had an injury and I always played her in the
fifth or six chukka,’ says Brant.
Although there was no shortage of polo
players and ponies in those early years,
a dedicated ground for the sport in Brant’s
home state of Connecticut was missing. In
1980, he purchased the 1,481-acre Conyers
Farm in Greenwich – at the time one of
the largest plots of undeveloped land near
a major city – for $18 million, in order to
realise his vision of creating a world-class
venue for high-goal polo that would grow
to be a major attraction for the sport in
the northeastern US.
He worked closely with architects and
designers to build out polo fields, create
a grandstand, and convert a 1909 cold-
storage barn made of stone into a players’
clubhouse, which later became the home of
The Brant Foundation Art Study Center,
a museum open to the public, which
promotes education and appreciation
of contemporary art and design.
Many of Greenwich Polo Club’s founding
members (and major patrons in their own
right) bought property at Conyers Farm,
or had farms nearby, including Marty Gruss,
Geoffrey Kent, Henryk de Kwiatkowski,
Adam Lindemann, Peter Orthwein and
Mickey Tarnopol. ‘These were all people that
really helped me start Greenwich Polo Club.
We all had a really good time playing
together and against each other,’ says Brant.
‘My advice to anyone today who is starting
a polo club or running a polo club is to have
a tight-knit group of reliable sponsors and
supporters. We’ve always had some of the
best patrons in the game.’
This page above:
Brant and his wife
Stephanie at The Brant Foundation Art
& Study Center.
Below:
White Birch
celebrate the 2005 CV Whitney cup
41
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