There was plenty of polo at the Potomac Polo Club this weekend. We
had the Courage Cup on Saturday and it certainly lived up to its
billing. There were many hundreds of people in attendance. I
couldn't count them but it was a pretty monstrous crowd. Mary spent
half the day training polo horses until she could join us at the Red
Eagle Team tent later in the day and I was fully engaged in event
management and announcing. By the way the Red Eagle tent was
essentially the players' club for the day since we were stationed by
the announcing stand and the trailers. It allowed for plenty of
time with the players under the shade. The attendees were smartly
attired for a polo match and were not disappointed. We started off
with a two chukker exhibition from the Valley Forge Military Academy
and Work to Ride teams. These young men provided a fine
demonstration of some of the benefits of the charity for which the
Courage Cup is dedicated. Following this we had the main event with
Cloverland versus Oasis Winery. Cloverland, led by Charlie Muldoon,
plus owner of the Madison Hotel Dave Pollin and backed up by John
Walsh (host of TV's America's Most Wanted) and Mara Hagen. Mara
stepped down after two chukkers with illness and to the delight of
the Red Eagle group in attendance was replaced by our very own
Marcos Lopez. Marcos is currently our top Potomac Polo School
graduate and a member of the Red Eagle Polo Team. He's currently
leasing several horses from Red Eagle Ranch and plays with us four
to five times a week. So of course he was ready to play! What an
experience for him to play in a six chukker event in front of a
large crowd and with some very fine horse provided by Mara. Mara
trains and sells horse to the top players in the sport and one of
her regular customers is 10 goaler Adam Snow, so you know that
Marcos was well mounted in the game. And with Cahrlie Muldoon
leading the team they were sure to win the match. But the Oasis
team did very well and closed the gap to a goal ( I believe) at the
end. Tareq Salehi, owner of the Oasis winery was joined by Jim
Lewis (of Potomac Polo), Ted and Rorry Torrey, and Tim Gannon (co-
owner and –founder of Outback Steakhouse and patron of the 5-time US
Open winning Outback Polo Team). Tim Substituted for Tareq for
several chukkers. It was a super event that should not be missed in
the future. The after party at Gone Away Farm was smaller but no
less a good time and I was exhausted by night's end. But again,
there's never enough rest at the Red Eagle Ranch and so on Sunday we
were up again early to get our horses and gear together for more
polo. The Red Eagle Team including Mary, Dante and Marcos took on
the Summerhill team of Charlie Muldoon and his clients. Of course
with Mary and Charlie you're bound to have some big runs down the
field and they did not disappoint. But I think Marcos and I also
did our part. Everyone had a great time and our recollection is
that the Red Eagle Team took the day, but I sort of lost track.

We'll have classes on Tuesday and Thursday evenings this week. The
Red Eagle Team will be practicing on Wednesday evening at the
Potomac Polo Field No. 2. Polo on the National Mall has been
delayed because the National Park Service hasn't cut the field
properly. We're hoping to resolve this problem by Sunday and look
forward to inviting everyone out to watch us play there. Certainly,
you can come out on Saturdays and Sundays to the Potomac Polo Club
to watch us and picnic on the sidelines. There's no charge unless a
major even is underway.