Vermont isn’t Kentucky or Palm Beach, but there are some dedicated equestrians in the state. While some trail ride or show jump, there is a small group who love the stick-and-ball sport of polo.
The Sugarbush Polo Club started playing in Waitsfield in 1962. But this summer, they’ve added a new polo field in Shelburne.
For Shelley Henson from Hinesburg, this was her first time at the polo field.
“I don’t know anything about polo, and I got an email saying there was a premier match on this new field, and decided to try it out,” she said.
Henson, two of whose daughters show and ride horses, said she is interested to learn how the sport works.
“It’s a different style than we ride, and different kinds of horses,” she said. “A little bit faster, a little bit more energetic, and it looks like fun.”
Other club members have been playing for decades. Jed Lipsky started playing with Sugarbush Polo in 1979. Since then, he has played everywhere from Ireland to South America.
“[I] stopped to raise a family, three sons, and then about five or six years ago I got lured back in,” he said.
He has two Argentine horses, which Lipsky described as “level-headed, quiet, quick turning, strong, sort of bold of mind.” Lipsky also owns two American thoroughbreds, which he said are “very well broke.”
“At my age, I like a smooth, light concussion movement of the horse,” he said.
Justin Kenney from Charlotte, who has been playing for about 10 years, was invited to play by a friend.
“I think one of the amazing things about polo is that on a summer evening in Vermont, you can come out and ride your horses, and run around a field, and hang out with your friends,” he said. “I don’t think it gets better than this.”
Sugarbush Polo holds practices on Wednesdays, with pickup matches on Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, according to its website.
For those wanting to take in a match, the Sugarbush Polo Club will play on their new polo field Sunday, September 14 at 1p.m.
