Prior to this week, I can tell you I only knew two things about polo.
The first is that Ralph Lauren used the polo logo to brand his global fashion house. Secondly, I thought that Julia Roberts looked great in that brown dress that she wore when she went to the polo match in “Pretty Woman.” But that’s about it.
All that changed this week when I attended my first polo match at Bethpage State Park. My farrier friend Sara Rothery mentioned that she attended a match at the Bethpage Polo at the Park and so on a sunny Sunday I went to learn a bit about polo.
The man in charge of these matches was Bob Ceparano who also runs the Country Farms Polo Club and the Meadowbrook Polo Club and is on a mission to spread the gospel of polo in America.
He explained that polo is the oldest team sport in the world, dating back some 2,000 years and was originally the sport of kings but then was used to train military. It got its start in Persia, was modernized in India in the 1800s and then globalized by Great Britain.
It arrived in the U.S. in the early 1900s and was spread by the wealthy families like the Whitney’s, the Bostwicks and the Phipps family. Polo is now played in 77 countries.
Mr. Ceparano told me that polo is fast becoming a sport enjoyed by a broad and diverse number of Americans and is a smart way to gain entrance into Ivy League colleges and scholarship money to other schools.
He wants to see many more high schools with polo teams.
Like many people who fall in love with horses, Mr. Ceparano grew up exposed to horses through his uncle who was a horse breeder and dealer upstate.
His mission to grow the game is succeeding. On the day I attended there were thousands in the stands, lounging about under huge shade trees and enjoying the beauty of the outdoors. As I interviewed him there would be pretty young women walking through the crowds providing drinks and tasty hors d’ouevres to the fans. It sure is a step up from warm beer, peanuts and hot dogs at the ballpark.
I asked him to explain to me the attraction to polo and all he said was just look around you. And what I saw was a vision of 10 beautiful horses speeding down the dark green field on a sunny day, the sound of pounding hoofs and the roar of the crowd as a goal was scored.
One of the many charms of this sport is what they call “stomping the divots” during halftime. The entire crowd gets to stretch their legs, come out onto the field, stomp the divots back into place and chat with other spectators.
Since I have played golf my whole life I know more than I should about healthy turf and how hard it is to grow. I could see this polo turf was well maintained by a crew of experts. The slight indentations of horse’s hoof prints didn’t really do much damage but it was fun to stomp on them.
I then left Mr. Ceparano and headed over to chat with the riders who were resting on the sidelines.
The first rider I met was Jordan Solomon who has been playing polo for about two years and told me how magical it felt to team up with a horse and to communicate with it during a sport. It reminded me of the scenes in Avatar when the men would bond with the horse for life by connecting with their hair.
Jordan told me the difference was that in polo you must communicate with your legs, your feet and your hands.
The next player I met was Keith Hart of South Hampton, a true polo enthusiast who rides four times a week and said it was as if he is somehow genetically predisposed to ride horses.
He was raised around equines and had to work at the stables as a youngster and that he always loved horses. Joseph Campbell the famous Sarah Lawrence professor and author of “Hero with a Thousand Faces” would instruct his students ‘follow your bliss’. This is exactly what Mr. Hart has done with polo ponies and with this sport.
E.B. White’s essay “The Ring of Time” is considered to be one of the finest pieces ever written and that’s largely due to the mesmerizing beauty of horse and rider.
Polo matches offer up fresh air, sunny skies, green grass and the grace of the horse with rider. Polo offers up a leisurely afternoon and the sense of peace you find is undeniable. Polo is the oldest team sport in the world and one feels the ancient rhythm of the game. That sound of the horse’s hooves as they hit the turf has a primal quality.
These wonderful animals possess a magic that draws humans to them. Like Mr. Hart and Mr. Solomon said it seems to be in our blood to love horses and to be around them. I think Mr. Ceparano’s mission is worthwhile so welcome one and all to the wonderful world of polo.
