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There are only a few more minutes of sunlight left in the day, but at the end of a long, sandy road in South Florida, Weston Gracida is still riding. Every morning he pulls on his boots and crosses the 20 yards that separate house and barn, where the attention of 22 polo ponies, at least one polo game, and a pair of grooms await him. And every day, he rides. But when you’re a Gracida, this is all you know. And when you know polo, the name Gracida is as much a part of the lexicon as mallet, near side, ride off and boards.

True to form, 22-year old-Weston Gracida seems to be following in the footsteps of the Gracidas who came before him. His father Ruben Gracida, a former eight-goal player, enjoyed a high-goal career

that spanned 30 years. During Weston’s childhood, his father traveled around the world winning high goal championships in France, Italy and Mexico, and in this country won U.S. Open and Pacifc Coast Open titles four times over. If anything is possible, one day Weston may approach the success of his legendary second cousins, ten goalers Memo and Carlos Gracida, who between them have won every major polo tournament around the globe. That generation of Gracidas, the third in a line of four polo-playing generations, cemented the family name into polo history. The Gracidas are now known as one of the greatest polo dynasties in the world.

But as one of the next generation Gracidas, Weston doesn’t get hung up on the accomplishments of others, not even those within his family.

“I get up in the morning for the horses,” he says. “I love the horses, and I love to play.”

Which is surprising, considering the fact that until very recently, Weston was severely allergic to horses. It was the world’s most ironic joke – a Gracida with a horse allergy. But for Ruben, allergy symptoms were no reason to keep his only son out of the barn. So despite a constant battle with hives and fts of sneezing , the young boy was handed a pitchfork, and later a saddle, and taught the art of horsekeeping and riding. Watery eyes and an itchy nose never stopped a Gracida from meeting his goals.

Today, Weston is rated at 3 goals and is enjoying his busy professional career, but in those days, he admits that he hated going to the barn.

“Until last year I never touched the horses,” he explains.

“Do you know how much it sucks to go to work when you’re suffering?”

But one day, he woke up and the allergy was a little less, until gradually, it disappeared. Now he looks out over the family farm, on ten acres at the historic Gulfstream Polo Club in Wellington, and thinks in terms of possibilities. Better able to focus on his game, he’s beginning to be considered as one of the emerging talents on the Florida polo scene. The place is a perfect turnkey facility, with private polo arena, stick and ball feld, sand track and tidy stalls and paddocks. It’s an ideal setup for any equestrian business, and Weston loves to teach and school up the green horses, but he keeps a busy schedule during season – playing multiple games per week on a freelance basis.

And polo isn’t his only outlet. Weston has his pilot’s license (something he earned in his “spare“ time), can navigate large watercraft, and harbors a passionate interest in marine biology. He’s only a few credits away from earning his bachelor’s degree in biology from Palm Beach Atlantic University, and if his career choice ever deviates from polo, it would likely fall in that direction. After all, with his wavy surfer hair and broad, tanned forehead Weston fts right in with coastal community that he grew up in. But this spring and summer, Weston will travel to where ever the game of polo takes him. He’s still weighing his options as to the exact location, but “my father always told me that polo was my passport to the world,” he explains. With offers to play in both the Southern and Eastern regions of the country, Weston is coming to the realization that polo is evolving from a lifestyle, to a viable career for him.

As each season passes, Weston’s talent builds, and his passion grows. With or without that passport, it’s clear that this Gracida is out to make a name of his own.