Sunny Hale on Polo, Passion, & Pursuing Dreams
Sunny Hale is widely recognized among her peers as the most accomplished and well respected female polo player in the world. Her most famous victory is becoming the first woman in history to win the US Open Polo Championships as a professional player, hired by the Outback Steakhouse Polo Team at the request of the world’s #1 player of all time Adolfo Cambiaso - the equivalent of a woman being hired to play in the NBA Finals, World Series, or the Superbowl as a starter among the men… and winning the championship.
Sunny travels the world promoting the sport she loves in new tournaments for women and has written several books, including the newly released I Want To Be A Champion - A Champions Letter To Kids With A Dream. She tours the world sharing her message of inspiration through speaking opportunities and sat down recently with Elizabeth Goodwin Welborn, founder of Scouted polo lifestyle brand Stick & Ball, to talk about polo, passion, and pursuing dreams.
Elizabeth: Sunny, at what age did you decide you wanted to become a champion in the sport of polo?
Sunny: At 19. I decided I wanted to become a professional polo player and pursue my dream in the sport. I didn’t share this goal or dream with anyone. In addition to playing professionally, I learned to trade horses and teach lessons to support and continue my passion of playing polo, which meant a lot of hard work, long hours, and taking steps toward my goal.
Elizabeth: In 2000, you were the first woman to play and win in the U.S. Open Polo Championships. At that time, you outranked 96 percent of the polo players in the world, including men. You are known as “the most influential person in women’s polo today.” What were the obstacles that you had to face personally to achieve becoming a champion of polo and how did you maintain your focus?
Sunny: I had many challenges along the way to where I was going in my personal dream, but I always believed that if I did the work I would get the invitations I was looking for. I had no template to follow for what I was after and no financial fortune to fall back on, so I had to work for everything.
When I started out, there were no other woman being paid to play professionally at the top of the sport and no woman had ever won the U.S. Open Polo Championship, nor were they even considered for options as teammates… unless they could afford to own the team.
The obstacles were plenty, but I stayed true to myself and my dream. I was willing to put in the hard work to make it happen and to stand up for myself on the field with solid performances. I was disciplined and worked hard and stayed away from drinking or drugs.
I also knew that in order to earn respect as a professional player, I would have to stand up for myself both on the field and off the field in learning how to negotiate my own playing deals with the team owners or managers.
The U.S. Open is America’s most prestigious and coveted tournament and title for professional players in the United States. When I had my first chance to play, I was offered a spot on a team with no pay. This was a huge honor to be asked to try out and I was truly excited to get the opportunity, but I knew this would set a precedent for me professionally if I did it for free.
As much as I wanted the chance to play, I had to say “No thank you, but I am unable to do it for free” (after the try out went spectacular with the team wanting me to play).
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