Long Island polo club works to keep historic sport alive in Old Westbury
Meadowbrook Polo Club in Old Westbury is hosting Sunset Polo games during the summer, giving spectators a chance to experience a sport that many people have never seen in person.
The Meadowbrook Polo Club is highlighting the excitement and history of polo during its summer Sunset Polo series.
Polo remains an important part of Long Island's sporting history, and one local club is working to keep that tradition alive.
Meadowbrook Polo Club in Old Westbury is hosting Sunset Polo games during the summer, giving spectators a chance to experience a sport that many people have never seen in person.
"It's extremely physical, extremely dangerous, extremely fun to watch," said club manager Brandon Phillips.
The fast-paced nature of the game is part of its appeal. According to Phillips, players can reach speeds of 35 to 40 mph while hitting a ball at speeds of up to 100 mph.
Each game brings more than 80 horses onto a field that is nine times larger than a football field.
Professional polo player Roberto Gonzalez said the combination of speed, contact and strategy makes the sport exciting for fans.
"When you watch a good match, you get you get hooked," Gonzalez said.
Meadowbrook Polo Club is one of the oldest polo clubs in the country. Founded in 1881, the club hosted some of the biggest games and most notable names in the sport.
"This part of Meadowbrook, all this part of Long Island, it was the best polo in the history in the United States. There were stands from one end to the other full of people," Gonzalez said.
Phillips said polo once drew massive crowds to Long Island.
"If you look back in the 20s, the 30s and 40s on Long Island, I've seen pictures of 30,000 or 40,000 people coming to a polo game, trains bringing them out from the city," Phillips said.
However, as farmland gave way to suburban development, polo began to disappear from Long Island.
"For this sport, unfortunately, you need farms, you need land, you need polo fields," Gonzalez said.
The Meadowbrook Polo Club is now trying to revitalize interest in the sport through events such as its Sunset Polo series.
"We're just trying to keep it alive,” Phillips said. “Hopefully letting people know we're still here.”
There is one remaining Sunset Polo game scheduled for this season, which will take place next Thursday. Club officials said the series will return next summer, and spectators can once again attend games and tailgate at the venue.
The Meadowbrook Polo Club also operates a polo academy, where people of all ages can learn to play the sport. Information about lessons and upcoming games can be found on the club's website.
