: 1978, 1998 Queen’s Cup
Won: 1986, 1997 U.S. Silver Cup
Won: 1980, 1981, 1984, 1995, 2003 World Cup
Won: 1983, 1984, 1989, 1990, 1994, 1996, 1997 40-Goal FIP
Won: 2005 Player of the Year
1990, 1991, 1996, 1997 MVP, U.S. Open
1982, 1984, 1989, 1990, 1995, 1996, 1997 Player of the Centennial Era
Selected 1990 Polo Hall of Fame
Inducted 1997

Polo ponies

The Gracida tradition of identifying and training outstanding horses goes back decades to Gabriel Gracida Sr., who trained

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a list of horse breeds, horse breed developed for Thoroughbred racing, horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thorough ...

s for the race track as well as polo ponies for the

Mexican Army The Mexican Army () is the combined Army, land and Air Force, air branch and is the largest part of the Mexican Armed Forces; it is also known as the National Defense Army. The Army is under the authority of the Secretariat of National Defense o ...

. Memo Gracida continued that tradition by winning the Willis L. Hartman Trophy a record four times. The trophy is awarded annually by the

to the owner of the Best Playing Pony in the U.S. Open Championship. The sterling silver piece was handcrafted by Garrard and Co. Ltd., the British Crown Jewellers. Gracida's four winning polo ponies were: Kalliman (1987), Sasha (1993), Deja Vu (1995), Sasha (1997). He has also trained numerous other Hartman Trophy winners Gracida trains and sells polo ponies of all levels: low-goal, medium-goal and high-goal horses used by 10-goal players. At his farms in

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

and Florida, he maintains an extensive polo pony breeding program that utilizes top Thoroughbred bloodlines and embryo transfers from some of polo's best playing mares.

Polo program

Since 1989, Gracida has hosted La Herradura Classic, an invitation-only weeklong event that offers amateur polo players the opportunity to sharpen their skills under the tutelage of Gracida as well as some of the world’s finest polo players. Held from October through December at Gracida’s Lagunas de Polo, state-of-the-art polo facility in Pilar, the capital of Argentine polo, La Herradura coincides with the Triple Crown of Argentine polo: the Hurlingham, Tortugas, and Argentine Opens. Over the course of the last two decades, some of the world’s best known team sponsors have participated in La Herradura Classic, including David Andras (Pegasus), Tom Barrack (Piocho Ranch), Ron Bonaguidi (Hanalei Bay), Anthony Embiricos (Tramontana), Tim Gannon (Outback Steakhouse), Joachim and Max Gottschalk (Les Lions), John Goodman (Isla Carroll), John Muse (Lucchese), and George Rawlings (Crab Orchard).

Personal life

Gracida married Mimi Oliver in 1978. They have two children: Michi, who assists her father in his polo operations, and Julio, whose brief career as a professional polo player features victories in the country’s leading high-goal tournaments, including the U.S.P.A. Silver Cup (2003), the C.V. Whitney Cup (2005), the U.S. Open (2005), and the Iglehart Cup (2009). Memo’s only brother,

Carlos Gracida Carlos Gracida (September 5, 1960 – February 25, 2014) was a Mexican-American polo player. He reached a 10-goal handicap at the age of 25. Biography Gracida was born in Mexico City. As a product of the Gracida polo dynasty, Ca ...

, who died in 2014 while playing a match in Wellington, Florida, at the International Polo Club, was a polo player of international renown as well. The two teamed together to win numerous tournaments worldwide. He is a naturalized U.S. citizen.

References

External links

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PoloGraphics
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gracida, Memo American polo players 1956 births Sportspeople from Mexico City Living people Sportspeople from Wellington, Florida