Sylvester Stallone Reveals His Dad Attacked Him in a Polo Match: ‘I Never Want to See a Horse Again’

In his Netflix documentary ‘Sly,’ Sylvester Stallone recalls painful memories of verbal and physical abuse from his father, Frank Stallone Sr.

In a new documentary about his life and career, Sylvester Stallone recalls being attacked by his father while on horseback during polo matches.

Sly, which is now available to stream on Netflix, details the inspirations and meteoric screen career of the writer-director-star, 77. But director Thom Zimny doesn’t shy away from Sylvester’s recollections of a troubled childhood, including physical and verbal abuse from his father Frank Stallone Sr., who died in 2011.

“I was raised by a very physical father, so I was no stranger to serious pain,” reveals Sylvester in the documentary.

Born in Manhattan and raised in rural Maryland following Frank’s divorce from Jackie, mother to Sylvester and his brother Frank Jr., the future Rocky star became nationally ranked in the sport of polo by age 13.

Related: Sylvester Stallone’s 5 Siblings: All About the Actor's Brothers and Sisters

It was around then, Sylvester claims in the documentary, that his father interrupted “in the middle of a game” to berate him. “I was going for a nearside backhand, and I didn’t do anything wrong — he goes, ‘You’re pulling too hard on the horse!’” he remembers. 

“I said, ‘I know what I’m doing.’ He goes, ‘You don’t!’ Screaming from the stands.” Sylvester continues: “I pulled the horse up to get ready for another throw, and [Frank] comes out of the stands, grabs me by the throat, throws me on the ground, takes the horse, and walks off the field.”

He adds, “I laid there and I went, ‘I never want to see a horse again in my whole life.’”

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Related: Sylvester Stallone and Jennifer Flavin's Relationship Timeline

Later in the film, Frank Jr. also recalls how Sylvester “became an excellent polo player” and could have played at the highest level “if it wasn’t for my father browbeating him. And that’s why he quit polo.”

“I started playing again when I was about 40,” recalls Sylvester. Following his success in Hollywood as writer-star of the Rocky and Rambo franchises, he invested in horses and players to be able to play with his father: “I’m gonna field my father a super team with ten-goal players. And we’ll play against each other in the Wellington, the number one field in the world.”

But in that 1989 polo match, which was documented by Entertainment Tonight and other news outlets, Frank again demonstrated violence on the field.

Sylvester recalls how his father “spears me in the back. Hit me so hard, I went down… The horse walked right over, I don’t know how it didn’t kill me.”

Wincing in pain at the memory, Sylvester adds that his first thought after falling off the horse was, “He just rode away.”

He adds that the experience caused him to stop playing the sport for good. “I never played polo again from that moment on. I sold everything, I sold every horse, the ranch, the truck, and that was the end.”

Sly includes press conference footage from after the game, in which the Expendables star tells the crowd, “If you notice, the first cheap shot — and only cheap shot in the game — was administered from my father to his son.”

Related: Dolph Lundgren Wanted to 'Punch Out' Sylvester Stallone on 'Expendables' Set: 'I Was Kind of in Tears'

The documentary also shows footage of Sylvester visiting his father not long before Frank died.

“He’s on his deathbed,” recalls Sylvester later in the film. “He goes, ‘You know, Sly… you should learn to love and forgive people.’ I said, ‘Really! That just come to you now as the f---ing angels are about to whisper in your ear?... Like you just had an epiphany on the way out?’ He goes, ‘Yeah, I did.’”

Following its premiere at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival, Sly is now streaming on Netflix.

For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!

Read the original article on People.