P
olo in Aiken has a strong history. Polo players from around the world began arriving in Aiken after the first recorded game, in 1882, on the historic Whitney Field. By the 1940’s, Aiken boasted 17 polo fields. Today Aiken County has over 40 polo fields; about 20 of those are used for tournament polo. A regulation polo field is 9.5 times as big as a football field. Aiken’s polo community is a tight international group that is extremely supportive of each other. Polo is a team sport that is played by male and female amateurs and professionals. A polo match lasts about an hour and a half and is divided into 6 seven-minute time periods called chukkers. There are four players on a team. Tournaments are played with a specific goal rating. The USPA has a handicap system that rates players from minus-2 to 10 goals. The players’ handicap determines their value to their team. There are less than a dozen 10 goal players in the world. The majority of USPA rated players carry a rating of two goals or less. So, if a game is identified as a 12 goal match, each team’s four players’ handicaps add up to 12. Skilled polo professionals market themselves to amateurs. An amateur who hires a professional for a team is called a patron. Patrons can pay their professionals anywhere from $1000 to $150,000 plus per game.
Close to 20 full time professional players, as high as eight goals, call Aiken and the surrounding area home. It has a lot to do with the lower cost of living for horses and their people, the reasonable cost for land, the large number of quality fields, the incredible year round riding climate and sandy soil. Professionals own many horses including their playing strings, spares and green ponies. Many of the horses are OTTB’s (off the track Thoroughbreds). This combination creates competitive polo in an atmosphere that has been unique to Aiken for generations. Perhaps the propensity for prominent polo players to gather in Aiken is simply tradition. The combination of professional players and trainers with access to year round grass practice and playing fields along with the plethora of young and green horses available continues to make Aiken an exciting environment for the sport of polo. The camaraderie is obvious. Adam Snow and Owen Rinehart, both previous 10 goal players have chosen Aiken as their home base. Adam, now a six goal player and Owen a five goal player can be seen playing in local tournaments, and sharing their knowledge and expertise with Team USPA. iken is the best kept polo secret according to Barb Uskup, owner of Meadow Hill Farm and patron for Barrington Polo. She has organized and played on
A
Your Pet’s Other Vet! tĞ dƌĞĂƚ WŚLJƐŝĐĂů WƌŽďůĞŵƐ͗ Pain >ĂŵĞŶĞƐƐ Weakness Post-op Recovery Neurological Issues Our Services Include: Acupuncture ZĞŚĂď dƌĞĂƚŵĞŶƚƐ ƋƵĂƟĐ dŚĞƌĂƉLJ ŚŝƌŽƉƌĂĐƟĐ Rehab Boarding
(803) 226-0012
^LJďŝů ĂǀŝƐ͕ sD͗ ZĞŚĂď ĂŶĚ ĐƵƉƵŶĐƚƵƌĞ ĞƌƟĮĞĚ . 80 | Aiken Equestrian Resource 2016
307 Willow Run Road / Aiken, SC 29801 ŝŶĨŽΛƉĞƞŝƚŶĞƐƐĂŶĚƌĞŚĂď͘ĐŽŵ