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Columbus Polo
Club |
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Columbus Polo Club
History
by Charles Einhorn,
updated by Torie Front (4/02), Tom Margetis (06/05)
Officially founded
in 1984, the Columbus Polo Club has roots reaching into the early
1950s. Otis Harris and Walter Shapter founded the Harbor Hills Polo
Club located in the community by that name, on the north shore of
Buckeye Lake. Otis' son, Alan Harris, who still has been known to join
the Columbus Polo Club on the field, remembers those days when, as a
youngster, he watched his father and helped out as a flag-boy. Crowds
numbering 2,000 regularly came each summer Sunday afternoon to cheer
the club. Two rows of cars, loaded with fans, lined one side of the
field while the remaining spectators filled bleachers on the other
side. After the game, long tables were brought out for impromptu
pot-luck meals and the party would last until dark.
In the latter
1950s, Otis Harris started a team called the Columbus Farms Polo Club
while Shapter formed the Del Rancho team. Both clubs were members of
the US Polo Association. Otis, Alan and his brother Tom, along with
Dick Smith and Trent Smith played on the Columbus Farms team while W.J.
Durrett, Al Durrett, Frank Harris and Albert "Bud" Strauss formed the
Del Rancho team. Games were played well into the 1970s on a field in
north Columbus, in an area now owned by the Busch Brewery Co.
In 1974, the
notorious three Sieber brothers, from Cincinnati, dominated polo in
Ohio. Their team had not lost a game in three years. Vowing to bring an
end, Columbus Farms and Del Rancho decided to combine forces and come
up with an 8 goal team that was to challenge the awesome brothers. Not
only did the newly formed team beat Cincinnati, they went on to win the
National 8 goal tournament that season.
Later, throughout
the mid 1970s, several players moved out of the Columbus area or quit
playing polo and the teams dwindled down to zero. In the
following 10-year period, no organized polo was played in Central Ohio.
Some diehard players commuted to places like Indianapolis or elsewhere,
but they had no home team.
Dr. Leandro
Cordero, of Argentina, a country where polo is taken most seriously, is
credited with reviving polo in the Columbus area. Cordero had come to
Columbus to serve as head of the premature pediatrics unit at Ohio
State University. His passion for sport, which he had avidly pursued in
his native Argentina, was quenched by his willingness to travel all
over the country, playing as a guest on many different teams. Longing
to play with a home team, he gathered a group of friends in 1984 and
coaxed them into forming the Columbus Polo Club. Although none had ever
played polo, all had some level of equestrian skills. Dan Schmidt, Stan
Ackley, Dr. Tom Mallory, Jim Thorson and Bernie Brush were among that
first group of novices. Bill Gockenbach and Dick Smith, who had played
in the old Harbor Hills days, were among the more seasoned players who
also joined. Several players attended a weekend polo school in West
Palm Beach and professional polo Tom Harris conducted a three-day
clinic. Dan Schmidt's fiend in Groveport became the first official
Columbus Polo Club home field.
Most of the matches
consisted of inter club polo, at first. Players worked on learning polo
fundamentals, including two very important skills: staying on the pony
and hitting the ball. By the third year, many had improved sufficiently
to play "low-goal" polo. Professional polo players, whose role was to
improve the players' ability levels and to increase individual goal
standings, were also hired that year.
In 1987, the
Woodland Hall team, consisting of Stan Ackley, Dr. Tom Mallory, and two
pros, became a 6 goal team, the strongest in the Columbus Polo Club,
while the Peugeot team, including Alan Harris, Dan Schmidt, Leandro
Cordero and Troy Everett, rated as a 5 goal team, the second strongest
team in the club. Joe Safko, from Zanesville, who admits that he always
plunges deeply into any new venture, began playing with the Columbus
club in 1986. In 1987 he hired pro Jimmer Watson and along with Gale
Amacher and Jeff Abrams formed the Stefan Springs team, also a 5 goal
team.
Considered as
founder and inspiration of the Columbus Polo Club, Dr.Cordero was
ordered by his doctor to stop riding horses. He carries the affection
of all team members who are saddened at the loss of his leadership.
In 1986, the Bryn
Du Field, at Granville, became the official Columbus Polo Club field.
Located on the beautiful property of the Bryn Du mansion, formerly the
home of Granville's grande dame, Sally Sexton, the field was located in
an idyllic, picturesque setting. It was built on a former corn field in
front of the mansion. Because they are level and lined with drainage
tiles, cornfields make ideal sites for building polo fields.
The 1989 Columbus
Polo Club roster consisted of 5 teams - Bryn Du, Granville, Peugeot,
Stefan Springs and Toad Hall (formerly Woodland Hall). They play games
against teams from Cincinnati, Dayton, and Cleveland, as well as teams
from other states in the region.
In 2002 the
Columbus Polo Club boasted a membership of between 15-20 players,
including some married couples, and parent-child combinations! Polo is
truly a family sport!
The Columbus Polo Club
lost the field at Bryn Du in Granville in 1998 for five years. The
Club returned to Bryn Du in 2003, where from the
middle of June to the middle of September, the Columbus Polo Club plays
at Bryn Du for most of the Sunday games. Saturday afternoon games are
played in Reiterheim Field in Pataskala. In 2005 Bryn Du is also the
site for Tuesday night (weather permitting) new-player/green-horse
practices. Playing members also practice at Ackley Field in Gahanna on
Thursday nights.
In addition to playing
visiting teams, Club Polo, where members play against each other, is
considered an important element of the Columbus club, since it offers
novice players opportunities to develop competitive playing skills.
Columbus Polo Club members are friendly and eager to share their
enthusiasm. As you come to watch games, feel free to walk up to the
horse trailers and chat with home team members and visitors alike.
Whether you are experienced or new to polo, you'll soon be
amazed at your own involvement with this exciting sport.
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