COLTS NECK — A rags-to-riches story of a Russian Jew turned polo baron is not without precedent. Just ask the former Ralph Lifshitz, born to immigrants in the Bronx, who embroidered a polo pony on piqué in 1972 and launched a fashion empire.
Simon Garber, who emigrated to the U.S. with his parents in 1977, is another such success story, but unlike Ralph Lauren, he actually plays the sport.
That’s him, sweaty and red-faced, exhausted but exhilarated, after a recent match he organized at Bucks Mill Recreation Park in Colts Neck, where he lives.
"When I’m on a horse, I never think about business," said Garber, who made his millions in the taxicab business. "Horses have an amazing energy. I have no idea why, but the next day, somehow you feel a lot better."
Garber is so devoted to polo that he recently purchased the sprawling property next door, filling in the swimming pool to create additional practice fields and grazing pastures. But he also is dedicated to sharing the joy of the sport with the, well, not-so-upper-crusty.
"It’s for anybody," he said firmly. "It’s polo for the people."
Polo has long had a presence in horsey Colts Neck, and Garber started his own club in 2009 — it’s one of five in the state recognized by the U.S. Polo Association. This summer, he launched the Kings Polo Classic, a seven-match series played on Sundays through August.
The exhibition matches feature Garber and his three older sons, Shaun, Jeffrey and Tyler, along with Garber’s polo professional, Mauricio Devrient and other imported polo players, including international star Nacho Figueras, called the David Beckham of polo not just for his athleticism but for how well the handsome Argentine smolders in his Ralph Lauren ads.
Admission is free although donations are happily accepted; all proceeds benefit charity.
Thanks to a media campaign, the parking lot at a recent event included some sub-compacts and a couple of pickups along with the requisite Mercedes and BMWs, a vintage Corvette Stingray and a spotless red Lamborghini parked as ostentationally as possible.
Under the tent, well-heeled guests — and a few in cargo shorts and T-shirts — nibbled on platters of grilled vegetables, cheese and prosciutto and dabbled in roulette at a table set up in one corner. Teenage girls in too-high metallic heels wandered in a tight, giggly clutch, and one gentleman trailed a dachshund wearing a pink leopard-print bowtie — the dog, not the gentleman.
KINGS POLO CLASSIC SCHEDULE:
July 31: Second annual Yellow Cab Cup benefiting Operation Smile
Aug. 21: Gotham Philadelphia Style Cup benefiting Work to Ride
Aug. 28: Closing Match of Kings Polo Classic benefiting the Make a Wish Foundation
Where: Bucks Mill Recreation Area, off Bucks Mill Road in Colts Neck. Gates open at 4 p.m., matches start at 5 p.m. Donations encouraged, all proceeds go to charity. Figueras will play July 31 and Aug. 21.
For more information, go to poloclubofcoltsneck.org or call (212) 444-8748.
Some people were even watching the game.
Polo newbie Dan Arminio of Manalapan checked it out with his wife and horse-mad daughter.
"We’re enjoying ourselves," he said before escorting them to the field for the ritual stomping of the divots. "It’s a good day — we eat, drink, talk, watch polo. It’s better than shopping or watching TV."
Garber, the son of a sheet metal worker and nurse, came to America when he was 12, and his family settled in Jersey City. An ultra-Orthodox rabbi arranged for him to study at a yeshiva, where he met his future wife, Lina, also a Russian immigrant. He studied finance at Fairleigh Dickinson University in Teaneck while driving a cab at night.
He borrowed money from his mother to buy a taxicab medallion and leveraged it into dozens, buying and selling them as the price of medallions skyrocketed — "typical American story," he said with a grin and a still noticeable Russian accent.
He expanded to Moscow (though he has since exited the Russian market), Chicago and most recently New Orleans, and moved from a two-bedroom apartment in Fort Lee to a gated compound in Colts Neck, where a life-sized sculpture of a cantering horse greets visitors, and Garber shuttles around the property on a golf cart.
Polo is often called hockey on a horse, the ball in constant motion — so much so that ponies are typically traded in for fresh ones at the end of each of the six periods called chukkers — and the action shifting frequently from offense to defense.
"Winning is important, but it goes beyond that," Figueras said. "The game of polo is a game of a lot of tradition, a lot of heritage, of sportsmanship. It’s most important to be a gentleman. That’s something you can see."
The earliest accounts of polo date back more than 2,000 years to central Asia or Persia, with the word polo related to Tibetan "pulu," meaning ball. Some cultures used polo as a form of cavalry training, and rulers from China to the Middle East embraced the sport, earning polo its nickname, "the sport of kings." Invaders brought polo to India in the 13th century and British soldiers in India exported the game to England. In 1876, James Gordon Bennett Jr., a flamboyant newspaper tycoon, staged the first match in America, and it became popular among the masses in the early part of the 20th century.
In 1930, 45,000 people turned out to watch the U.S. beat the British for the Westchester Cup, and Time magazine reported the 1939 series "was the No. 1 international sporting event on the U. S. calendar," although polo’s popularity fell off after World War II.
During the recent match, Lina Garber and her mother-in-law socialized with friends beneath umbrellas at the edge of the tent, and Carole Jones of Clinton, a longtime polo fan, walked across the field to chat with one of the Argentinian pros during halftime. "It’s a wonderful way to spend the afternoon," she said. And easy on the eyes? "Not the least of it," she laughed. "I’m on my third generation of polo players."
Lena and Mark Parry of Holmdel were among the most attentive spectators, in part, they admitted, because they had no idea what was going on. They had been at the beach earlier in the day, and spotted a plane pulling a banner advertising the day’s match. "I’m learning the basic rules," Mark Parry said. "I learned today that you have to be rich to play."
Garber won’t say how much he has invested in his "hobby," but it’s safe to say millions. He keeps about 50 horses at his Colts Neck estate and at a Kentucky farm and employs Devrient, six grooms and an events coordinator, not to mention the purchase of the property next door.
Donna Singer of Wall met Garber through Special People United to Ride, a Monmouth County organization that gives those with disabilities riding lessons. Polo is an elite sport, she acknowledged, but anyone who appreciates beautiful animals would enjoy watching. "These horses are unbelievable," she says. "Polo ponies are truly talented animals. To be an equestrian, to be able to ride like this and then to be able to hit a little ball?"