Student polo was happening again in a big way at the Red Eagle Ranch
this weekend. Unfortunately, rain in Virginia resulted in the
postponement of the US Arena Polo Championships on Friday evening.
We had a large group of people ready to attend the tailgate party
and we still want to see this event happen. So stay tuned; once the
new date is firm we'll post a new announcement and get together to
watch Joe's team fight for the championship.

Saturday was a full day with three classes in spite of some light
rain. Mary has more energy than anyone I've ever known and she
deserves some applause for putting some fine classes together this
weekend. On Sunday we had a superb class with instruction from Mary
and her talented brother Joe. Joe gave us some very useful
instruction in the nearside shot as well as proper positioning in
the saddle for a variety of other shots. We followed with scrimmage
among Kerry R, Mike H, Wilson C, Kathleen D, Kerry T, and me. Some
very competitive play resulted. It was a good (and necessary) warm
up for me for the club match in the arena at 3PM. That match was
pretty wild. We had Mary, Charlie, Joe, Jack W., Wayne B, Robyn T,
and me, which provided for two teams rated at 10 goals apiece. This
was kind of fast-paced and I knew we were playing hard when I saw
the smiles on all the highly rated players. Somehow I managed to
score two or three goals using Cebolla (2 chukkers), Durasno, and
Rosia. Mary picked up one or two and played exceptionally well as
we would expect from a 1-goal player. One difference between the
club and school that all the students should take note of is the
amount of communication between teammates. During club matches
there is continuous and loud communication, which sometimes is
missing when the students play--just a tip worth considering.

The Fall League is solid for Sundays. The players that have
confirmed are Jim T., Tim G, Ryan C., Julia S. and Marcos L. Of
course Asmeem, Mark W., Keith R, Michelle L. and Peter S. are not
likely to want to miss this. I'll play backup in case someone is
sick on game day, but expect to focus on videotaping. We expect to
field three teams for four matches for each team with two horses per
player. We'll start at the end of September and play through two or
three weekends in October and then finish up in late November or
early December. This should be a an excellent event with good
opportunites for all students to come out and watch their friends in
action.

There is supposed to be a massive storm on the horizon so we're not
yet sure about polo in the evening on Thursday, although Tuesday
should be perfect. Simply check the PPS hotline to confirm status.

END