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.”