Polo in Pine Plains

Americans fought a revolution to be rid of kings but our fascination with royalty and its trappings seems to be enduring, right down to the “sport of kings”—polo.

The game, first mentioned in a seventh-century manuscript from the Parthian Dynasty (ancient Iran and Iraq), has become a world-wide sport since the 1800s and has a small but dedicated following in the United States.

A contact sport between two teams of four players each, all mounted on horses, polo is played on an outdoor grass field 300 yards long by 160 yards wide. The object is to hit a small ball through goalposts using long mallets.

The sport invaded the United States only a century after the Continental Army sent the redcoats packing, brought to these shores by James Gordon Bennett Jr, publisher of the New York Herald. Following a trip to England, he returned to New York with mallets, balls and a copy of the Hurlingham rules and organized the very first polo match in the USA. In 1876 he founded the Westchester Polo Club.

The first international game was played in 1886 when the United States unsuccessfully challenged England but the Americans soon exerted a lasting influence on the game. The slower-paced English game picked up speed as Americans created their own version. By 1890, there were seven clubs in the U.S. and the Polo Association (today’s USPA) formed to standardize rules. Today, there are more than 275 USPA member clubs with more than 4,500 players.

Recently, the sport of kings had its day in Pine Plains NY where since 1984 aficionados have brought their fleet ponies to engage in hard-driving games at the Mashomack (pronounced: Ma-Show-Mick) Polo Club. The club hosted the swanky International Polo Challenge and Luncheon in June, the only ticketed event of the year. Spectators enjoyed a champagne reception, people watching, and a field-side lunch where they observed all the fanfare: a parade of international flags followed by dashing teams of mounted players playing “chukkers,” the seven-minute periods into which the game is divided.

The Challenge was just one event in a season packed with matches for every skill level. Mashomack, a full-service club for polo players of all levels, features five tournament-class fields, one practice field, stick and ball areas, a regulation outdoor polo arena and an elegant clubhouse, all set amidst 2,300 verdant acres.

It offers league polo and various tournaments including many USPA circuit and sanctioned events such as the United States Polo Club’s (USPA) Centennial Cup, the Dan Daly Memorial, the USPA Constitution Cup, the USPA Tracey Mactaggart Challenge Cup, the Fall Classic and the Smithfield/Sheomeko Open.

“We play polo every day, except when it rains,” said Juan Oliviera, polo manager. Check the Polo Schedule for exact times and dates.

In addition to tournaments, initiates can learn to play the game under the tutelage of professional polo player Julio Ezcurra in Mashomack’s brand-new polo school. “Julio is developing a program for kids that is really, really nice,” said Oliviera.

He added that engaging young people in this growing sport is an important goal for the club.

The club offers private lessons, clinics and coaching sessions in which pros and amateurs play real matches designed to help them learn the rules and hone skills.

Those wishing to sign up for a clinic, to book a lesson or to plug into the Coaching League should contact Oliviera. (561.601.9316) or MashomackPoloManager@gmail.com. Horses and equipment are provided.

“Polo is a family sport,” said Oliviera. “People can still play when they are 80.”

He said that Mashomack has teams where fathers and sons play together. “Basically, we have fathers who are in their 70s playing with their kids who are 35, I am 54, and I play with my son. That is why this club has such a nice feeling—it’s a family sport.”

Like all good things, it has taken time for the Mashomack Polo Club to evolve, and it has involved the efforts of many people. Nearby Millbrook, known as the region’s “Hunt Country,” was where the first local polo matches took place in the 1980s on a field prepared by New York City lawyer Eric Rosenfeld. Strictly for invited friends, games continued there until Rosenfeld sold his farm. The action then moved 16 miles north to Mashomack in Pine Plains, where Dan Daley moved his club from Shelter Island in 1979.

It was a very private club, open only to those that Daly invited. He died in 2003 and his large estate, sitting at the base of Stissing Mountain was instantly an inviting target for real estate developers. That’s when John Klopp, current president of Mashomack, stepped in with his organizational abilities.

Klopp had had his first taste of polo at the age of 43, when Bruce Colley, former president of Mashomack Polo, organized a clinic “to interest new victims.”

“It worked,” Klopp said in an earlier interview. “I hit the ball once and was immediately addicted. Some ten years later, I returned the favor and got Craig Callen hooked. Since then we have been teammates and partners in both Smithfield Polo and Mashomack.”

Klopp, managing director of Morgan Stanley, Head of Global Real Assets and a member of the management committee at Morgan Stanley Investment Management, called on his expertise in real estate to put together a group of investors to buy Mashomack from the Daly estate. The deal was finally closed in 2006 and the investors took control of a 2,000-acre tract in Pine Plains, much of which was deeded to the Dutchess Land Conservancy. Oliviera said about 100 acres is used for polo fields and infrastructure.

Klopp moved his family to an estate in Amenia, 15 minutes from Mashomack, and established his own polo team, Smithfield Farms. “He’s still playing fantastic,” said Oliviera.

With ownership of the Daly estate established, the group faced the continuing task of rehabilitating the decrepit cattle barns on their property to make them habitable for polo ponies. There is currently stabling for 250 ponies.

Prior to Daly’s ownership in the 1950s, the property had been a massive cattle farm. At its peak the farm encompassed some 7,800 acres and provided fresh milk to customers as far north as Albany and as far south as New York City. Over the years, the barns were adapted to support beef cattle, other livestock and farming operations, but prior to 2005 little was spent to maintain them.

The club asserts on its website that, “We are steadfast in our mission to bring these historic barns and the surrounding grounds to their original beauty … “Over a 48-month period, an extensive renovation preserved and updated many of the barns on the polo grounds but there is still more to be done, according to Oliviera.

Mashomack Polo welcomes spectators for its events. There is no fee other than for the International challenge. Well-behaved dogs on leashes are welcome.

The grounds are located at 48 Briarcliff Lane in Pine Plains. For more information about Mashomack Polo, visit www.mashomackpoloclub.com; 518-398-0068.