112 SIDELINES APRIL 2013
FOR HORSE PEOPLE • ABOUT HORSE PEOPLE
Female players are on the increase: Julia Steiner has the right of
play, but Tyler Burdick is right there, hoping for an opportunity to
block a shot or ride off the opposing player - there is no chivalry
in polo where men and women play as equals, thanks to the
horses.
Photo by Douglas Lees
A tradition after
each match: the
high fve - in this
view, Riverside’s
Tyler Burdick,
Wyatt Harlow
and way back
Austin Burdick
make their way
along the boxes
on the berm side
to trade high fve
with spectators
at Twilight
Polo at Great
Meadow.
“Right now we have about 30 students in our school and it’s
going really well,” said John. “They play on grass at Willow Run,
but we also have lessons in the arena at Great Meadow. During
the off season we turn out our school ponies and students go to
nearby schools like Natania and Battlefeld Park.”
Another innovation, the continuous play rule, has contributed to
the increasing popularity of Twilight Polo at Great Meadow. The
action is less interrupted during chukkers that last six minutes. “We
had been playing the ‘continuous play rule’ for about three years,
and I happened to be chairman of the USPA Arena committee and
I spearheaded the move to get the rule changed – it’s fun to watch
and it’s easier on the horses, which is very important,” explained
John who appropriated the idea when he played in England.
At $30 per carload for general admission, spectators get a
great deal. Food is sold on the berm or they can bring their own
picnics. They can reserve a ringside box for the season; some are
available for one evening. It’s a full evening of sport and then the
dancing begins.
“I think that the dance party makes Twilight Polo a great
Saturday night choice for people out here in the country, because
there aren’t many places to dance between Middleburg and
Warrenton,” stated Rob. “Most of all, what is really special about
Twilight Polo is that the arena is a great way for people to learn
how to spectate the game. It’s very hard to follow the game on
grass when you don’t know what you are seeing and you aren’t
familiar with the rules of play and the horses are way over on the
far side of the feld.”
Twilight Polo kicks off the new season on May 18 with a star-
studded evening. Great Meadow has invited several celebrity
players, and Jordache will take to the runway between matches
for the fashion show in the pavilion.
For more information on Great Meadow, visit www.
greatmeadowpolo.org. For more information on the United States
Polo Association, visit www.us-polo.org.
About the writer: Sidelines’ Lauren R. Giannini is an award-winning “wordsmith”
specializing in stories and photos about the equestrian world. Crazy about horses
her entire life, she lives in the horse and hunt country of Virginia. Lauren’s motto is
“write, ride - not necessarily in that order!”
You can get very, very close to the action from the boxes along
the arena: the players were about fve feet away from the
spectators and you could see that the horses knew they were
racing for the ball.