Polo seeks to re-establish tradition and glory

When most people visualize a polo competition, images of Julia Roberts and Richard Gere stomping merrily on divots in Pretty Woman come to mind. While Yale polo games may not involve the same array of uppity, well-dressed society members, they certainly offer spectators an exhilarating experience, according to team members. Those who know little about the sport fail to realize how much heart-pumping adrenaline and direct contact is actually involved in polo competitions.

HYURA CHOI/YH

"Polo is an environment and not just a sport," Treasurer Kumi Smith, PC '03, said. "It's an easy competition to watch. Crowds really get into it because it's such a great spectator sport. Even though we may not be that strong as a team this season, people still come out to watch and really enjoy the games."

Captain Elizabeth Livingston, BR '01, noted how thrilling it is to get on a horse and ride into competitions. "Once you get all of the dirty work out of the way and start the game, you forget about all of the hard work that took place beforehand," she said. "It's really exciting to see the spectators cheering you on while you play."

Polo has been an ongoing tradition at Yale since the program first began in the early '20s. Since then, the Elis have earned more national championships than any other collegiate team. As a club team competing in a highly competitive eastern region, players must prepare to battle polo powerhouses such as Cornell and the University of Virginia, both of which have varsity programs and recruit players. "Most of the other schools that we compete against have varsity status," Smith said. "I don't want to portray our team as underdogs, but it's definitely an interesting array of competitive teams that we are playing against."

To prepare for games against formidable opponents, the Elis practice as a team two days a week on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, normally from 5:30 until 9 p.m. Additionally, players can practice individually on Monday evenings to fine-tune their skills. The season runs from October well into March, and most games are played at the Yale Polo and Equestrian Center on Friday evenings. Many of the season's games and practices are geared towards preparing for the Eastern Regional Polo Championships at Cornell, which take place from Thurs., Mar. 15 to Sun., Mar. 19. The experience of playing at Cornell can be momentous in itself, as Secretary Sarah Crews, PC '03, claimed. "Regionals are truly amazing," she said. "Competing at Cornell last year was one of my best college experiences. The whole team really bonds together during these competitions."

According to Livingston, most of the season thus far has been spent re-building since many players graduated last year. However, she added that, despite losing some valuable players, the team has become more cohesive as a unit in the process. Coach Andrew Flint added that the Bulldogs are continuing to improve as the season progresses and players are gaining more experience. "The season is going well with the team learning more from each practice and game," he said. "We have a young team, so even though we are not on par with nationally ranked teams, we are able to be competitive in all of our matches. Having a group of sophomores on the team means that the coming years could be very prosperous."

Because Yale aims to continue building up the program in years to come, team members have recently begun formulating various ways to spread the word about polo to students, community members, and alumni. In order to re-establish the University's polo tradition, the team recently sent out a newsletter to various alumni and polo spectators containing information about players and upcoming competitions. "We're really trying to spread an awareness of the sport and reach out to alumni," Crews said.

"We are always trying to promote ourselves," Flint added. "The best way we have found is by word of mouth." Yale has recently assisted the team by advertising the time and location of games, as well as running buses to the polo fields.

Team member Alexandra Redding, PC '02, recently began work on a history project of studying the history and background of Yale polo. Once the project is finished, she plans on displaying it on campus or creating a related website. As Redding notes in her prospectus, "The goal of the exhibit would be to inform the Yale community of the tradition of polo on the campus and to give Yale polo its due recognition as one of the oldest and most successful sports at Yale."

With two home games remaining, Fri., Feb. 23 and Fri., Mar. 2, the Bulldogs hope to use each competition as a warm-up for the Cornell Regional Championships. At the same time, the polo team will also be spreading the word about the sport, which it hopes to continue to do, even after the season comes to an end. "Polo is big part of Yale in itself," Smith said.

Back to Sports...