This year was another exciting one at Virginia Polo. To start off the busy Fall semester, we hosted the first annual Virginia Polo Benefit Cup at King Family Vineyard. Club members fundraised and spread the word about our program, all while watching an exciting match featuring multiple Virginia Polo alumni. In mid-October, we celebrated the 70th anniversary of the program. Festivities included exhibition chukkers and an asado cooked by recent alum Parker Pearce on Friday night, as well as eight alumni chukkers and a wonderful evening filled with dinner, dancing, and a silent auction on Saturday. We were so happy to see both current club members and alumni come together to celebrate the continuation of this program that we all hold dear to our hearts. Later in October, current players had the opportunity to improve their riding and playing during a weekend Julio Arellano clinic. The Fall competitive season concluded in Ithaca, NY for the varsity teams where the women’s team took the victory at the Bill Fields Invitational, and in Charlottesville for the club team where we hosted a tournament featuring two UVA JV teams and teams from Georgetown and Michigan State.
The club spent most of the Spring semester preparing for the 2024 DI National Championship Tournament, which was hosted at Virginia Polo for the third year in a row. Both varsity and club members sacrificed their time and spring breaks to get the ponies, players, and facilities in shape for the national spotlight. The hard work truly paid off as our Women’s Team ended the tournament with Virginia Polo’s 23rd intercollegiate national championship. We concluded the semester with an inter-club tournament featuring teams that included a combination of club and varsity players.
Whether you are new to the program or have been a long time supporter, we hope this magazine will give you some insight into what it is like to be a member of Virginia Polo today. We would like to thank our donors, board of directors, coaches, and wonderful ponies, for we know none of this would be possible without their generous support. We would also encourage everyone to stay connected with Virginia Polo and come visit us at Forest Lodge Drive!
Katy Owens and Megan Maleno
Cover photo courtesy of Dan Addison Photography
The Men’s Team began the year with a group of five talented, dedicated, and experienced players eager to compete. We spent the early season improving our skills and teamwork. We are very grateful to have had recent alum Jim Deal to practice with and help train us throughout the year. A highlight of our season was the 2022 Men’s Championship team, Jack McLean, Brennan Wells, and Parker Pearce, coming for a weekend in March to practice with us. Unfortunately, we did not get the outcome at Nationals we were hoping for. The competition was tough. With four of five players remaining, the team is excited to get back to work in the fall. We are thankful for our amazing ponies and all the hard work that the entire club gives every single day running the farm. We are extremely grateful to our coach Lou Lopez, barn manager Elka Sterling, and the board of directors for their endless support for the program.
The Women’s Team returned this year hungrier than ever for a National Championship. With only one player returning from last year, we were incredibly fortunate to have four hardworking, talented, and dedicated players join. After a great fall semester we came into the tournament season with one goal: winning a National Championship. We had two great games leading up to the final, and we left it all out on the field. It meant so much to every single one of us to win the 2024 DI National Championship. Our team walked away with two of four all-star awards, and the best playing string award. Having the best playing string means a lot to us because it reflects all of the work and attention we put into making sure that our horses are in the best possible condition. We are extremely grateful to our horses and for everyone who made this year such a success, especially our coach Lou, who has spent countless hours helping us on and off the field, our barn manager Elka, who took exceptional care of our horses, and our incredible board of directors who have supported us every step of the way. We would also like to thank our amazing alumni, Jessica Schmitt, Meghan Milligan, and Maddie Grant who practiced and mentored us this year. Without these incredible people and horses, the National Championship would not have been possible!
Megan Maleno & Julia Hersh
Club Team Co-Captains
We are so grateful to have such a dedicated group of Club Team members who are committed to improving their playing, taking care of the ponies, and giving back to the club. Most of our members come from little to no polo experience, but have quickly honed their skills over this past year on the team. We strive to create a welcoming environment for members to teach and learn from each other on and off the field. This year, the club had the opportunity to compete with other collegiate teams. We hosted Georgetown and MSU in the fall, and took more seasoned members to compete at Cornell and the University of Kentucky in the spring. Every member had the opportunity to compete in a game setting, including our end of year club tournament, in which the club and varsity teams join together to celebrate the end of another year of Virginia Polo. We are so pleased to have been able to watch the team grow in size and dedication, and we are very excited to welcome the incoming Boot Campers to this wonderful sport. We would like to thank Elka for another great year as our club coach and for making the effort to give the team more experience playing against other clubs, as well as Lou, for being so committed to the growth and inclusivity of the program.
Men’s Team Captain
Women’s Team Captain
Vlad TarashanskyAlana Benz
Photo: Dan Addison
Photo: Dan Addison
Alana Benz
Alana is a third year majoring in Foreign Affairs with a minor in Art History. She is from Oahu, Hawaii, and has played polo for eight years. She played on the Maui Interscholastic team in high school and returns home for the summers to play at her home club, Hawaii Polo Club. Her favorite horses here at Virginia Polo are Valentina and Whiskey. Alana has loved her three years at Virginia Polo and is excited about her senior year.
Lea Jih-Vieira
Lea is a graduate student from Frederick, Maryland pursuing a Master’s of Engineering in Systems Engineering. She started playing polo at Mountain View Polo Club at the age of 12 and played for the Mountain View interscholastic team during high school. Lea earned her Bachelor’s from Cornell University studying Information Science and captained the Cornell Women’s team her senior year. She is completing her final year of eligibility at Virginia Polo and has loved every minute of it. Her favorite horse is Cracker.
Mackenzie Craig
Mackenzie is a second year student from Ambler, Pennsylvania majoring in Systems Engineering. She began playing polo in 2019 and joined the women’s team this past fall after playing on the club team her first year. Mackenzie is so grateful for all that Virginia Polo has taught her and is looking forward to learning even more for her next two years! Her favorite horse is Cobra.
Pippa Harris
Pippa is a first year from Ross, California majoring in computer science and physics. She first learned to play polo at age 10 while living in Houston, Texas. After moving to California, she continued playing at her home club in Marin County. She is a second generation Virginia Polo player, following in her father Wil Harris’s (UVA ‘93) and aunt MJ Harris’s (UVA ‘97) footsteps. She joined the women’s varsity team this fall, and has loved every minute! Her favorite ponies are Canela and Red.
Hannah Thomas
Hannah is a graduate student from Charlottesville, Virginia. She is in the McIntire School of Commerce’s M.S. in Accounting program studying financial reporting and assurance. After growing up competing in the rated hunters and equitation, she discovered polo in the summer of 2021 and hasn’t looked back. The people and horses have made this club the best part of her undergraduate and graduate experience at UVA; she only wishes she had joined sooner. Her favorite ponies are Rocket, Fede, and Betty. Following graduation, Hannah will be moving to Arlington and working in Risk and Financial Advisory, but she plans to come back often to visit her favorite place in Cville!
A R S I T Y
Annabelle Bond
Annabelle is a third year biology and pre-vet student. She’s from St. Paul, Minnesota, where she rode at a hunter-jumper barn and continues to work at a nonprofit YMCA summer camp teaching kids how to ride. She started playing polo her second year and has loved the team environment and the opportunity to try something new. Annabelle loves all of the polo ponies but her favorites are Jaws and Juan.
Brian Salmon
Brian started playing with Denver Polo Club. During high school he was part of the Denver I/I polo team, and NYTS. He first experienced VA Polo with the high school PTF clinics. In his first year with the club team, it is the community and focus on horse care that makes the barn his favorite place. Brian is working to finish in Biology and Anthropology, and will pursue veterinary school to become a large and small animal vet. His favorite horses are Macchiata and Lolita.
Caroline Blang
Caroline is a third year student from Cincinnati, Ohio studying Medical Anthropology. She transferred to UVA from UK this past year and is so grateful to have found a home at Virginia Polo. She grew up riding in the hunters, but made the switch to polo after finishing the Virginia Polo Boot Camp and starting at Roseland Polo last fall. She has enjoyed learning more about the sport as an intern for the USPA, and is excited to spend summer ‘24 looking after the herd on the Virginia Polo summer crew. Caroline’s favorite ponies are July and Afrika.
Julia Hersh
Julia is a fourth year Biology and Cognitive Science major who grew up on a family farm in New Jersey, competing in eventing and dressage. She began her polo career her first semester first year, starting with Boot Camp, and has been hooked ever since. Her favorite part of being on the team is getting to know all of the individual horses and club members, as well as being able to continue to learn and guide others towards polo. After graduation, Julia will be moving back to New Jersey to work as an equine veterinary technician and to work on her applications for vet school, as well as returning to competing in dressage.
Katy Owens
Katy is a graduate student from Harrisonburg, VA studying Civil Engineering with a concentration in structures. Prior to coming to UVA, she took lessons at a hunterjumper barn for 12 years. Katy joined the Club Team in Spring 2022, after learning how to play polo during Virginia Polo Boot Camp and has loved the opportunity to improve both her riding and playing while on the team. While she loves all of the wonderful club ponies, some of her favorites include Juan and Lolita. After graduation, Katy will be moving to Greenville, SC to work as a timber engineer.
Maryam Sarafzadeh
Maryam is a second year studying Financial Economics, and social chair of VA Polo. She grew up in rural Vermont, and has spent the majority of her life either on the back of a horse or exploring the green mountains. Maryam competed in the Zone 1 (New England) show circuit, then transitioned to rehabbing OTTB’s at an equine rescue facility. Virginia Polo has become a home away from home for her; a place where she can continue to ride, learn, and explore on a stunning landscape. Inspired by the community she grew up in, Maryam would like to focus her career on law, sustainability, and economic trends in agriculture. Her favorite horse is Hennessy!
Megan Maleno
Megan is a fourth year Computer Science major from Long Island, NY. She grew up competing in the hunters until she was introduced to polo through Virginia Polo’s Boot Camp program in the spring of her first year. She loves being on the club team because of the supportive nature of all the team members, and is grateful for the opportunity to meet such wonderful people. Her favorite pony is Snickers. After graduation, Megan will be moving back to New York to work in cybersecurity.
Mike Haas
Mike is a third year in the College of Arts and Sciences studying Physics. Mike is a veteran of the U.S. Navy and lives with his family on a farm in Eastern Albemarle County. Mike was introduced to polo through Roseland Polo in Crozet and Virginia Polo’s Boot Camp. His favorite pony on the club string is Snickers.
C LNora Gaudion
Nora is a second year from Camp Hill, Pennsylvania intending to major in History with a concentration in law. She grew up in the hunter-jumper arena before discovering Virginia Polo her first semester and was hooked from the first day of Boot Camp. She can’t wait for what the next couple years hold at the most amazing facility with the best people and ponies. Her favorite ponies are Mary and Snickers.
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BNora Wood
Nora is a first year from Charlottesville, Virginia planning to double major in Spanish and Computer Science. She grew up riding hunter-jumper and was introduced to polo through the Virginia Polo Boot Camp her senior year of high school, where she started on the Virginia Juniors team before joining the club team as a UVA student. Nora loves the Virginia Polo community and the team-oriented nature of the sport, and her favorite ponies are Macchiata and Juan. She is grateful for the opportunity to keep playing polo with such a supportive and fun group!
Paige Hutcheson
Paige is a first year from Keezletown, Virginia planning to double major in Archaeology and Astronomy. Before coming to UVA, Paige rode and worked at a hunter-jumper lesson barn for 11 years and began taking polo lessons at Keezletown Polo the summer before her first semester. Loving the intensity, speed, and teamwork of the sport, she joined Virginia Polo’s Club Team this past fall. Paige’s favorite ponies at Virginia Polo are Terri and Rocket. She’s excited and grateful to be able to spend her next three years at UVA playing at Virginia Polo!
CL U B
Charles Kern
Scout Bale
Scout is a third year Civil Engineering major with a concentration in environment and water resources. She grew up riding western in Central Oregon and joined Virginia Polo in her first semester at UVA. Scout loves all the time she gets to spend with the club ponies, especially her favorite, Luna. She’s so grateful for all of the learning opportunities that polo has given her!
Shang Ruan
Shang Ruan is a second year at Darden School of Business with a concentration in Corporate Finance/Investment Banking. Shang is from Shenzhen, China and started learning how to ride 3 years ago. Shang is beyond grateful to be a part of Virginia Polo. Her favorite horse here is Jaws. She hopes to introduce more future Darden players to this amazing program and will continue to ride and play after she graduates and moves to NYC.
Charles is a third year in the McIntire School of Commerce studying management and double majoring in history, from Ross, CA. He rode western in high school and fell in love with both horses and riding. He joined the club team in the fall of 2023 after completing the Virginia Polo Boot Camp in the spring. He enjoys being a part of such a strong polo community and likes both the challenge and thrill of the sport. He is grateful to the amazing members for their friendship and their help in introducing him to the sport! His favorite horses are Snickers and Afrika.
AS USUAL BUSINESS IS OVER.
B D
Sweat Equity and the inner workings of Virginia Polo
by Katy Owens
When people ask me about Virginia Polo and what it is like to be a part of the team, I often first describe the many hours our members spend at the barn and the opportunity to take ownership of the care of our horses. On the surface, it is easy to get caught up in the excitement of the riding and playing opportunities afforded by the program and forget to consider the work required to make the sport possible. We refer to the work requirements at Virginia Polo as “sweat equity” and they encompass everything from feeding to mucking to exercising to grooming. Many students spend more than 20 hours each week at the barn doing chores and taking care of the ponies in addition to their riding and playing time.
Student Responsibilities
Each member is required to do barn chores at least once each week, including mucking stalls, emptying and refilling water buckets, and giving hay among other tasks. Barn chores are always a team effort with 4-5 people assigned to chores each day Sunday-Thursday, while the people responsible for Friday and Saturday chores rotate. Additionally, everyone is required to feed in the morning about ten times each semester with a teammate. These responsibilities are scheduled and managed by the club president who sends out a sign up sheet at the beginning of each semester, allowing team members to ensure their barn schedule is coordinated with their other responsibilities. While everyone tries to avoid conflicts with their barn commitments, sometimes things come up. In these circumstances, fellow teammates happily offer their support to cover chores, putting the wellbeing of the horses above all else.
Beyond these assigned responsibilities, students on each team are responsible for the condition of their team’s horses, including fitness, regular grooming, clipping, etc. Students also often take on the responsibility of administering minor first-aid under the supervision of our wonderful barn manager and assistant coach Elka Sterling.
Learning through Experience
The success our club has had this year from the high school level to the college varsity level would not be possible without Elka. Her day-to-day responsibilities include managing the overall health and well-being of the herd, administering various treatments to our injured horses, coaching the club and high school teams, teaching Boot Camp, and more broadly being the first person students go to if there is a question or issue in the barn. Some students join the program with more horse management and/or riding experience than others and thus Elka supports the different teams and individuals in different ways; but the program, including the horse management, is ultimately student-run.
Another special aspect of the sweat equity program is the opportunity for students to learn from their teammates. While Elka leads the Boot Camp program, students are responsible for teaching new players how to tack and untack their ponies, providing corrections during drills, and playing in teaching chukkers. Once players join the club team, they continue to receive help from fellow club members. In the words of club member Shang Ruan, “I have learned just about a bit of everything from everyone. From horsemanship, riding, hitting, and
teamwork strategies to driving a gator.” It is this sharing of knowledge between team members and from Elka that allows Virginia Polo to flourish year after year. Older students pass down important information regarding individual horses and how the farm functions, while new students draw from their own experiences and introduce new ideas into Virginia Polo’s practices, all under the watchful eyes of Lou and Elka.
The Importance of Sweat Equity
In Elka’s words, “sweat equity makes students take ownership of the program and the horses,” and describes how, because of the sweat equity program and the responsibility students take for their horses, there is a culture of taking care of tasks when needed and not leaving horse care needs for others complete. In the words of club member Caroline Blang, “the sweat equity program has helped teach me the importance of accountability and showing up for both my teammates and our ponies. If we don’t show up, our ponies won’t get taken care of and we take that responsibility seriously.” In the words of Alana Benz, varsity women’s team captain, “we take a lot of pride in the condition of our horses. When our horses perform well in games, we know it is because of our hard work.”
Virginia Polo’s sweat equity program makes our program what it is and is the reason Virginia Polo has and continues to produce generations of knowledgeable horsemen and women. Our alumni thrive in the polo
world, as veterinarians, in other horse sports, and in leadership roles in their various fields, because of the lessons they learned through sweat equity. We, the current generation of Virginia Polo players, are grateful to be able to continue this tradition.
Mila has been a super athletic addition to the team this year and has become one of Vlad’s favorites, often noted as fragile but fast. She was a part of the men’s nationals string this year, and we are looking forward to the value she will bring to the program.
New Recruits to Men’s Varsity: Mila, Torch,
Circe, and Pebbles
Torch was an absolute favorite of the new ponies this year and rocked playing on the men’s string at Nationals! She’s known by all for being fast, handy, sweet, easy, and an all-around machine. We are so grateful for all that she has brought to the team and for what is to come.
Circe was donated in the fall. She proved to be a very quick learner, agile, athletic, and strongly opinionated. We are very excited for her future with the program!
Pebbles quickly became an interesting personality on the farm and is known for always giving the guys a laugh. She proved her handiness across teams in the Club Invitational this year, and we are excited to have her with us for the summer, too!
Happy Retirement to Chunky Monkey, Cloro, Pantera, and Lolita!
Photo: Dan Addison
Photo: Dan Addison
“The 70th celebration made me excited to come back after I graduate and play in chukkers
UVA’s first winning National Championship Team reunites at the 70th!
Current club members enjoy the party in the evening after alumni chukkers
Alumni players after their chukkers
2010s alumni gearing up for chukkers
Ladies from the ‘80s
Ashley on club pony July
at the 75th!”
Julia Hersh Class of ‘24
celebration to I play in 75th!” of ‘24 celebration to I play in 75th!” of ‘24
Julio Arellano
Clinic at Virginia Polo
by Maryam Sarafzadeh
This fall Virginia Polo was honored to have previous 9-goaler, incredible polo instructor, and world-class coach Julio Arellano teach half-day clinics for all of our club members. From October 21st-22nd, Julio covered the key polo skills that every player needs to be successful in these half-day sessions. He designed separate curriculums for our JV team, our men’s team, and our women’s team.
Julio had taught at all three of our PTF clinics last summer, where I had the pleasure of meeting him. I enjoyed watching him teach, and tried to learn as much as I could observing his drills and listening to him explain to each rider what they need to work on. I gained quite a bit of knowledge just by spectating. However, I gained a deeper understanding of his lessons by being able to participate in the drills. It was in our fall clinic with Julio that I was able to actually experience what I had observed, and compare what I saw to what I felt.
We kicked off the session with riding drills. Namely, using our body to accelerate and decelerate safely and efficiently. Julio placed a great emphasis on purpose, and making a plan with your horse. When you ride into a play, make sure you think about when to ask for ‘go’, and when to bring your horse back. The exercise was to ride diagonally towards the arena wall, then complete a sharp turn to the inside. This turn created a 45-degree angle between where you started and where you ended.
The challenge was timing the acceleration and deceleration of the turn so that you placed the least amount of stress on your horse and made the turn as smooth as possible. At first, many of us treated it like a rollback, which it wasn’t. We sat back, came to almost a complete stop at the wall, then turned. What Julio wanted from us was to allow our horses to continue moving through the turn, and to avoid the stopand-go aspect of a rollback. This turn was supposed to be smoother, softer, and maintain acceleration throughout. The timing had to be perfect, and I found that I almost always asked my horse to decelerate too late. Checking up early allowed me to find the right moment to lean into the turn and maintain enough acceleration so that I could return to the speed I had at the approach.
The second portion of this drill asked us to do the same thing, but off the wall. The wall was a barrier that we could use to guide our turns while first learning the exercise. Now, we needed to complete the turn on an ‘imaginary’ line and work on turning with purpose. This is where creating a plan of approach came into play. Without the wall to stop you, it was easy to run over the turn and find yourself doing an uncoordinated, slow, half circle back. Actively thinking about where your horse is and the timing of your commands was key to turning with a purpose and staying on the line.
After this exercise, we gave our horses a break and did an unmounted lesson on the wooden horse. Julio reviewed every single swing with each one of us, correcting our bad habits and introducing more effective ways to swing. It was incredible to have Julio do an individual, personalized analysis of all of us and find out exactly what we are doing wrong or right.
We ended our session with stick-and-ball time in the arena. Julio let us freely stick and ball to practice what we went over on the wooden horse, and if he saw something that needed correction he would call the individual over to review. Hitting the ball at speed is something our JV players struggle with, and he was able to help us find ways of tracking our timing and slowing ourselves down. It was incredibly beneficial to have him as a resource, and to receive guidance on even the littlest things.
This clinic was excellent preparation for the rest of the fall and spring season, and all of our players received lessons that were personalized to their strengths and weaknesses. With each of our teams approaching their first games of the year, these sessions gave us a mini ‘reset’ as we got back into the rhythm of the collegiate polo season.
Nationals in Review
Photo: Oana Moore
by Mackenzie Craig
The DI National Intercollegiate Championship, hosted by the Virginia Polo Club, brought thirteen competitive teams, seven women’s and six men’s, and over 100 horses to Charlottesville for a chance to win the ultimate collegiate polo title. The Virginia Polo Club was incredibly honored to host the tournament once again, showcasing our amazing facilities and incredible arenas. The tournament was scheduled over six days, including eleven, six chukker games. The first day saw the arrival of most of the tournament participants for vet checks and team meetings. By the second day, the games were underway.
The tournament opened with the Virginia men competing against Texas A&M for a spot in the semifinals. UVA was well represented with a mixture of new and returning players: Vlad Tarashansky, Mak Mourad Shah, Gaston Gomez, James Grayken, and Nick Paciorek. The men fought hard for a fastpaced six chukkers but ultimately did not advance in the tournament.
The women’s team, Alana Benz, Lea Jih-Vieira, Mackenzie Craig, Hannah Thomas, and Pippa Harris, came out strong on day three of the tournament with a decisive win over the University of California Davis. The girls earned the lead from the beginning and kept the focus on playing their game. They came away with a great win and they carried that mindset with them into the semifinal game against University of South Carolina Aiken on day five. UVA started the game off with a bang by putting the first points on the board. Aiken quickly responded and it was a back-and-forth game for the first half with both teams barely holding an edge over the other. Virginia ended the third chukker in a three-point deficit. After a halftime pep talk, the girls came out fierce in the second half and promptly tied the score. The tide turned in favor of Virginia in the fifth chukker, with the girls mounted on their favorites of the Virginia string. Lea started the chukker with a breakaway to score a two-pointer on one of her favorite
mares, Cobra, that put UVA into a lead they would carry for the rest of the game. Another decisive two-point shot from Lea in the final ten seconds of the game sealed the victory 20-16. UVA was going to the finals!
UVA’s advancement meant a rematch of the 2023 championship as the girls would face off against defending champions Texas A&M. The roster for A&M stayed steady, but Alana was the only returning player from UVA looking to avenge the title with the rest of her teammates being new to the UVA varsity team. Still, with a very successful two semesters behind them, they were ready. The girls selected Whiskey, Sapa, Red, Cobra, Cracker, Baby, and Timone as their mounts for the final game.
The last day of the tournament started early with the women’s championship first and the men’s thereafter. UVA and Texas A&M kicked off the first chukker on the neutral string, and UVA took an early lead by putting the first two points on the board. A&M was quick to respond, and the chukker was back and forth with the Texas girls ending it with a one-point lead at 3-2. The second and third chukkers continued much like the first, with both teams fighting hard for every single point. The halftime buzzer sounded and Virginia trailed A&M 8-6.
After a quick break and pep talk with coach Lou Lopez, the starters Alana, Lea, and Mackenzie returned to the arena for the final 15 minutes of play. A&M widened their lead in the fourth chukker but UVA came back strong for a lights-out fifth chukker on their own string. Alana had several fantastic plays on one of her favorite mares, Whiskey, that helped close the gap and pull UVA into the lead. The score stood 11-12 to start the final chukker. The girls played hard for all five minutes and were tied 13-13 for the final 2 minutes of play. A foul from A&M put Virginia on the line for a penalty two, which Alana drained straight down the middle. With 7 seconds remaining in play, the goal sealed the win for UVA, and the girls won the 2024 national title!
On top of a fantastic win accompanied by plentiful amounts of celebration and champagne, UVA was honored to receive the Best Playing String Award for the tournament and our own mare Baby named a finalist for Best Playing Pony! The success of our women’s team this year would not be possible without all the support from Virginia Polo and its wonderful donors. We are so proud of all of our players for a fantastic season and look forward to more wins in the future!
Photo: Dan Addison
Photo: Dan Addison
Photo: Dan Addison
Photo: Dan Addison
Photo: Dan Addison
Photo: Dan Addison
Photo: Oana Moore
Photo: Dan Addison
Virginia Polo A Perfect Match Asados and
By: Mike Haas
If you have spent much time at Virginia Polo in the last few years, you have likely experienced an asado. To the untrained eye, the sliced grilled meat served family style with toasted loaves of bread and tangy green salsa, known as chimichurri, might seem like just another barbecue. But what you experienced is a way of cooking deeply embedded in the culture of polo and is swiftly becoming a revered tradition at Virginia Polo.
Asado is not just a South American culinary technique— it’s a way of life, emphasizing the slow and communal cooking of meat over an open wood fire. Often, this involves an entire animal, with each cut cooking at its own pace over the flavor of natural wood, allowing time for socializing and reflection.
When I started at Virginia Polo, I was no stranger to cooking over open fire but I was ignorant of asados. Parker Pearce, the 2023 Men’s Varsity captain and current manager at the Maryland Polo Club, showed me some of the ropes and what I had been missing. I learned that Virginia Polo had a budding tradition of asados and so I thought it fitting that I talk more to Parker about the roots of asados at Virginia Polo.
Alum Parker Pearce
How would you describe asado?
Pearce: First, I’d say that in its original and authentic form, it’s more of a culture and a way of life. And it’s just kind of regular to everyone in Latin America…in Argentina, in Uruguay, in all of those places. It’s dinner, but it’s a way to also hang out with friends…family. And sit and not rush dinner, as opposed to what we do a lot of times. That’s kind of the nice part about it, when you get down to the purpose. Other than that, I would describe it as wood fire…[cooking] over the coals and ashes. Almost entirely the focus is on beef, and different types of beef. It’s slow.
So what was your first experience with asado?
Pearce: My first experience was at the age of 13 or 14. With a groom of a friend that plays here in Maryland. [He] was a very nice older man named Serio. He was around and I was there grooming, only playing a little bit at the time, but always there grooming. So we ended up hanging out and then he taught me the ropes along the way. We had many club barbecues and things like that, but he was the one that taught me and kind of showed me the ways. He would tell me to do something and I would do it, and then I’d see what happened. And it was usually pretty damn good.
And you said it became part of the culture there with you guys at the polo club or where you were playing?
Pearce: Yeah, I would say it definitely became a culture. It became more of a culture at UVA, I would say, than at my own club right now. But my goal this season actually is to kind of bring that in and try to unite the community that way a little bit more than they have been in the past.
And you’re doing that, you’re trying to do more asados in order to bring that about?
Pearce: Yeah, exactly. I mean, if you think about it, it’s a barbecue, right? And in the American way, we get together and we barbecue and we drink and everything. This is a way to kind of take your time a little bit and just sit around and enjoy friends. And it definitely is something that can entirely influence a culture and just kind of shine a positive light even after a tough loss and bring enemies on the field back together afterwards. It’s pretty, not magical, but it’s pretty powerful.
So when did asados start coming to Virginia Polo? When did that start?
Pearce: I mean, I would say before me, there was a little bit of barbecuing, Lou flipping burgers and hot dogs. And then prior, there have been players like Nachi and Felipe who I’m sure at the time…they would bring out their grill and sit with the grooms (that) were playing there professionally. Everybody loved that. And then I started cooking a little bit in the Beh House when I could get permission from Lou. And eventually I talked him into letting us bring a real kind of permanent pit in. And from there, that’s kind of where the tradition began, in my eyes at least. I don’t think there was a whole lot of it before me.
So I know that you’ve played in Argentina. Have you been to an Asado in Argentina? Have you seen what that’s all about?
Pearce: Yeah, absolutely. We went to many. And that’s kind of the root of where I learned …we asado’d [sic] every night almost. If we weren’t going to get dinner, we had an oven and a charcoal fire in our house. And that’s just how we cooked dinner. We cooked steak and we pulled out bread and sometimes vegetable[s]. And that was dinner, lunch the next day, too, usually. But at the same time, too, we would go to parties and big things at birthday parties and events after tournaments and things. And there would be anywhere from, maybe five to six, seven, eight-plus players. And they’re all obviously competing against each other 24-7. But all of them were there laughing, talking, enjoying the beef, enjoying all the kids running around with the dogs. And it was pretty neat. I mean, it’s not the same as we do here. It tastes a little bit different just because of the way they do it with cattle over there. But we get as close as we can. You just cover it in as much salt as possible.
What’s different about the cattle?
Pearce: Over there, they don’t—so a lot of the cattle in the U.S. is grain-finished, right? So it’s done quick, kind of at the end, and they’ll beef them up. Cattle in Argentina just roams. They’re out in the countryside eating the grass that they get for the most part and then to the slaughterhouse. Fully grass-fed, no overwork, nothing. It’s just different. It’s not—I honestly don’t know if I would say I prefer it really that much over what we do in the U.S. but it is a little bit different, and the cuts are different too. They cut it big, big, what they call like a primal cut. It’s a whole side or it’s a full brisket, and it feeds the whole family. And there’s always one guy sitting there that really loves doing it, and that’s part of the fun too.
What you’ve seen in Argentina, is that kind of like a relic of the past, do you think?
Pearce: Oh, it’s definitely not a relic of the past. I think it just depends on where you are. You can be in Pilar and people are cooking that way just because that’s just how it’s done. I mean there’s very few propane grills going or anything. That’s just how they do it…But then you get out to places. You go two hours out into the Pampas, and it’s a farm where literally they only have – they have lambs there, they raise cattle. When they want to eat, they kill a lamb, and you bring the lamb in like that. Literally we went one night to one of Nachi’s friends’ houses and that’s what they did. It was like they had a lamb prepared from the day before and cooked the whole thing all at once.
As Parker alludes to, there is something about asados that beckons to a way of life, a philosophy put into practice. The same can be said about playing polo at Virginia. The asados on the hill behind the Beh house are not just meals, they are communions after long and arduous days in the barn and arena. Sometimes, as in the case of the 70th anniversary, an asado serves as a great celebration. But more often, it is a time to sit, reflect, and perhaps be thankful for the opportunity to play for Virginia Polo.
Thank you to Parker Pearce for his contributions to this article.
Division I Women’s Nationals
Best Playing String
mention for
Rags to Riches!
By: Nora Wood
Anyone who has had the privilege of getting to know one of the club team’s most beloved ponies, Raga, would attest to his sensitivity, forgiveness, and heart of gold. But they may never have guessed that this underdog would be adding even more to his resume as Best Playing Pony. Raga stunned the crowd at Men’s Division II Regional’s this spring with an unprecedented display of passion and athleticism, returning unscathed and with a champion title to compete with the best of them. Our underestimated and gentle gelding has since been letting stardom go to his head, taking on practice chukkers like a walk in the park and now only responding to “BPP.” Such recognition is long awaited and well-deserved. As our social chair Maryam so eloquently put it, “the heart of a champion can only pump with the power of empathy in their veins.”
Ponies Left to Right: Timone, Indica, Cobra, Cracker, Whiskey, Baby (honorable
Best Playing Pony), and Red.
by Maryam Sarafzadeh
An essential part of my Virginia Polo experience has been extending my participation into the summers. The summer of 2023 was my second summer at Virginia Polo, and there was nowhere else I would have rather been! Even though UVA has summers off, the barn still has a lot happening in the time that the team is away.
THE SUMMER CREW
The summer crew holds the responsibility of making sure that the horses are properly cared for, the property is tidy, and the ponies are getting in shape for our summer chukkers. The week is split up with two days for chukkers, four days for sets and stick-and-ball, and Mondays the ponies have off.
Since Charlottesville gets fairly hot during the daytime, chores start early to beat the heat. The horses get fed around 8am, and some days we try to get a few chukkers or sets out beforehand. It is more comfortable to ride in the cool morning than to endure the dragging humidity that persists mid-day. These early mornings, though exhausting, were one of my favorite parts of the summer. There’s nothing like bringing in sleepy ponies under a hazy-red sunrise, glowing behind the dew-sprinkled rolling hills of Virginia.
The property quiets down during the afternoon. Some of the crew commutes to their part-time job, others take summer classes and might hang out in the Beh House doing homework. I normally spent my afternoons on the property, either reading a book or tidying up the barn. I discovered that the monotonous buzzing of friendly insects combined with the warmth of a sunny day has a sedative effect. Some of my best naps, as well as my most productive work, were during these mid-day lulls.
Once the evening hit, and the temperature dropped to something a little more bearable, we worked the rest of
our horses. We started chukkers at 6pm, which is typically when it would begin to cool off outside. On some days, the temperature was so high that we would start taking sets or playing chukkers as late as 7 or 8pm. Any twilight chukkers were made possible by our new set of outdoor arena lights; these LEDs are so strong that they illuminate into our back fields, against the farthest tree line. It makes a huge difference when turning out horses at night; I could no longer be jump-scared by a doe that decided to wander into our pastures.
Our crew worked hard this past summer, but we also made time to relax and enjoy ourselves. Between visits to King’s Family Vineyard to watch the Roseland Polo games, eating meals together, and floating on the James River, we found ways to strengthen our friendships in the greater Charlottesville area. On the property, we might watch a movie in the Beh House or go for a trail ride.
Though our daily schedule starts early and ends late, there’s a lot of flexibility for players who decide to stay over the summer to work full or part time, and to take classes. Staying the summer gave us the opportunity to further develop our polo skills while building our resume or earning credits. Staying over the summer is an actionpacked experience that I have loved and am looking forward to in the next few years!
SUMMER CLINICS
A Virginia Polo summer staple is our clinics in collaboration with the Polo Training Foundation! The purpose of these clinics is to advance the skills of polo players in middle and high school, and expose them to what an intercollegiate polo program looks like.
The purpose of the clinics is not to throw every kid on a pony and have them play chukkers all day. The clinics focus on developing the specific skills and building blocks one needs to be a great polo player. While on the horse, they practice skills related to three major areas: riding, swinging, and set plays.
Riding drills are done without a mallet, and work on developing the horse-rider connection. Ultimately, your most important teammate is your horse. Players should be able to comfortably adjust to different ponies and understand their strengths and weaknesses. After working on their riding, players pick up a mallet to practice their swing. This is a portion of the clinic that focuses heavily on the individual, and will analyze each portion of the player’s swing. Some might find they do not have enough rotation, others might discover that they need to work on the position of their legs. The third area of the mounted portion of the clinic is completing drills related to specific in-game plays. For example, a throw in, or passing. Teamwork is a prominent theme in these drills. They serve as a wonderful set-up for the practice chukkers that occur later in the day.
Players will find that they will not be mounted the entire day; a crucial portion of the clinics is unmounted learning. They will find themself reviewing strategy on a whiteboard; studying their defensive and offensive positioning from a bird’s-eye view. They will watch footage of the chukkers they played the night before, and discuss why each play did or didn’t work, and what to do better. This year, our barn manager Elka Sterling taught a section on horse care and management. This is an area of knowledge that is often overlooked, but by learning the basics, players are set up to develop solid horsemanship skills.
One of the greatest benefits of the clinics have been providing these young players with a range of teaching methods. Our instructors come from a variety of backgrounds, and all have slightly different ways of developing a certain skill. For newer players, this sets them up with a solid foundation built on the principles of many wonderful coaches. For more advanced players, being able to learn things they might already know from a different perspective can help them grow as a player. No matter how advanced the player is, there is always something to learn.
Thank you to the Polo Training Foundation for supporting these clinics and inspiring a new generation of polo players. We’d like to thank all of our instructors; Lou Lopez, Danny Scheraga, Rob Rinehart, and Elka Sterling. We would like to extend this thank you to Julio Arellano as well. This past summer, we were particularly lucky to have Julio Arellano
visit and join as an instructor for our 2023 clinics. We are so thankful to have had his depth of knowledge and fresh perspective accessible to our players!
STARR HILL PATHWAYS
This past summer, we began a new partnership with Starr Hill Pathways. Starr Hill Pathways is a program that supports middle and high school students from marginalized groups in preparation for college or starting a career. The program exposes students in Albemarle County to various career pathways to inspire them as they move towards adulthood.
As a Pathways partner, we taught a group of middle school students about horse care and what life is like “on the farm”. Many had never been near a horse before, or if they had it was a brief pony-ride at the fair. Our program was aimed at kids who expressed interest in animals or veterinary science, so we placed an emphasis on giving them the opportunity to safely handle the ponies on their own.
We focused on the process of grooming, starting with how to put a halter on and lead a horse out of a stall. A few of the kids were a little shy at first, but once their more confident peers practiced putting a halter on they were encouraged to try. The process of leading a horse was one of the more popular activities; kids took turns leading a pony in circles, halting, changing directions, and a few even tried backing up.
After moving on from this activity, we taught kids about the brushes we use on our horses and why. While the kids brushed, we took the chance to teach them about the parts of the horse, pointing out where they were brushing. One
Film review in the Beh House
Summer 2023 Virginia Polo Clinic group
particular middle-schooler has stuck in my memory; he had researched horses heavily in his school computer lab and library. He made an effort to guess every part of the horse before we asked, and would spew out random horse facts that he had learned.
Aside from horsemanship, kids got a little taste of polo too! We handed out foot-mallets and gave them an overview of the basic swing. After showing them how to correctly hold a mallet, they went off into the arena and played their own little games.
As an adult that used to be a horse-crazy kid, this experience left me with a bit of nostalgia. Moments like this demonstrated how we could gain as much from these kids as they could from us. This program made me all the more grateful for Virginia Polo, and the access our club gives students who otherwise would not be able to continue riding throughout college. Having such a gorgeous property, with the opportunity to learn and grow with others on stellar horses is something that is rare to come across.
Without a doubt, I will spend the rest of my summers as a UVA student at Virginia Polo. I want to maximize the little time I have left as a young adult; to make the most of this brief period of adolescent freedom and focus on something that not only challenges me, but brings me incredible happiness. My love for the program has grown stronger with every summer and I look forward to the next one!
Learning how to pick hooves from Women’s Team member Hannah
Starr Hill Pathways meet the Virginia Polo players
Katy Owens
Vlad Tarashansky
Shang Ruan
Hannah Thomas
Julia Hersh
to Virginia Polo’s class of 2024 Congrats!
Lea Jih-Vieira
Megan Maleno
Nick Paciorek
Photo: Dan Addison
Photo: Dan Addison
2023 Donors to Virginia Polo
Thank you for a GREAT year only possible because of your support!
The Founders’ Club Donors of $10,000+
Eilene & John Grayken
Joevy Beh
Garvy Beh
Karen & Michael Crane, in memory of Remo
Tackeria Polo LLC
The Salmon Family, in memory of Ed & Marcia Salmon
Vicky Whaley
Andrew Baldwin
G. David Hamar, Jr.
Roxanne & Rich Booth
High Goal Club Donors of $5,000+
Dan Colhoun
Michael Cantacuzene
Christina & Stephen Graham
Christine & Leo Rocca
Clarissa Echezarreta
Eric Hobby
Jake Flournoy
Jennifer & Thomas Eddy, Jr.
Kris & Todd Wooten
Michael Jackson
Virginia Swift, in honor of Jake Flournoy
Stilly McFadden
Rotunda Club Donors of $2,500+
Holly & Ross Pearce
Mark Corradino
Mark Van Lith
Laura Caro
Charlotte & Rob Rinehart
Elizabeth & John Van Sant, in memory of Remo
Polly Gardiner, in memory f Remo
Robin & Dickie Burge, in memory of Remo
Steve Walsh
Aleco Bravo-Greenberg
Karen & Charles Manning, in memory of Remo
Lisa Bruer & Danny Rieken
Melissa & Jim Raezer
Roseland Farm Polo Club LLC
The Harrison Family
Players Club Donors of $1,000+
CB Scherer, in honor of the Rineharts
Grace Gummeson
Susan & Peter Gummeson
Virginia Tent Rental
Craig Reicher, in honor of Danny Sheraga
Mary Minor & Peter Henderson, in memory of Roger Steele
Nancy & John Schlichting, in memory of Remo
Lara & Jim Dunlap
Cecilia & Wil Harris
Ellen King
Valeria Pollak & Guillermo Gomez
Chukker Club Donors of $500+
Anonymous Gifts
Lee Ann McCoy, in honor of 70th anniversary of VA Polo
Nicole & Earle Betts III
Bunny & Joel Gibbons IV
Cristina Fernandez, in honor of Tinkerbell
Alan Nash
Bill Matheson
Cara & Thomas Preston, in honor of Stilly McFadden
David Forbes
Dennis Hughes
Dr. Jerry Germroth
Dr. Za Tilt & Dr. Jack Renehan, in honor of Mancha
Elle & Dulany Morison
Evelina & Strother Scott
Jay Du-Sauzay
Kelly & Paul Curran, in memory of Roger Steele
Liz Owens
Michael Fox
Yogi Singh, in honor of Andrew & Billy Baldwin
Stick & Ball Club Donors of $250+
Wes Stevens
Jean & Michael Steel
Courtney Blackburn
Rebecca Steele, in memory of Roger Steele
Susan & Rodger Rinehart III, in memory of
Roger Steele
Alana Benz, in honor of Valentina
Evelyn & Dr. Reynolds Cowles
Kathy Rhoad, in honor of Rob & Charlotte Rinehart
Mary & Thomas Watson
Nancy & Greg Crawford, in memory of Roger Steele
Sharon & Gregg Johnson
Sharon Church
Vickie Gullet & Michael Iwanik, PhD
Hot Walkers Club Donors $100+
Bailey Briggs
Cynthia Schuler North
John Watts, Jr., in memory of Roger Steele
Kim Kirschnick
Roxanne & Geoffrey Briggs, in honor of Bailey & Maddie Briggs
Siska Matiuk
Toni & John McGauley, MD
Amy & Roland Owens
Ivor Stoddard
Ann & John Ryan II
Ann Johnson, in memory of Roger Steele
Anne & Hunter Lamon
Betsy Atchinson
Charlotte & Santiago Villa, in honor of Lou Lopez
Christie & Jill Reed
Christine & Joseph McLean, in honor of Jack McLean
Dede D’Orsi, PhD
Donna & John Colan
Doug Matthews
Elizabeth & Allen Rider, in honor of Rob Rinehart
Gregory LaBlanc
Harriet Phillips
Jane Covington Motion
Lea Jih-Vieira
Linda Boggs, in honor of Christopher Hitchcock
Mary Lucas, in memory of Roger Steele
Meg Mullin, VMD
Peggy Augustus, in memory of Don Hannah
Rob & Kaysee Dwyer
Ron Sibold
Sandra & Ed Lovinguth, in memory of Roger Steele
Suzanne & Jacob Pflaum, in memory of Aaron Cohen
Vicki & Greg Baldwin, in honor of Andrew & Billy Baldwin
Friend Donors of up to $99
Caroline Bunch, in honor of Betty
Jack McLean, in honor of 70th anniversary of VA Polo
Deborah & Patrick Madden
Elizabeth Gathright
Inez Benz
Julia Stellmann, in honor of Cherokee, Mancha, Tia, & Tux
Marisa McMillen
Molly Muedeking, DVM
Susan & Daniel Semegen
Sarah & Christopher Cannova, MD
Dana & Daryl Kingrey, in memory of Les Johnson
Annabelle Bond
Antoinette Roades & Robert Scouten
Berenice & Ali Sarafzadeh
Genevieve Boye
Jacqualyn & Brent Beringer
Katherine Kavanagh
Katy Owens
Linda Farrar, in memory of Roger Steele
Parker Pearce
Shelby & Carrington Montague
Megan Maleno
Hannah Thomas
Katie Define
Laila Latifi
Maurice Bell IV
Mead Robertson
Please consider joining this remarkable group of donors by giving back to Virginia Polo today!
