Front Page  news  where

May 31, 2001

   
   
Master Athlete Turned To Sculpting After Injury
   
   
By Rebecca Roybal
Journal Staff Writer
    In 1993, 64-year-old Sal Polk was doing what she loved "throwing the hammer" and collecting medals in senior world class competitions.
    Polk, formerly of Sandia Park, was a masters-division track and field athlete who competed in throwing events, and even traveled to Japan for the World Masters Track and Field Championships. She earned the bronze in 1993 in an event comprising the javelin, shot put, hammer, discus and weight throws.
    She was looking forward to a competition in 1996 in Africa.
    But in 1995, that all changed after a knee injury when she "came off a horse." The injury turned into a bone infection, which in turn, led to 11 surgeries and ultimately, the amputation of her right leg.
    "When they chopped my leg off, that kind of changed everything," said Polk, now 71.
    For one, it meant she wouldn't compete in Africa. For another, it meant she needed to change her lifestyle. She scaled down her Arabian horse ranch called Enchantment Arabians and moved to Mountainair in 1997.
    Polk, a mother of five grown children, had coached youths in swimming, boxing and track and field for years in Farmington, and at Highland High and La Cueva High in Albuquerque.
    And, at one time, she trained, showed and bred the 62 horses from her Sandia Park ranch. Now, Polk raises 14 horses on the ranch she shares with her sister, Alice DeGroot, 72, a retired veterinarian and former Olympic finalist in swimming.
    Polk and DeGroot are the daughters of Dudley DeGroot, a University of New Mexico head football coach in the early 1950s, and a coach for professional football teams.
    Known as the DeGroot sisters when they were young, in their "old age" they now call themselves the "Bag Ladies of Enchantment Arabians," Polk said.
    She keeps busy by building roads and fences and installing ponds on the ranch. She has shifted her focus from competing to creating bronze sculptures of horses and athletes, which are on exhibit in a Santa Fe gallery.
    "I love Mountainair," Polk said. "It's a very eclectic mix of people: ranchers, farmers, lots of artists have moved down there."