RECREATIONAL HABITS:
MAKING POLO A POSSIBILITY Written by Victoria Peace | Photos by Callie Broaddus
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hen Middleburg residents Marlon and Jackie Muller founded Recreational Habits in the fall of 2020, they set out with the goal of bringing the exclusive world of recreational field sports and country living to traditionally underrepresented communities. “Recreational Habits is as much of a clothing brand as a mission-led experiential company where we try to recreate images and expose our audience to the things that we have experienced first hand,” Marlon explains. The Muller’s most recent initiative expanding on that goal is a series of polo clinics designed to provide a welcoming and accessible introduction
to the sport. “We wanted to give the opportunity to adults who had given [polo] some thought but figured it was way beyond them,” Marlon explains. “If we opened that door, maybe people would show up.” And show up they did — each of the four clinics hosted on Sundays during the month of May at Twilight Polo Club attracted numerous eager participants. “We were super happy with the turnout,” Marlon emphasizes. Most of the clinic participants did not have prior riding experience so, at first, many were nervous around the horses. However, after a short period of adjustment, the majority took to it quickly. Marlon reports that after the initial
Recreational Habits and City Kids Wilderness Project partner up for a June 4 Youth Day in Middleburg.
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clinics, some participants even started playing regularly. “These were people that did not know how to ride a horse and now they are cantering, swinging a mallet, and scoring goals,” he says. “This is amazing, seeing these people go from being timid to actually commanding these amazing animals, doing it with grace, and being able to play the sport. That was super fulfilling.” Marlon relates to this journey personally because in the fall of 2020, he was also a total newcomer to polo – and riding. “When we moved down from New York to Virginia, because we Possibility | Page 11