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Polo pros and local patrones describe Villegas as a good-natured man who never lost his temper, even during rough-and-tumble matches. "He just wanted to have fun," says Bart Frye, a patrone. Villegas did have fun with Cummings. She is said to have bought polo ponies from him; a good pony can sell for up to $20,000. She had fun too. By the beginning of this year the pair were often seen on the circuit holding hands. Through the summer, the couple played in matches side by side. In a game still dominated by men, the sight of Cummings, her blond hair flying out from beneath her helmet, was striking.
One characteristic Susan inherited from her more flamboyant father was a fondness for weapons. Villegas bragged to his polo buddies that his girlfriend was an expert shot. A disagreement over the ponies' care apparently preceded the shooting of Villegas. Polo is hard on the horses, which must stop on a dime while in full gallop and make sudden turns so riders can chase the ball. Friends say Cummings, a committed animal lover, did not want her ponies to play two days in a row. Villegas, who had been in a match on Saturday, Sept. 6, was scheduled to play again on the day he was killed.
One other casualty of the shooting may yet be the cordial relations between the Argentines and their Virginia friends and employers. The Virginians speak of Cummings' gentleness. Some of the Argentines predict bitterly that she will get off. "She had the power in the relationship," says local pro Rodrigo Salinas. "She had the money." But if the horse-crazy Virginians want to sustain their polo culture, they will probably find some way to patch things up. After all, it is the Argentines who score most of the goals.
--Reported by Nina Burleigh/Washington