Ever since I can remember, I have been horse crazy. The past 17 or so years I have tried my hand at dressage and hunter-jumpers (on and off), but didn’t find it thrilling anymore. In other words, I grew tired of it. I loved horses, but I dreaded going to the barn for my lessons. I didn’t want to see another oxer, or count my distance. I quit riding to pursue other passions, but eventually found that I missed horses too much.

Polo Newbie (left) back in the day

And then I saw Nacho’s face. He was sitting on top of a polo pony in an issue of Hampton’s Magazine. Beautiful…well, the pony of course (although Nacho is also quite the looker – for those of you not familiar with polo players, Nacho Figueras is also well known as the Ralph Lauren model). Memories of summers spent on my dad’s friend’s polo ranch in Hungary crept up. I’ve been to polo tournaments before in Austria and in West Palm Beach, and was always in awe of the athleticism of horses and players alike. It seemed like so much fun. Why didn’t I ever think of trying it?

Reading about Nacho prompted me to Google ‘Polo lessons in Los Angeles’. Hoping that the answer would be right there, I was instead met with offers to learn water polo. No thanks. I tried different variations such as horse polo, equestrian polo, and the list goes on, until I finally found a site that resembled what I was looking for. A few more clicks here and there, and I stumbled upon a coupon for a ‘first free lesson of polo’ at the polo101.com website. And, what’s even better, the coupon could be used at a club in Los Angeles. Score!  Without thinking twice, I downloaded the coupon and within the hour, Lynn was in touch with me about my coupon and where I would like to use it. The process was seamless, and that same day I had scheduled my first polo lesson ever at California Polo Club. I was excited beyond belief and couldn’t wait for the weekend to come.

Stay tuned to find out how my first lesson went!

Interested in learning more about polo through the eyes of a newbie? Or do you just want to chuckle as I write about all the things i’m doing wrong? We’ve all been new at this sport at some point! Follow Polo Newbie as she writes about her experiences learning and playing polo. Please feel free to leave any questions or comments!