The Detroit Polo Club, with assistance from the University of Michigan Polo Team and the United States Polo Association, are staging a series of “LEARN HOW TO PLAY POLO” clinics beginning in early February. The program is called the DPC 2008 Polo Riding Academy and will be directed by DPC players Jerry Hutcheson, George Kuper and Patrick Smith to aid DPC player development. The clinics will be Saturdays and Sundays for adults and with a junior program also held on Saturdays. They are scheduled for February 9-10, March 15-16, March 29-30 and April 26-27. Clinics will be at the winter home of the University Of Michigan Polo Team – Cedar Ridge Equestrian Center, 5425 W. Waters Rd., Ann Arbor, MI 48104 and expertly trained polo ponies will be provided.
All clinic participants will receive basic game knowledge, horsemanship and tacking, strategy and safety training, polo riding skills, hitting practice, classroom work and and each participant will receive mounted instruction. Clinic fees are very reasonable and include the Student/Learner fee for USPA membership. Instructors will be Paul Knapp, Les Johnson, Katie Johnson and Peter Cumming assisted by DPC members and the UM team.
CLINIC REGISTRATION and further information is available at the Detroit Polo Club website www.detroitpoloclub.com by writing jerry@detroitpoloclub.com or by phone at (248) 684-5200. Individual and group polo riding lessons and instruction will also be available. The United States Polo Association website is www.uspolo.org.
The MICHIGAN STATE POLO TEAM and the UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN POLO TEAM had a great match at the beautiful MSU Livestock Pavilion arena in East Lansing, MI before a raucous crowd of almost 500 fans, friends and parents on January 12, 2008. The teams were: For MSU – NICOLE WOZNIAK, KELLI SMITH (C), MICHELLE SAHM with alternates KRISTEN KEYE and STEPHANIE YORK. UM had – JULIA SCHROEDER, KAT HEGGEN (C) and LAURA CHESS. Les Johnson and Christian Tennant were Umpires with George Kuper third man. Jerry Hutcheson was announcer/commentator.
Both teams played well and very marked improvement was noted in the UM captain Kat Heggen. The first chukker was a seesaw battle but the 2nd and 3rd chukkers highlighted the outstanding quickness and hitting skills of UM’s Heggen and Chess. Chess dislocated a thumb in the 2nd but taped it and continued with unfettered determination. She is also a member of the UM Boxing Team – a tough young woman who is enrolled in the UM Pre-Med program. The final score was UM 16 and MSU 6. Both teams are beginning to supply Michigan polo clubs with enthusiastic and skilled players. The MSU program has 50 + members and UM 20+.