Sylvester Stallone on July 10, 1989.Photo:Paul Harris/Getty

Sylvester Stallone was a keen Polo player who also owned The White Eagle Ranch where he kept his horses, saddles and other polo playing paraphernalia photographed July 10, 1989 at The Santa Barbara Polo Ground, Montecito, California

Paul Harris/Getty

Sylvester Stalloneis throwing it back to his days playing polo.

The actor, 77, shared three photos of himself on horseback onInstagramTuesday as he reflected on his love for the sport.

“Fun fact of the day: Stallone means Stallion in Italian. Funny but true - and for a good part of my life, I pursued my passion for polo, believing it was my destiny,” he wrote in a caption.

One photo showed him playing the sport in Montecito, California, in 1989. Two other pictures Stallone shared feature him in what he has previously described as hisfinal time playing polo.Entertainment Tonightand other outletsdocumented that match, which also took place in 1989, at the time.

“Life had other plans and sidelined my dreams. Yet, I refused to let that be the end of my journey,” he added, noting that he threw himself into his writing and acting career after giving up on playing polo in his youth.

“When one door closed, another opened — only this time, it was one of creativity and resilience. I embraced writing and acting with fervor, shaping a path I never imagined,” Stallone wrote. “So, when life knocks you down, remember: Get back on your horse. Keep punching.”

Sylvester Stallone on July 10, 1989.Paul Harris/Getty

Sylvester Stallone was a keen Polo player who also owned The White Eagle Ranch where he kept his horses, saddles and other polo playing paraphernalia photographed July 10, 1989 at The Santa Barbara Polo Ground, Montecito, California

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“I laid there and I went, ‘I never want to see a horse again in my whole life,' " Sylvester said.

Sylvester Stallone on Sept. 16, 2023.Ryan Emberley/Getty

Sylvester Stallone attends Netflix’s “Sly” world premiere during the Toronto International Film Festival at Roy Thomson Hall on September 16, 2023 in Toronto, Ontario.

Ryan Emberley/Getty

Sylvester’sbrother Frank Jr.recounted in that documentary that he believed Sylvester could have played at the highest level of polo “if it wasn’t for my father browbeating him."

Sylvester said inSlythat he picked polo back up around age 40, after his Hollywood career took off. He organized the 1989 match he once described on Instagram as his final polo match in order to play against his father, who he said behaved violently toward him on the field during that match too.

“I never played polo again from that moment on," he recalled at the time. “I sold everything, I sold every horse, the ranch, the truck, and that was the end.”

source: people.com