Here is what we have in the works for spring - all for MEMBERS ONLY
THE DATES FOR THE FOLLOWING EVENTS MAY BE CHANGED BY THE CURRENT COVID SITUATION
FEBRUARY 10th
PHOTO SHOOT 1 - 4 pm @ THE POLO STADIUM
(Spring Themes)
FEBRUARY 13th
TAILGATING with OCALA POLO @ THE FLORIDA HORSE PARK
MARCH 10th
WORLD EQUESTRIAN CENTER - OCALA FARM TOUR
MARCH 12th
SEASON OPENING PARTY AT OXFORD POLO
APRIL 14th
WORLD EQUESTRIAN CENTER - OCALA FARM TOUR
APRIL - CANCELLED
WELLINGTON POLO HIGH GOAL POLO MATCH
TATO'S MALLET FACTORY
MUSEUM OF POLO & HALL OF FAME
APRIL - CANCELLED
SARASOTA POLO
APRIL 20th
EDUCATIONAL CLASS @ THE STADIUM
MAY 7th, 2022
SEASON CLOSING DERBY PARTY @ ROHAN RECREATION CENTER
PLEASE SEE MEMBERS ONLY 2022 PAGE FOR DETAILS
FEBRUARY 10th
PHOTO SHOOT 1 - 4 pm @ THE POLO STADIUM
(Spring Themes)
FEBRUARY 13th
TAILGATING with OCALA POLO @ THE FLORIDA HORSE PARK
MARCH 10th
WORLD EQUESTRIAN CENTER - OCALA FARM TOUR
MARCH 12th
SEASON OPENING PARTY AT OXFORD POLO
APRIL 14th
WORLD EQUESTRIAN CENTER - OCALA FARM TOUR
APRIL - CANCELLED
WELLINGTON POLO HIGH GOAL POLO MATCH
TATO'S MALLET FACTORY
MUSEUM OF POLO & HALL OF FAME
APRIL - CANCELLED
SARASOTA POLO
APRIL 20th
EDUCATIONAL CLASS @ THE STADIUM
MAY 7th, 2022
SEASON CLOSING DERBY PARTY @ ROHAN RECREATION CENTER
PLEASE SEE MEMBERS ONLY 2022 PAGE FOR DETAILS
DERBY DAY PARTY
AFTER 2.5 YEARS OF STAYING SAFE OUTSIDE, WE FINALLY GOT TOGETHER INSIDE TO ENJOY THIS WONDERFUL FUN NIGHT WHICH GENERATED NEARLY $7500 FOR OUR CHARITIES
Approximately 150 members and players arrived at The Rohan Regional Recreation Center, ready for live music provided by Joe Hand & Lord Lyall, a yummy dinner, The Kentucky Derby Race and to participate in our live and silent auctions and best hat contest. The proceeds will benefit our charities, The Villages Injured Players Fund and The Nick Johnson Toys for Cancer Fund. They also got to bet on and watch a Pony/People race between players Paige, Frankie, Nate, Charly, Thom and Jenny with Lord being Lord. Prizes included restaurant gift certificates and bottles of Derby Wine. Players were seated at tables around the room, so that we all got to enjoy their company during dinner.
Thanks to our very generous members and players, we were able to raise $7,500.00, a special thank you to Paige, Lordy, Thom & Jenny Fross and all who donated for their participation and support.
Thanks to our very generous members and players, we were able to raise $7,500.00, a special thank you to Paige, Lordy, Thom & Jenny Fross and all who donated for their participation and support.
Photos by: Dwayne Merrick
POLO 103 - FUN EDUCATIONAL CLASS @ THE STADIUM
Polo 103 started with opening comments by the always entertaining “lord of polo” Lord Lyall. He noted that today’s event would include demonstrations on the shoeing and dental care of The Villages polo ponies, followed by a penalty shot contest and ending with a panel discussion on how The Villages’ polo fields are kept in such top-notch condition.
Lordy introduced Marcelo Torres who handles the blacksmithing and shoeing responsibilities for the polo ponies. Nine-year old “Quigley” was introduced as the volunteer pony for today’s demonstrations. He noted that shoes are used for the safety of the horse and are replaced every four to five weeks for polo ponies but racehorses have their shoes replaced every three to five weeks since they have more wear and tear. He also noted that the polo ponies’ front and back shoes are different from each other, due to the purpose that each set is used for. Marcelo added that a horse knows when a shoe is missing and the loss of a shoe can be painful to the horse. Lordy also added that one of the best polo fields he has ever been on was in Santiago, Chile, where the fields are maintained using “old school” methods, and the horses there don’t even wear shoes.
Marcelo explained each step and the tool he was using. He started with the tongs to pull the nails from the old shoe so it could be removed. He then inspected and cleaned the sole and frog and followed this by using nippers to clip the nail growth. A rasp was then used to file the surface of the foot to ensure that it was nice and flat so a new shoe would rest properly. Quigley’s shoe size is a 29. Once the shoe is placed, a hammer is used to pound the nails into the eight holes of the new shoe. There was an audible gasp from the audience when several of the pounded nails actually came through the side of the hoof. But these ends were easily cut off as part of the shoeing process. Marcelo finished by using a clinching tool and any rough edges were smoothed out so the horse doesn’t injure himself or others when in close proximity from sharp or rough edges — such as in a polo match.
Several questions were raised by the audience including whether going across poured concrete can be slippery for a shoed horse. Lordy confirmed it was and shared a story of how he learned this lesson first hand while leading four horses. There were numerous questions for Marcelo including how long it takes him to completely shoe a horse — which is about 45 minutes to an hour for all four feet — if it is a calm horse. Marcelo noted that he has been kicked more than once, but none have necessitated a hospital visit.
Dale Gavitt followed the shoeing demonstration to talk about horse dentistry. Dale is a familiar face and voice around the polo club as he has been regularly announcing our matches for four years. Dale noted that he went to school at the Midwest Equine Academy in Michigan to learn his equine dentistry trade. Dale explained the importance of good dental hygiene for horses and especially the polo ponies. The polo ponies have to “listen” to the left hand of the rider through the bit in their mouth to know which direction to go. The bit rests in the horse’s mouth on the tongue and the tongue rests on the teeth. If there are any dental issues, this can be very painful to the horse.
Dale added that a horse grazes about 85% of the day and a horse’s teeth are impacted by the chewing of food. A horse has 44 teeth in their mouth, and you can often tell the age of a horse by their teeth. He also noted that racehorses have a tattoo on the inside of their lip which includes a letter and five numbers. This information can be checked at the Jockey club website to determine how long they actually raced.
Dale noted that just like humans, a horse’s teeth can get stained from things they eat. He added that he doesn’t clean teeth, but actually files teeth down since a horse’s teeth continue to grow throughout their lifetime. He noted that a horse’s upper jaw is 40% wider than the lower jaw, and added that horses actually chew in a figure eight pattern. He added that a horse is born without teeth, and lose their baby teeth between age three to five and should have all of their permanent teeth by age five.
Dale used a metal device called a speculum to hold the horse’s mouth slightly open while working on the horse’s teeth — safety first. Dale demonstrated how far back a horse’s teeth go into their head by inserting his arm into Quigley’s mouth to reach his molars, and the lower part of Dale’s arm almost completely disappeared. He invited interested members of the audience to quickly come up and look inside Quigley’s mouth so he could remove the speculum after just a few minutes. Dale noted that a horse needs to have their teeth filed at least once a year.
Both Marcelo and Dale commented that there is power equipment available which would make their work a little easier, but they both preferred to perform their trades hands-on to avoid any injury to the horse due to overuse, such as filing.
After a short break, the penalty shoot-off commenced between players Lord Lyall, Frankie Bilbao, Paige Boone and Charly Quincoces. After winning the auction to be a guest goal flagger, much to the delight of the crowd, Mr. Mark Jessop was dressed in a bright red inflatable suit and yellow hardhat — safety first — before making his way to the goal posts that had been set up on the field at the center line. Prior to the shootout, event attendees had an opportunity to buy raffle tickets to select the player they thought would win the shootout. Balls were placed at the 30-yard, 40-yard and 60-yard lines with each player having an opportunity to shoot from each marked distance. The winning player was Lord Lyall, as he had playfully predicted he would be. Prizes were awarded to three lucky attendees holding winning Lyall tickets and included a $50 Wawa gift card, a $50 Bluefin Bar and Grill gift card and a $100 Chop House gift card. The Chop House gift card was generously donated back and was then auctioned off for a winning bid of $90. Today’s program raised $861 which Lordy generously matched for a total of $1,722 and will be used to benefit the Polo Booster’s contribution efforts for the Arnold Palmer Children’s Hospital in Orlando.
The day’s events continued with a panel discussion regarding the maintenance of polo fields. Bruce Chestnut is in charge of maintaining the fields and has been with The Villages for nine years applying his knowledge of turf maintenance gained in the 23 years he spent in the golf industry. Bruce noted that the maintenance of the polo fields is very similar to the maintenance of a golf course. He noted that the grass used on our fields is 419 Bermuda grass, sometimes referred to as 419 Tifton, grown in Tifton, GA. He continued that this type of grass has to be spaded in when planted and will grow approximately an inch per night. The traits of this grass is that it “walks” across the field rather than going down into the soil — which is basically beach sand. Bruce noted that the mowers used on the fields have a scissor action as opposed to rotary action that most homeowners are familiar with. He added that the height of the grass on the field is kept at one inch and each field encompasses 15 acres, taking approximately three to four hours to mow. Two fields are mowed everyday.
The irrigation for the fields is located underground and each field has an average of 320 sprinkler heads with 30-40 damaged heads being replaced each year. A massive overhaul on the irrigation system was done in 2012 on Fields 1 and 2. The watering of the fields with reclaimed water starts at 9:00P and finishes at 6:00A and is done at night to help avoid evaporation and wind shift. The field scheduled for play is watered one day before the game. The Polo Club is allocated a fixed amount of water per year, and they successfully convinced the governing bodies to allow them to break down their annual allocation into 2 three-month periods (Spring and Fall) so watering is only done when the fields are being played on. The Villages Polo Club is a directed dump site for excess water during periods of heavy rain. The excess water is channeled from the golf courses located at Route 466 and Buena Vista and can be pumped as far north as The Savannah Center if needed.
Bruce went on to explain that the fields are revitalized twice a year and that 26 dump trucks are used to bring in the sand that is spread across the fields. This process is usually done two weeks prior to the season start. He added that the fields are aerated every other year. He went on to explain that army worms and mole crickets are just several of the pests they try to prevent by being proactive, and occasionally may have to trap a mole or two for relocation.
Paige Boone added that what makes our polo fields better than most is the quality of the turf, the quality of the drainage of the soil, the controlled amount of use the fields receive and the fact that The Villages has a little bit of a cooler climate in that there is no play in January or February when the ground is dormant.
The day was concluded with being able to watch polo’s U.S. Open Championship played in Wellington between the Pilot and Park Place teams. Curt Pilot, who owns the Pilot team, has played here in The Villages. Congratulations to the Pilot team for their win.
Lordy introduced Marcelo Torres who handles the blacksmithing and shoeing responsibilities for the polo ponies. Nine-year old “Quigley” was introduced as the volunteer pony for today’s demonstrations. He noted that shoes are used for the safety of the horse and are replaced every four to five weeks for polo ponies but racehorses have their shoes replaced every three to five weeks since they have more wear and tear. He also noted that the polo ponies’ front and back shoes are different from each other, due to the purpose that each set is used for. Marcelo added that a horse knows when a shoe is missing and the loss of a shoe can be painful to the horse. Lordy also added that one of the best polo fields he has ever been on was in Santiago, Chile, where the fields are maintained using “old school” methods, and the horses there don’t even wear shoes.
Marcelo explained each step and the tool he was using. He started with the tongs to pull the nails from the old shoe so it could be removed. He then inspected and cleaned the sole and frog and followed this by using nippers to clip the nail growth. A rasp was then used to file the surface of the foot to ensure that it was nice and flat so a new shoe would rest properly. Quigley’s shoe size is a 29. Once the shoe is placed, a hammer is used to pound the nails into the eight holes of the new shoe. There was an audible gasp from the audience when several of the pounded nails actually came through the side of the hoof. But these ends were easily cut off as part of the shoeing process. Marcelo finished by using a clinching tool and any rough edges were smoothed out so the horse doesn’t injure himself or others when in close proximity from sharp or rough edges — such as in a polo match.
Several questions were raised by the audience including whether going across poured concrete can be slippery for a shoed horse. Lordy confirmed it was and shared a story of how he learned this lesson first hand while leading four horses. There were numerous questions for Marcelo including how long it takes him to completely shoe a horse — which is about 45 minutes to an hour for all four feet — if it is a calm horse. Marcelo noted that he has been kicked more than once, but none have necessitated a hospital visit.
Dale Gavitt followed the shoeing demonstration to talk about horse dentistry. Dale is a familiar face and voice around the polo club as he has been regularly announcing our matches for four years. Dale noted that he went to school at the Midwest Equine Academy in Michigan to learn his equine dentistry trade. Dale explained the importance of good dental hygiene for horses and especially the polo ponies. The polo ponies have to “listen” to the left hand of the rider through the bit in their mouth to know which direction to go. The bit rests in the horse’s mouth on the tongue and the tongue rests on the teeth. If there are any dental issues, this can be very painful to the horse.
Dale added that a horse grazes about 85% of the day and a horse’s teeth are impacted by the chewing of food. A horse has 44 teeth in their mouth, and you can often tell the age of a horse by their teeth. He also noted that racehorses have a tattoo on the inside of their lip which includes a letter and five numbers. This information can be checked at the Jockey club website to determine how long they actually raced.
Dale noted that just like humans, a horse’s teeth can get stained from things they eat. He added that he doesn’t clean teeth, but actually files teeth down since a horse’s teeth continue to grow throughout their lifetime. He noted that a horse’s upper jaw is 40% wider than the lower jaw, and added that horses actually chew in a figure eight pattern. He added that a horse is born without teeth, and lose their baby teeth between age three to five and should have all of their permanent teeth by age five.
Dale used a metal device called a speculum to hold the horse’s mouth slightly open while working on the horse’s teeth — safety first. Dale demonstrated how far back a horse’s teeth go into their head by inserting his arm into Quigley’s mouth to reach his molars, and the lower part of Dale’s arm almost completely disappeared. He invited interested members of the audience to quickly come up and look inside Quigley’s mouth so he could remove the speculum after just a few minutes. Dale noted that a horse needs to have their teeth filed at least once a year.
Both Marcelo and Dale commented that there is power equipment available which would make their work a little easier, but they both preferred to perform their trades hands-on to avoid any injury to the horse due to overuse, such as filing.
After a short break, the penalty shoot-off commenced between players Lord Lyall, Frankie Bilbao, Paige Boone and Charly Quincoces. After winning the auction to be a guest goal flagger, much to the delight of the crowd, Mr. Mark Jessop was dressed in a bright red inflatable suit and yellow hardhat — safety first — before making his way to the goal posts that had been set up on the field at the center line. Prior to the shootout, event attendees had an opportunity to buy raffle tickets to select the player they thought would win the shootout. Balls were placed at the 30-yard, 40-yard and 60-yard lines with each player having an opportunity to shoot from each marked distance. The winning player was Lord Lyall, as he had playfully predicted he would be. Prizes were awarded to three lucky attendees holding winning Lyall tickets and included a $50 Wawa gift card, a $50 Bluefin Bar and Grill gift card and a $100 Chop House gift card. The Chop House gift card was generously donated back and was then auctioned off for a winning bid of $90. Today’s program raised $861 which Lordy generously matched for a total of $1,722 and will be used to benefit the Polo Booster’s contribution efforts for the Arnold Palmer Children’s Hospital in Orlando.
The day’s events continued with a panel discussion regarding the maintenance of polo fields. Bruce Chestnut is in charge of maintaining the fields and has been with The Villages for nine years applying his knowledge of turf maintenance gained in the 23 years he spent in the golf industry. Bruce noted that the maintenance of the polo fields is very similar to the maintenance of a golf course. He noted that the grass used on our fields is 419 Bermuda grass, sometimes referred to as 419 Tifton, grown in Tifton, GA. He continued that this type of grass has to be spaded in when planted and will grow approximately an inch per night. The traits of this grass is that it “walks” across the field rather than going down into the soil — which is basically beach sand. Bruce noted that the mowers used on the fields have a scissor action as opposed to rotary action that most homeowners are familiar with. He added that the height of the grass on the field is kept at one inch and each field encompasses 15 acres, taking approximately three to four hours to mow. Two fields are mowed everyday.
The irrigation for the fields is located underground and each field has an average of 320 sprinkler heads with 30-40 damaged heads being replaced each year. A massive overhaul on the irrigation system was done in 2012 on Fields 1 and 2. The watering of the fields with reclaimed water starts at 9:00P and finishes at 6:00A and is done at night to help avoid evaporation and wind shift. The field scheduled for play is watered one day before the game. The Polo Club is allocated a fixed amount of water per year, and they successfully convinced the governing bodies to allow them to break down their annual allocation into 2 three-month periods (Spring and Fall) so watering is only done when the fields are being played on. The Villages Polo Club is a directed dump site for excess water during periods of heavy rain. The excess water is channeled from the golf courses located at Route 466 and Buena Vista and can be pumped as far north as The Savannah Center if needed.
Bruce went on to explain that the fields are revitalized twice a year and that 26 dump trucks are used to bring in the sand that is spread across the fields. This process is usually done two weeks prior to the season start. He added that the fields are aerated every other year. He went on to explain that army worms and mole crickets are just several of the pests they try to prevent by being proactive, and occasionally may have to trap a mole or two for relocation.
Paige Boone added that what makes our polo fields better than most is the quality of the turf, the quality of the drainage of the soil, the controlled amount of use the fields receive and the fact that The Villages has a little bit of a cooler climate in that there is no play in January or February when the ground is dormant.
The day was concluded with being able to watch polo’s U.S. Open Championship played in Wellington between the Pilot and Park Place teams. Curt Pilot, who owns the Pilot team, has played here in The Villages. Congratulations to the Pilot team for their win.
Photos by Dwayne Merrick
The gates of Lakes and Live Oaks opened gently as we entered on our way to Oxford Polo. We were greeted by beautiful estates, oaks draped with Spanish moss along the curving road and paddocks of horses grazing. Thank you Gina for placing the signs so that we all could find our way. We were greeted at check-in by Rhonda, Tim, Biff and Bill, where we picked up our Booster Club bags and then on to Mike directing parking under the beautiful live oaks. Our tailgating contestants arrived and began to set up their tailgating displays. Stew was selling 50/50, with the club's portion split between The Injured Players Fund and The Nick Johnson Toys for Cancer Fund. Kathy and Bill set up for shirt sales and had a great day with all profits going to The Nick Johnson Toys for Cancer fund. The sounds of Joe Hand and Lord Lyall entertained us while we all settled in for a day of Polo adventures.
Our first match of the day was from students from the polo school. I love this group of player's, they are amazing. They give it their all with huge smiles on their faces, growing more confident with each game. It's always fun to watch this group as they progress from timid to confident players. Next came our Polo Club players. Oxford Polo's team was made up of Liv Berube, Nate Berube, Nick Johnson and Charlie Quincoces vs Villages Polo with Miguel Lis-Planells, Justin Pimsner, Paige Boone and Frankie Bilbau. Their friendship and competition with each other is obvious, as they make calls throughout the match, joking and instigating each other.
We went on to the results from our Judges panel, Beth, Pamela, Kim, Howard and Nancy. The winners were, 1st place - Irish Sweepstakes, 2nd place - Derby Day, 3rd place - Derby Dolls, 4th place - Aloha, 5th - Old Time Classic Polo and 6th place - Horseshoes . Thank you to all our participants for your amazing displays. We wish to extend a special thanks to "Irish sweepstakes" who sold chances to win prizes in a "sweepstakes" drawing. They supplied all the prizes and then gave all the money to The Booster Club! A big thank you to Michael, Marie, Ginny, Rita and Jerry. Our 50/50 winner took away $110.
As we finished up with prizes and announcements, Lord Lyall led our players in a shoot out with 1 player being blindfolded, while another player verbally told them how to position the mallet to put it thru the cones. They are team mates, so the results were excellent. Lord then got our members involved in a shoot out to see who could put it thru the cones from different distances. The lucky winner got a $50 gas card.
Photos by Keith Franklin
PHOTOS by Dwayne Merrick
ARTICLE by Regina Jessop
ARTICLE by Regina Jessop
The sun broke through the clouds at Lake Sumter Landing after a rainy night and morning just as 38 members of the Polo Boosters Club boarded the bus for the first Club excursion of the year. The rain held off until we were ready to board for the trip home. There was no lack of excitement as we headed to our first stop at the World Equestrian Center in Ocala. Once there, we met up with our tour guide, Karen Grimes, who provided the group with the history about how the World Equestrian Center came to fruition from the efforts of the Roberts family and also detailed the exciting expansion plans for the future, some which are already underway. As we entered the equestrian grounds, Karen introduced us to “Staff Sergeant Reckless”, a former equine Marine whose statue is one of the first things you see as you enter the expansive complex. This amazing Mongolian mare who had been bred as a racehorse served in the Korean War at the Battle of Outpost Vegas in March 1953. She made 51 round trips, about 35 miles, in a single day delivering 386 rounds of ammunition weighing more than 9,000 pounds from the supply point to the firing sites. She was wounded twice and received two Purple Hearts among her many other medals. She passed away in 1968 and was buried at Camp Pendleton with full military honors. She remains a inspiration to the many who visit and compete at the World Equestrian Center as she stands watch over the center arena, reminding the competitors to never give up.
The group then traveled to the Ocala Breeders Association, where Karen provided us with details about the horses that were being reviewed for the upcoming weekend auction. We spent some time watching the 2-year old thoroughbreds run down the backstretch as their movement and speed were being scrutinized by the potential buyers positioned in the stands. Our group was able to stand at the finish line rails and and see these athletes at their very best as they raced past at full speed. Karen noted that the sale on the weekend was open to any buyer and several group members inquired about the sale prices of these powerful animals. Perhaps there will be a future triple crown owner in our group.
We re-boarded the bus, en-route to Pleasant Acres Stallions, a thoroughbred breeder, just outside of Ocala. Karen provided us with the details about their breeding operation and introduced us to Oreo, a beautiful black and white stallion whose sole purpose was to “wine and dine” the waiting mares while they anticipated the arrival of their “stud muffin”. The group also visited the barns where the stallions were housed and then moved on to the see the mares who had recently foaled. The foals appeared to be only a few days old and were standing on wobbly legs as they tried to balance to seek out their mothers for nursing. There were several horses in the nearby corrals and stalls including Precious Passion, the 2009 Florida Horse of the Year. He and his fellow pals handle the meet and greet of visitors to the farm and all eagerly took the carrots and horse treats that were offered in exchange for enthusiastic neck and ear rubs.
Our trip continued down Route 225A as we traveled along “Millionaires Row” with Karen providing details about the many luxurious properties, including the expansive Live Oaks Farm owned by Charlotte Weber, the granddaughter of the founder of the Campbell Soup Company, and Kinsman Farm owned by George Steinbrenner. She also clued the group into why most of the farms use brown fencing — and it’s probably not what you think. Karen had a wealth of knowledge which she was more than happy to share as we traveled past the many impressive cattle and horse farms.
We returned to the World Equestrian Center and had some time to explore the grounds and grab a bite for lunch. The World Equestrian Center offers a good variety of both food and shopping experiences. The Winter Spectacular was ongoing, and we were able to watch the Hunter/Jumper competitions as well as see many horses on the grounds in various stages of prep for their turn at competition.
Our return trip was relatively quiet as several took the opportunity to catch a quick nap while others talked about the day’s excursions. Our first excursion of the year was indeed a success.
TAILGATING WITH OCALA POLO CLUB
Rain did not stop our group of approximately 100 Booster members from enjoying a polo match by The Ocala Polo Club at The Florida Horse Park. The sky turned black at one point, and the rain came down for a few minutes and then vanished as quickly as it came in. We were protected by our hospitality tents. There were 4 teams, of amazing women in a round robin. Many of those players have played at our stadium in The Villages. We had a wonderful time while enjoying Mimosas and antipasti.
PHOTO by Dwayne Merrick
Photo by Dwayne Merrick