The Barrington Hills Observer

A sunny day at Passion for Polo

By Tricia Despres | Country Magazine
PHOTOGRAPHY BY WIDIA VITI

At their Barrington Hills equestrian property, the Lueders family has built a life around family, friendship, and a shared passion for polo.

Jan-Dirk Lueders on Tilla, Nino Obregon, Stefanie Lueders, Anthony Garcia, Leon Schwencke holding Azafata

It’s a rainy morning, but Frauke Lueders can still see the beauty of the day.

“We are all healthy and that’s the most important thing,” Lueders says from her Barrington Hills home, where she has lived with husband Jan-Dirk Lueders for more than 20 years.

Certainly, it’s a lovely place to live a lovely life––a life the couple has enjoyed since moving to the area with their two horses and two dogs.

“My husband and I grew up in Germany with horses and with competition, but never polo,” explains Lueders, who had already established herself as an accomplished equestrian before moving to the States. “Friends invited us over the years to the Kalaway Cup in September, a fundraiser for the riding club and polo club in Barrington Hills. And then we really got sucked in.”

Eventually, that newfound love of polo found a home of its own at Cauthorn Farm, the couple’s nearby 42-acre equestrian property.

“In 2013, we did the spring polo school in Barrington Hills and we liked it,” remembers Lueders, who joined the Riding Club of Barrington Hills with her husband in 2007 before attending Barrington Hills Polo Club’s polo school in 2013. “That’s how it all started.”

Today, both Lueders and her husband play polo, along with their 25-year-old daughter Stefanie and 15-year-old daughter Emma as part of their aptly named Passion for Polo team and facility. And while their son much prefers playing soccer to polo, the sport allows the family plenty of opportunities to enjoy time together.

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