Our Polo Pros

Meet Your Polo Pros

Denver Polo Club is known for the warmth of its community as well as the world-class expertise of its polo pros. Throughout the summer polo season, members are trained by acclaimed resident coaches as well as guest coaches from across the globe, including Jamaica, Argentina, and the US. Highly accomplished professional players in their own right, they bring their experience, coaching skills, and a serious sense of fun to Colorado polo.

A man is riding a horse on a field while playing polo.

MARK WATES

The pied piper of polo, Denver Polo Club's resident pro Mark Wates spearheads the club's coaching operations. He is known for his ability to bring beginners comfortably into the sport while helping advanced players master the subtleties of the game. Mark prides himself in making everyone feel at home at the club and safe in the saddle.

Mark earned a 4-goal grass handicap at age 26. He maintained that rating for over 20 years, playing professionally around the world including in tournaments in Barbados, Switzerland, the US, Canada, Malaysia, and many more.

In the Colorado off-season, you'll find Mark at his home in Kingston, Jamaica, coaching players and overseeing Kingston Polo Club.

LUKE CLARK

Luke has been a professional polo player at Denver Polo Club for the past four years, each year improving his skills and taking his professionalism to the next level. His passion comes from his love for the horses and a natural desire to compete and give his all in everything game he plays. Luke is also club captain at Kingston Polo Club in his home country of Jamaica.

A group of people are playing polo on horses in a dirt field.

A man is riding a horse while playing polo on a field.

CRAIG RUSSELL

Also from Jamaica, Craig Russell is an even-keeled instructor and coach. He known for his finesse with young horses and his ability to bring out their best and transform them into sound polo partners. When he is not at Denver Polo Club, Russell plays and works as a polo pro in Jamaica and Palm Springs, CA.

ERICA GANDOMCAR SACHS

Denver Polo Club's owner/manager is also one of the most accomplished female polo players in the world. Erica studied and played intercollegiate polo at Colorado State University, earning Regional All-Star and All-American status each of the four years she played for the team. In her first year with the team, CSU won the Regional Championship and placed second in the National Championship.

Erica has solidified her rise to the top tier of women’s professional polo in the U.S. with multiple wins and MVP awards in the premier women’s league in the United States – the Women’s Championship Tournament – including winning the WCT’s World Cup in 2007 and earning Best Playing Pony. Internationally, she earned back-to-back wins at the 2007 and 2008 Shanghai Tang International Women’s Tournament in Singapore, with an MVP award also at the tournament in 2008. Erica has twice won the International Ladies Polo Tournament – 2007 and 2008 – at the Kingston Polo Club in Kingston, Jamaica. She was also named Colorado Sports Women of the year.