Polo Makes Debut at the 2011 Pony Club Festival
United States Polo Association Solidifying Sport as U.S. Pony Club Discipline
Over 350 Pony Club members rallied at the Kentucky Horse Park last week in Lexington for the 2011 Pony Club Festival where polo made its official debut with three days of activities organized by the U.S. Polo Association (USPA). The event kicked off Sunday with a polo demonstration in front of a crowd of 150 people eager to sign up for the polo clinics starting Monday.
The clinics included an interactive polo session on a mechanical horse and mounted exercises to give participants a feel for riding in the saddle, swinging a mallet and hitting the ball towards the goal. With its success and popularity among Pony Club participants at the event, the sport is poised to establish itself as an official U.S. Pony Club (USPC) discipline in the near future.
“Polo’s presence at the Pony Club Festival is a positive reinforcement that together with USPC, we can reach young riders everywhere and help them develop their horsemanship skills and teach them how to play this exciting sport, “ said USPA Executive Director Peter Rizzo. “Pony Club members will also have the opportunity to advance through the USPA’s Interscholastic and Intercollegiate programs as they grow older, allowing them to stay in the sport for years to come.”
The United States Pony Club is also optimistic about the long term potential polo has as a full discipline in Pony Club. According to USPC Activities Services Director, Wayne Quarles, “We feel certain that the cooperation between USPA and USPC will create great opportunities for our membership.”
The joint venture between USPA and USPC has been years in the making and the two organizations have reached a verbal agreement to incorporate polo into the Pony Club discipline program in a cross-promotional effort to capture the interest of young horsemen and women nationwide. The official roll out is set for January 2012 at the USPC Annual Meeting in New Orleans.
The USPA plans to offer a free introductory membership to Pony Club members across the country and is currently working with its member clubs and other polo entities to offer polo to the USPC regions in the form of educational clinics. The U.S. Pony Club has experienced resounding success in teaching riding, safety, and horsemanship skills – all important building blocks for learning to play polo.