Professional polo player offers private and group lessons

SARASOTA — Juan Martinez-Baez learned the importance of balance at a young age.

Martinez-Baez was 5 years old at the time and had just mounted his horse for his first riding lesson. He had never ridden alone before, but it didn’t take long for Martinez-Baez to catch on, realizing the key to not only controlling his course — but also becoming a better rider — was to stay balanced.

After all, once he mastered that skill, the rest was easy.

Now, Martinez-Baez is hoping to use the knowledge he has gained to help other riders. As the Sarasota Polo Club’s new polo instructor, Martinez-Baez recently began offering private and group riding and polo lessons to individuals of all ages.

Martinez-Baez has been playing polo professionally at the Sarasota Polo Club for the past 15 years, but this is the first year he’s teaching others how to play.

“I like to teach and help people — especially the younger kids,” Martinez-Baez said. “When they start young, they learn a lot more things like balance. Once you get balanced, it’s easier.”

Martinez-Baez, who has eight school horses specifically for teaching, offers lessons for beginners as well as those who are more advanced. Beginning lessons typically last an hour, while lessons for those who already know how to ride are typically 30 to 45 minutes depending on each person’s skill level.

“The more they know, the less time they’ll have,” Martinez-Baez said. “They can do more things, so the horse gets tired (faster).”

During each lesson, Martinez-Baez focuses on teaching individuals how to ride, the lines and rules of polo, how to ride off and how to hit the ball, among other skills.

“Riding is the hardest part,” Martinez-Baez said of polo. “You have to control the horse where you want it to go. Hitting the ball is easy.”

A native of Mexico, Martinez-Baez grew up around polo. His father rode and worked in polo and eventually taught his son how to play.

“He sort of passed it on to me,” Martinez-Baez said. “I like to ride horses and to make them ride the way I want. It’s like everything — sometimes you win and sometimes you lose — but I try to make them do it right.”

After playing and working around polo in Mexico, Martinez-Baez moved to the United States in 1991 and began playing professionally.

“When I got here I got a chance to play, and I decided to take a chance,” Martinez-Baez said.
Martinez-Baez will once again return to the polo field this season with a variety of teams.

In addition to playing and giving lessons, Martinez-Baez also plans to work with a team of four junior polo players, including his 13-year-old son, Carlos Martinez. Martinez-Baez worked with the boys last season and is hoping to eventually get them together and form an interscholastic junior polo team to compete against other teams in Wellington.

“The more kids that come the more chances they’ll have (to play),” Martinez-Baez said. “Kids like to compete against other kids that are the same age. They have more confidence in the games and they’re focused more when they’re playing against someone the same age.”

For more information or to schedule a lesson contact Juan Martinez-Baez at (314) 496-5481 or [email protected].

Contact Jen Blanco at [email protected].