By
Alex Webbe
It’s no secret that Hurricane Isaac’s path was far to the
west of Wellington, Florida, but the amount of rain that it deposited on the
community’s many polo fields left many gasping for air. Not so at the International Polo Club,
according to the club’s agronomist, Ray Mooney.
“I think we got about 20” of rain in the last few days,”
said Money, “and we came out fine.
For years the club has claimed to have the best fields in
the world, hosting North America’s most prestigious tournaments on its nine
fields, and hundreds of horses and players season after season. But no one could have foreseen the amount of
rain that Hurricane Isaac’s outer bands would have deposited on the
self-proclaimed international polo center of the world.
“This is the hundred year flood that you hear about,”
said Mooney, “you can’t ever properly prepare for something like this. We’ll never see anything like this again in
our lifetime,” he added.
With the apron of the fields still wet, the fields are in
tournament condition, and the International Polo Club is still ready to play
while neighboring fields remain under inches of water.
“I’m thrilled with the way the drainage systems worked,”
offered Mooney. “We’ve been upgrading
them over the course of the last five years, and installed a new system when we
resurfaced a couple of the fields last year.
They handled the rain better than I could have imagined, but just as
planned.”
“The tournament season kicks off on January 6, 2013,”
said John Wash, President of Club Operations, “and we’re comfortable that the
club’s reputation will be upheld by our championship fields.”