FOR HORSE PEOPLE • ABOUT HORSE PEOPLE
SIDELINES APRIL 2013 49
The Outback/Il Borro Team won the 2011 Van Metre Polo
Cup, 8-6, over Barclays Wealth/Altair at Great Meadow (left to
right): Chris Gannon, Brandon Phillips, Tim Gannon, Salvatore
Ferragamo and John Walsh. The matches have raised nearly
one million dollars for Capital Caring and awareness of hospice
services.
and Hall of Fame awards dinner – my whole family will be there.
It is a great honor.”
Nowadays Tim’s saddle time is reserved for playing in special
fundraisers like the Charity Polo Classic and the Van Metre Cup at
Great Meadow in Virginia on June 15 with celebrities John Walsh,
Nacho Figueras and Salvatore Ferragamo. He named two all-time
favorite horses, Michellita and Road Runner: he played them for
several chukkers when Outback Polo won its frst US Open in
1999.
“Michellita glided like a Ferrari with total smoothness, balance
and agility,” recalled Tim. “My daughter Kathleen found the mare
in London with Gonzalo Pieres. Road Runner came from the west
coast of Mexico and belonged to Memo Gracida. She’s 18 now
and we still play her. When Outback Polo won the US Open titles,
we did it on horsepower – a lot of times it all comes down to who’s
playing the best horses.”
When Tim isn’t hitting the courts with his wife Christie, a former
all-American tennis player, he’s building a new business after 25
years of Outback Steakhouse. His new restaurant, PDQ, is all
about food, too. “It’s fun, fast, casual – grilled chicken and turkey
and salads,” said Tim. “The opening in February went pretty well
and we’ll see how PDQ goes. I’m living on the ocean with my wife
and family. We’re enjoying life. It’s all good.”
Tim Gannon, co-founder of Outback Steakhouse, and members
of his Outback crew of volunteers, pose with the players behind
the hospitality tent, which is an annual success at the Van Metre
Polo Cup: left to right: Juan Salinas Bentley, Nacho Figueras,
Tim Gannon, Salvatore Ferragamo and John Walsh.