Divas of the Sidelines: The True Lure of Polo

Champagne, Divots & Polo Divas

Polo is a sport of great skill, effortless team work and deep pockets. Players are given handicaps that grade their ability to score, not score or score for the other team (10 is the best and -2 the beginning). To be a "Zero" in the sport of polo is a compliment and makes the math easier. Each team's handicaps must add up to equal the published tournament handicap. Polo Clubs and the United States Polo Association host tournaments for beginners and youth to International games where the best in the World gather to play.

Beyond the complexity of the handicapping system is the team work between the players and their horses. Polo requires multiple abilities of its players. It is like riding a race horse in the Kentucky Derby, Swinging a golf club with Masters Tournament accuracy, shifting the play with World Cup Soccer skills and communicating with your teammates like an MBA All-Star- All rolled into one fast paced, thundering game that offers NO Monetary Prize. That's right; there are no Million Dollar Purses, Commercial Endorsements or Fantasy Payoffs. The teams consist of a patron and maybe a few paid players, but they are not paid by winnings, rather at the whim of the patron. This makes it a gentleman's sport that does not come cheap, a player needs 6 horses for each game and sometimes more (a $60,000 minimum investment).

Aiken, South Carolina is a polo Mecca with over 50 fields, 9 Active Clubs, 8 months of tournament play in all ranges and 2 annual Polo Pony Sales. Games happen all over town and out in the country, signs pop-up "Polo Today" with a sign. Spectators drive in (sometimes a fee is required to benefit a charity) and if your car is insured in South Carolina pull-in to a spot, your car insurance will replace your windshield for free; otherwise park 15 feet away from the boards, pop your tailgate and watch the display on and off of the field. The fashionistas that follow polo are more than Ralph Lauren devotees; they set new standards for glamour, they are Polo Divas. The best time to check out the other spectators and the sport's Divas is at half time when the field needs its divots stomped back down, have a glass of bubbly, get a little dirty and enjoy the action. See you on the sidelines!