On Wednesday, July 10th a group of 17 USPC members, 3 Junior Players, and 4 parents of USPC members met at the Mashomack Polo Club in Pine Plains, NY for an Introductory Polo Clinic. Clinic participants all had various levels of polo experience, but for most this was their first taste of polo. Clinic attendees came from Mashomack, Golden’s Bridge Hounds Pony Club, Chatham
Pony Club, and Old Salem Pony Club. The 24 participants were divided into three groups and we did a rotational clinic, with a mounted station, a foot mallet station, and a rules station. Team USPA player Jared Sheldon and Teal Hoins of Golden’s Bridge Hounds Pony Club assisted with the instruction at each of the three stations.
In the riding station the intro kids and adults learned how to ride for polo, the differences between holding the reins, how to use their seat and legs on a polo pony, and then progressed to holding the mallet and hitting the ball. Each intro group went through and ended with a relay race and then a hooking drill. A more advanced group had been through a handful of intro clinics in the past and had even played chukkers before, so they began with some more advanced hitting and riding drills and then progressed to playing a chukker quickly. These advanced participants played their chukker at the end of the clinic and all of the other participants watched as we did a freeze-frame style chukker and stopped to talk about the fouls.
In the rules and strategy station everyone learned the strategy behind polo, with emphasis on how to respect the line-of-the-ball and the right-of-way of other players. The session also put a great deal of emphasis on the safety aspect of polo, with all the rules meant to protect the safety of all those involved with the game. For many of the participants it was their first exposure to the game and they had many good questions about polo in general.
The foot mallet station covered how to hold the mallet and the four basic shots, with everyone ending the foot?mallet station with some?foot mallet drills and a foot mallet scrimmage. In this station we reinforced LOB and ROW, with emphasis on Man-Line-Ball theory and how its used in a game scenario.
Liz Holson with Mashomack Clinic Participants
At the end of the clinic?many of the participants?spoke with Jared about?continuing with lessons, he had four USPC members and all of the adults ask about furthering their polo education. Having parents attend the clinic helped them understand why the kids thought the experience was so cool. One of the kids fathers was very excited about his experience and looks forward to continuing his lessons. Another kid asked “When can I play again?” followed quickly by “Can I have a polo pony?” Two of the boys who attended the clinic live near Saratoga and are hoping to participate in the new polo school starting there and will possibly move toward playing on an Interscholastic team in the fall. As there were three Pony Clubs represented all the parents and participants look forward to participating in a rally. All of the participants would be very capable of passing the Level One Pony Club rating in the Polo discipline.
A big thank you goes out to Teal Hoins, of Golden’s Bridge Hounds, who worked tirelessly to coordinate this clinic at the lovely Mashomack Polo Club., Teal and I have been in constant discussions about how to increase the popularity and accessibility of Polo in the USPC community. We all think moving toward a rally will help to increase the visibility of the newest USPC discipline. Also, a big thanks goes to Rebecca Gutierrez, manager of Mashomack Polo Club, for opening up the club to this group of kids. Also, thanks to Bruce Colley (MPC member and USPA Northeastern Circuit Lieutenant Governor) and Felix Martinez for allowing their horses to be used for the clinic. Thank you again to Jared Sheldon, Team USPA player, for assisting to teach the clinic, he was fantastic with both kids and parents and his participation was vital to the success of this clinic.