After I got my first taste of polo in Argentina, I came home and frantically Googled “polo pittsburgh” to find where I could continue with the sport… and I came upon Darlington Polo Club and Powers Polo School.  They’re pretty much the only people left in my area still playing polo!

DARLINGTON POLO CLUB
Darlington Polo Club is the closest club to Pittsburgh. Members travel throughout the NE States several weekends in the summer to play tournaments, exhibition, and benefit matches.  They also host night games “under the lights” most Fridays in the summer at their home field in Darlington Pennsylvania, and it’s a really fun time.  Some weeks the players are a mix of locals, and other weeks the teams travel in from other places like Michigan, Ohio, and North Carolina.  People line the dirt field in their cars and cheer on the players while passing beers or the occasional bottle of Jack.  There’s something really nostalgic about the home-town vibe at these games.  It’s definitely not the polished big-hat white sundress kind of polo, which I think is awesome.  There’s a really nice article about it in the Wall Street Journal here. I’m so happy to be a part of this!

 

POWERS POLO SCHOOL
The Powers family is one of the main figures at Darlington.  They’re generations-deep in polo and their dedication to the horses and the sport shows.  They run Powers Polo School and maintain a herd of polo ponies.  I played my first year with these guys and learned so much!  They offer polo lessons, weekly Margarita League chukkers, Adult League chukkers, and Youth chukkers. It’s been a really great place to learn polo in a relaxed and supportive environment.

Apart from lessons and practice chukkers, the Powers also host a Ladies’ Tournament as well as a Youth tournament, and the Jen + Tonic Memorial match every year. This past October, I played in the Ladies’ tournament on the winning team, even managing to score a few goals, and my mount Bisquita won the Best Playing Pony award.