By Dan Haro
Over the winter break from school, members of the Skidmore Polo Team traveled to Brushy Creek Polo Ranch to advance our polo ability with the PTF. Fresh off the plane and unloading our bags at the bunk house we quickly began our week of polo skill building with Robin Sanchez.
The agenda of each day worked on the many components to playing polo. In the mornings we gathered around the living room of the house- bagels and cereal in hand- to review foul shots, rules, and general polo safety. This classroom component benefited players who had questions and confusions about the long list of fouls, sophomore Valerie Schwartz says she “[I] never looked into each rule as closely as Robin showed us, and this sort of “chalk talk” was important because most of the time at practice we’re on the ponies, focusing on them and the ball”. These “chalk talks” helped the men’s and women’s team look into each play to develop strategies for different foul shot scenarios.
Polo at Brushy focused on three different areas, riding polo style, hitting, and chukkers. Focusing on polo riding is something the Skidmore Men’s team devoted most of their attention to while at Brushy. Juniors Dan Haro, Max Nager, and sophomore Alek Krazinski had taken to polo when first arriving at Skidmore, and their extensive English riding and hunter backgrounds were not comparable to the polo style of riding; “taking time out of the day to focus on riding is an important part of polo” says Dan, “players are often caught up in a play or searching for the ball that we can forget to ride the horse first”. Max Nager notes “polo riding is completely different than what I am used to, and I realize now that having the right polo position and collecting the horse with your knees really advances each play”. Robin demonstrated that the proper style of polo riding can command the most out of the pony and unite the rider and horse to move and think together.
In the afternoons the players saddled up the PTF ponies for hitting drills. During these sessions Robin broke down parts of the swing with each rider to emphasize the importance of proper form. Robin, paired with local guest players, helped improve each type of polo shot, showing us tricks and skills for hitting at all speeds and in every situation. The techniques learned during the stick and ball time paired with the riding practice was then applied to the most anticipated part of the day—chukkers!
Taking advantage of the days training, the chukkers were when we were able to see all of our new skills put to the test. “It was like magic” says junior Kim Keate, “you’d be galloping along and spot a text book example of a situation we discussed that morning, and right away make the best decision of what play to make”. Having been immersed in polo all day and then have chukkers in the evening was the true test of our newly learned talents. Not only were they a time for us to apply our abilities, but to have fun with our teammates and get competitive. Capturing each part of the game on film and stopping play to explain each foul in detail helped to reinforce the rules and technique for the players when we would review the tapes at night.
Over a few boxes of well deserved pizza for the players, Robin would play back the tapes of each chukker, highlighting the great plays and strategies exhibited by the teams or the sticky fouls we got ourselves into. “It’s important to relive your mistakes, and reinforce what you did wrong so you can avoid fouling in a similar situation” says senior Elizabeth Holson, “plus watching on video is slightly embarrassing, so when I am playing a chukker I don’t want to see it on tape later!” The nights usually concluded with watching more polo video tapes, a blockbuster from the extensive shelf collection, or reliving past polo moments and talking ponies.
“It was a phenomenal time” says sophomore Liz Charpentier, “for a week you get “polofied” [immersed in polo] from 9-5, ride a dozen different horses, care for the ponies, learn everything you can about the game, eat lots of bagels, and bond with your teammates.” The Skidmore Team agreed that traveling to Brushy Creek for a week and working with Robin and the ponies was a great experience for building the strength and skill of the school’s team. This opportunity allowed us to promote our polo and enjoy the sport we love most- the sport of kings and college students.
