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Kentucky could be considered the horse capital of the world. From Churchill Downs to horse farms scattered all about the Bluegrass, horses give Kentucky a distinctive flavor, so having a polo team would only be natural.
Since its inception three years ago the University of Louisville women’s polo team has made great strides, and is now playing and fundraising hard.
The polo club was founded in 2004 by former student president Lauren Hexton of Fort Worth, Texas. They started out small with only a few horses, but then slowly began to grow with the help of George Rawlings, a graduate of Brandies and owner of a law practice, “GB” Hammond, a chemistry professor and Coach David Zeliger who manages the Louisville Polo Club.
“I was born in Peru, but when I was 16 I liked polo. I hung out with the groomers who kept the horses for all the rich people. I started playing [polo] when I saw the [club’s] Web site. Then I called Lauren [Hexton] and got lessons from Mandy Borntager,” said Hammond who is also the clubs faculty advisor.
Polo is similar to hockey. There are positions and the object is to strike the ball with the stick into a net at either end of the arena or field. Most universities and colleges play arena polo. In arena polo there are only six horses in the arena at one time, three for each team. Instead of being named the positions are numbered one, two and three, one is the offense, two is the “midfielder” and three plays defense.
However there is quite a bit of strategy involved.
“When you first start playing racquetball you chase the ball everywhere, but then you learn the strategy behind it and you let the ball come to you, polo is very similar,” said Coach Zeliger.
“There are a lot of rules,” said Kiefer, “a lot of right of way rules, because you have horses and you don’t want them to get hurt.”
The team currently has 12 horses. Mary, Khatana, Espresso, Ben, Cecil, Lucy and Mary are all fierce competitors that are commanded by students, however one of the horses, Reina, will retire after this season. Reina has been competing and playing polo for almost 25 years.
Team Vice President Kathleen Kiefer likened the horses to police horses, noting they were very well behaved and polite. However she also said the horses have personalities just like people and said some can be temperamental at times.
With horses and students the team even has had a few matches this year. They went to California and Texas last semester and played University of Southern California, California Polytechnical Institute, Cuesta College and the University of Texas.
“Polo is not a very common sport so we have to travel to find matches,” said Lauren Foster.
Louisville plans to start this spring with Michigan, Michigan State, and Purdue, and although it is ot as good as it would like to be, it is all just about having fun.
“[The best part of polo is] learning the strategy, a new adventurous sport. It is the only team sport on horses where you play with a ball, that is in the states at least,” said Kiefer.
“I learned to play Polo in college and it was a great experience, so I wanted others to experience it,” said Coach Zeliger.
Advisor “GB” Hammond had always liked polo but was never given an opportunity to play until he moved to Louisville. He is now the faculty sponsor of the program and plays with the girls.
“The best part about polo is these guys and girls. It makes me feel younger,” said Hammond.
The team is currently trying to raise money as well. It is a very generous donor who will match the money it makes – up to $20,000.
Polo, since it involves horses, is expensive to play. All the team members pay semesterly dues and take care of the horses, feeding them and giving them workouts.
The team currently practices three times a week, sometimes four if weather permits.
The team will be looking for a new home soon as their facility, “The Blue Barn,” located off of LaGrange Road will be torn down to make way for a new subdivision.
