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Confessions of a Pony Polo Neophyte
updated: Aug 28, 2010, 9:00 AM
By David Powdrell
I was a fish out of water today. I attended my first polo match. The pony kind of polo, not the water kind.
It was the USPA Lucchese America Cup Final between Lucchese and Piocho at the beautiful polo fields in Carpinteria.
My biggest problem was I didn't know what to wear to my first polo match. For some reason, I've been conditioned to believe that I should don an ascot, fedora and something with the name Ralph Lauren stitched somewhere prominently.
I settled on slacks and a Hawaiian shirt a la Rodney Dangerfield in Caddy Shack. Fortunately, nobody laughed. But I saw few Ted Knights in the grandstands.
The people watching was fascinating. The ladies were all dressed to the nines, hats on many of them. The gentlemen weren't as fluffed up but carried themselves as being billionaires or cowboys mostly.
My wife and daughter knew exactly what to wear and turned many a head. They always do.
I knew I was in trouble, though, when I knocked over my $8 Stella beer in the 3rd chucker, which slowly seeped down the bleachers to a woman's fine mohair sweater. She eloquently dismissed my blunder and reassured me that it'll dry-clean out beautifully. You don't hear that at a Dodger game.
The horses are the incredible part of a polo match. Each rider goes through several horses in the game, each horse fatigued to the max. Thoroughbreds through and through.
Other basic rules I learned: Six chuckers to a match. 4 person teams. No goalies. Lots of scores goaled, which keeps the crowd enthused.
Will I go again? Absolutely. But next time I'll bring a BBQ grill and see if I can't start a tailgate party trend for the Bentleys and Porsches lined up on the fresh cut grass.
Pictures from this polo neophyte are attached for your viewing pleasure.
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