By Laura Scaletti
Portraits by Melissa Fuller
The 2025 Sidelines Hot Horseman of the Year
Whack! One sound, one swing of the mallet, one hit of the ball forever changed Timmy Dutta’s life trajectory. On November 14th, 2013, Timmy’s dad, Tim, invited Timmy to go stick and ball for the first time. For the past 12 years, Timmy has been in pursuit of the perfect hit in North and South America.
“It was my dad’s birthday when he asked me to go out in the field and hit the ball around with him. My two jumpers at the time weren’t in work, so I thought, Why not? The first time I swung the mallet, it sparked something inside of me. I fell in love with the sport, fell in love with the feeling of hitting the ball and fell in love with the connection with the horse,” Timmy said. “I never sat on another jumper after that. I went full steam ahead with polo and here we are today.”
An icon in the horse world, with his Dutta Corporation horse transportation business, Tim has proudly given horses wings as he’s flown them all over the world for nearly 40 years. On his birthday in 2013, he gave Timmy his wings to discover the sport near and dear to Tim’s heart. “I think that was probably one of the best moments in his life right there,” Timmy said. “My father is a love r of the sport, a fanatic about polo and played in India and a little bit in the States. He was like, Finally, my son is obsessed with the same passion I have. He really enjoys that we share the same passion.”
“It’s every father’s dream to share sport and passion with your son. Timmy and I share a bond and love of horses, and it’s truly a magical blessing that we love polo,” Tim said. “I’m grateful that I can support him, his dreams and his passion.” Today, Timmy and Tim share more than just a mutual passio n for polo, they share a passion for all things Dutta Corporation. Timmy is a professional polo player for the family’s Dutta Corp team, runs the South American import/export portion of the Dutta Corporation and was featured in the Netflix documentary “Polo.”
Always Horses
Timmy was surrounded by horses long before he hit his first polo ball. In fact, Timmy’s never known a life without them. Not only does Tim fly horses around the world, Timmy’s mom, Susie Dutta, is an international dressage rider who’s rep resented the United States numerous times at Nations Cup events and was shortlisted for the Olympics.
“Timmy has traveled to shows with me and gone on European tours since he was five months old ,” Susie said. “ I loved having him with me. We have amazing, fun memories of all sorts of Nations Cups with both Tim and Timmy there supporting me. Tim and Timmy love the USA team clothing and cheering on not just me but all my teammates.”
“Growing up like that, I didn’t know anything other than premium horse care an d the horse sport,” Timmy said. “ I was on ponies before I could walk. Making that connection with horses as a young child is so special. To this day, I still get excited to be around them and they still make me smile. Just to get on one is always a pleasure.”
Susie heavily influenced Timmy’s early equestrian years as he traveled to competitions with her from the U.S. to Europe. “I learned a lot of great characteristics from her as an equestrian athlete, like how to prepare yourself, the dedication it takes and how many hours you have to be in the barn,” he said. “It was fun, and I enjoyed watching and learning from her. I still have fun today and never want to lose that passion of just enjoying being around the horses and the journey itself.”
“I am so proud of my son and the player, horseman plus beautiful human Timmy has become,” Susie said. “It’s my honor to share my knowledge about horses, training and management with him.”
While Timmy was doing leadline classes by the time he was 3 years old, it wasn’t un til his godfather, Guido Klatte, gifted Timmy a Shetland Pony named Bondy that he truly fell in love with horses. Like a stereotypical Shetland Pony, Bondy had a naughty streak and did whatever he wanted with Timmy along for the ride.
“He’d buck you off every day and take you into the bushes, but he was my best friend for two years. We did everything together, including me hooking up a bicycle to him and using him like a cart horse,” Timmy said. “Bondy was really the spark that created the fire. He’s where my true passion and love for horses came from, because I loved him to death.
” With access to Susie’s top show rooms, Timmy was taught early on the importance of properly caring for horses. “They taught me grooming, how to braid, pick feet and general main tenance of horses. It was also like our own mini Pony Club at this top show stable, so it was fun,” he said.
After learning the ropes with Bondy, Guido gifted Timmy a show pony. For the next four years, Timmy competed in the jumpers. “I wasn’t the best jumper, but I had great teachers. The best thing about my time in the jumper ring is that it gave me a great platform for riding, as I had many lessons without stirrups and jumping courses. That taught me the importance of good flatwork, good pace and an understanding of proper balance of the horse,” Timmy said. “I wouldn’t be the rider and person I am today without the jumping background.”
First Chukker
The sensation Timmy had when he first hit a ball with his mallet at 12 years old is what continues to captivate him today. “You feel this team aspect with your horse, and then when you actually play in a match it’s just an addictive feeling. You can’t get enough, and you’re trying to chase that same feeling from when you hit the ball perfectly the first time,” Timmy said. “In my opinion, polo is as close as you can get to poetry on a horse.”
Prior to Tim’s birthday, Timmy had ridden polo ponies, but it wasn’t until that fateful day that he was able to swing a mallet atop a pony. “Everything just clicked that day. I’m not sure what took my dad so long to offer me the opportunity to stick-and-ball, but everything happens for a reason, and the timing was right that day,” he said.
By the time Timmy was 16 years old, he had his first professional job playing for the Pilot polo team. With Timmy’s passion for polo cemented, Dutta Corp started their own polo team in 2017.
Timmy credits his family’s support for rising to the top of the sport at a young age. “I didn’t grow up like a normal kid. Once I started playing polo, my parents transitioned me from a public school to a Montessori-type education where we could tailor the school year around competitions, whether I was in person or online. When my parents saw how locked in I was on polo, they made sure we did it the proper way,” Timmy said. “That meant no prom, no partying, none of that traditional childhood stuff — just horses. At the end of the day, I was bred to ride horses and compete.”
“I am blown away by his dedication and continued growth as a player ,” Susie said. “ I love seeing him get more and more confidence in himself on and off the field .”
In addition to his own family, Timmy was lucky enough to have the legendary Gracida family guide him in his early years. “Memo, Ruben, Carlos — they are the ones who really got me into polo and taught me the basics, which gave me a great foundation and appreciation for the sport,” he said.
Since 2015, Alejandro Diaz Alberdi, aka Piki, has been Timmy’s coach and the most influential person in his polo career to date. Not only has he taken Timmy under his wings in the sport, but he’s also taken him in as another son. “Piki is an amazing guy who is another father figure to me. When I’m in Argentina, I live with him and his family. His kids are my best friends, so I’m very grateful to have met someone like him in this industry where I’ve not only developed a great relationship with, but his polo knowledge is unmatched,” Timmy said. “He’s taught me about the game and how best to manage our polo ponies.”
Polo Pro
A professional polo player for the past 10 years, today Timmy has operations in Port Mayaca, Florida, and in Argentina. Regardless of where his horses are located, Timmy’s main goal is always to do what’s best for his horses so they can perform at their peak and recover after matches. “One of the lessons my dad taught me is if you take care of the horse, the horse will take care of you. That’s especially true in our family: We do the best by the horses, and the horses put food on our table and take care of us,” he said.
Timmy starts every morning laying eyes on each horse in his care. “Especially during the season, it’s important to evaluate soundness, stress, appetite, etc. so I can make the right decisions for each horse’s plan. Every horse has its own individual workout routine; however, like an NFL team, we all work together as a unit to achieve our common goal — which is to play and hopefully win,” Timmy said. “After we work the horses, we go over them again and administer any therapies like post-game icing.”
While in the States, Timmy plays for his dad’s Dutta Corp team, making for a unique situation in the household. “On one hand he’s my father, and then on the other hand he’s my team owner, sponsor and horse owner. He can be a tough owner because as an educated consumer of the sport, he expects nothing but the best from me and everyone who’s part of the team,” Timmy said. “There’s no sugarcoating it; I know I have to perform each time I get on a horse. Even on the days when you wake up and feel it’s not your day, he expects you to go out there and get the job done.”
A fiercely competitive person himself, Timmy always wants to do everything he can to win, while also making sure his equine friends get home safely. “That’s one of the best things about playing for Dutta Corp; my dad understands that feeling completely. He’s very supportive and is my biggest fan. However, he’s also my harshest critic and I can definitely feel that on and off the field,” Timmy said. “In our family, that’s just what we do — we try to perfect our craft. It’ s very cool to be in a family where all you do is eat, sleep and breathe horses.”
Timmy couldn’t be where he is in the sport without the team behind him. “My crew is the heart and soul of our organization. The guys love our horses as much as I do and it shows in how they look and perform. It’s really important to me to have great chemistry with the people I work with. It makes all the hours we put in at the barn a little bit easier if we’re all enjoying what we’re doing and working with people we like,” he said.
With polo being a seasonal sport, Timmy spends September through December in Argentina and then plays December through April in the States, with the summer free for him to go to Europe, play in the States or work for Dutta Corp. “I decided to have two distinct operations because polo is intense, and this allows me to do the season with my horses in either location and then give them a holiday to just relax,” Timmy said.
Timmy’s best year as a player was his 2023 season when he won 34 out of 36 games in Argentina. “I won four consecutive tournaments ranging from the Provincial to Metro Alto to Metro Mediano and Soho. It’s not easy to win those cups in Argentina because there are 30 teams in each tournament and we’re playing almost six days a week,” he said. “We played a lot of matches that year and won everything.”
One of Timmy’s favorite victories was an eight-goal tournament in the States where he played alongside his dad and Piki’s sons, Nico and Lucas. “It was really special, because it was the last tournament my dad played in and Piki’s sons are like brothers to me,” he said.
Netflix Star
Last December, Netflix released “Polo,” a five-episode docuseries that followed Timmy, Adolfo Cambioso, Poroto Cambioso, Louis Devaleix and Keko Magrini as they competed during the 2024 Wellington season on the road to the U.S. Open Polo Championship. Timmy spent nearly three months working with the team from Prince Harry’s Archewell Productions.
While Timmy is well versed in conducting interviews and being in front of the camera, being followed around with a camera crew was a change of pace. “I’m not used to having a camera in my face in my personal life, so that was one of those things that took a bit to get used to. But after a few days of being mic’d up and th
e camera rolling around me, sometimes I forgot they were even there. It sounds hard to believe, but it’s true,” Timmy said. “The whole team was really cool to work with and I made some really good friends while filming.”
During the first episode of the doc umentary, viewers are introduced to Timmy, Tim and Susie. Cue the theatrics of Tim owning the team, Timmy hustling to win tournaments and Susie supporting from the sidelines.
Timmy believes “Polo” accurately portrayed his family dynamics. “My dad can be a hard dude, but it’s because he loves the sport, loves me and just wants to see me be better every day and be the best I can be. As a competitor herself, my mom understands what I go through during the ups and downs of the sport,” he said.
“Polo” was filmed during one of the worst seasons in the history of Dutta Corp Polo. “We were going through a reorganization year with horses, team players, all that jazz. So of course, that’s the year they filmed,” Timmy chuckled. “However, I always believe when an athlete is portrayed when they’re at their lowest, which for me was that season, it’s the best time to follow them because how you manage the comeback tells a lot about the athlete.”
For two weeks, “Polo” was the number one documentary in the country. It also helped spread the word of how exhilarating the sport is to the masses. To appeal to the average non-equestrian viewer, “Polo” didn’t focus on horses as much as the people involved in the sport.
“They didn’t portray the back of the house so much, because it ’s not sexy. I spend 90% of my day in the stable looking at legs, feet, shoes — that’s not something that people who’ve never watched horse sports before are going to find super interesting. They want to see the characters and personalities involved, and the drama and tense situations that come with them,” Timmy said. “That’s only a fraction of our sport, when I get to the field and play for an hour and a half.”
Family Business
With horses in his blood, Timmy is excited to continue his involvement with the Dutta Corporation. “I’ve done everything from answering the phone to sweeping the floors to flying with horses to doing quotes to billing and flying charters for World Equestrian Games, Pan American Games, Global Champions Tour, Major Leagues Show Jumping and the Olympics,” he said. “You name it, I’ve done it while going through the ranks of the company since I was 15.”
Timmy worked his first big project alongside Tim at the FEI World Equestrian Games Tryon 2018. “We moved 1,178 horses for those games. I did a lot of the grunt work there like offloading, loading and air side,” he said.
Timmy hopes to help Tim continue the family tradition of giving horses wings. “At Dutta Corp, we do an amazing job and I just don’t want to mess up what already works. I want to add on a few layers with my own personal ideas. I’m looking forward to working hand in hand with my father to bring Dutta Corp to the next level.”
“I’m the luckiest guy around, as Timmy is as passionate about business as he is into his sport of polo,” Tim said. “He is an astute horseman, loves working for the company, understands horses and top sports and has the right moral compass, extreme integrity, feel for customers and, most importantly, doing the right thing by the horses that we ship and have in our care. He is multilingual, a world citizen and a natural manager, and I can’t wait for him to evolve and play a major role in this global company.”
On the polo field, Timmy is aiming to be the best player he can be and push the Dutta Corp team to the max. “I want to climb the ranks, go higher and higher in the sport and win the biggest tournaments in the world. I’m constantly trying to find new horses and improve the ones we have,” he said. “Being the best is the goal.”
While being the best is the goal, Timmy also recognizes the importance of enjoying the moment. “I’ve been given an incredible opportunity and I’m so lucky to be here. I don’t think enough people take the time to smell the roses and enjoy what they’re doing,” he said. “I’m making a point of being grateful for what I have and taking a moment to step back for a second and think about what a pleasure and gift I’ve been given.”
Follow Timmy on Instagram @TimmyDutta
Photos by Melissa Fuller,
