When I find a great horse activity for my whole family, I’m going to jump on it. I have three kids, and it’s not easy finding an event that’s both for adults, but kid friendly. Turns out, it does exist, and I really believe this magical event is Sunset Polo, at Great Meadow.
Sunset Polo is held weekly throughout the summer, and I can’t think of a more perfect way to spend the summer evenings with the family. The sun is going down so it’s not so hot (plus there’s tons of shade), the kids are running around having a blast, and there’s horses. So many beautiful horses.
I’ve been a few times before kids, when I was a totally different person, so I curious how this would go. Luckily, it was a great experience, so if you’re wondering what to expect, read on to get the details.
The Location
I think I’ve spent more time at this venue than any other. Great Meadow, home of Spring Gold Cup, Fall Gold Cup, horse shows, and of course, polo. It’s a giant plot of land for all sorts of horse activities. I’m truly lucky that it’s so close.
But not everyone lives so close. For the rest of you, it is located conveniently off of 66 in The Plains. I don’t trust myself to give directions, so just put it into Waze and you can be angry at it if it steers you wrong. But it’s a huge property, you’re not likely to miss it. Polo is at Gate 2.
What to Expect
If your idea of fun is summer evening picnics, this event is for you. Bring your own food and drink, or there is a food truck on the premises, just don’t expect many choices there. Some people go all out and get box seats and catering (popular for company events), but most people bring their own food, throw down a blanket and lawn chairs.
There are also tailgate spots, which are useful if you’re not sure when you’ll get there. We got there right when they opened and general admission picnic spots were very full. There were still spots, but I wouldn’t say they were the best for actually seeing the arena.
Alcohol is allowed, so you can either bring some, or Barrel Oak winery was selling it by the glass.
Admission tickets are sold by the car load, with 5 people allowed per ticket. Absolutely no pets are allowed. Since the ticket taker physically stuck her head in my car and looked, I’m guessing this has been an issue in the past. This is not a good time to bring your dog out for some exercise.
There’s tons of kids. I brought my kids. There’s tug of war during half time for the kids. This is meant to be a kid friendly event. My kids found little interest in the actual polo and ended up just running around and playing on the landscaping. Since other nearby kids joined them and formed a gang of kids playing together, I would assume most kids aren’t interested in polo. Either be okay with your kid running off to forge new alliances, or bring some toys to entertain them.
The Dress Code
Each week is a different theme. This week’s theme was “Pretty in Pink,” which I did not follow because I wanted to match my hat. Other themes include Safari Adventure, Camouflage, and Wear Your Whites.
If you don’t want to dress up, no big deal, no one is going to look at you strangely. This is not a pretentious group. You can basically show up in anything and you’d be fine. However, for best results, I’d suggest collared shirts for men.
For women, I’d use it as an excuse to wear your favorite dress. I consider this as an opportunity to dress up, which for me doesn’t happen that much. I tried a style I’ve been wanting to wear for some time but hadn’t had the opportunity.
About a fourth of the women there were wearing hats. A few women had on incredible dresses, including one dress that could have been a Zimmerman. Others were just in casual sundresses, and lots were dressed in pants and nice tops.
I wish I had taken photos of what some of the other ladies were wearing, because some of them absolutely killed it. There were some seriously stylish ladies there!
The Polo Matches
There’s multiple matches throughout the night. The first one was students of a nearby school, and then each match was with more advanced riders. We didn’t end up staying the whole time due to the kids, but the main match was made up of the serious polo players.
If you’re familiar with polo, you might notice a big difference between this polo and what you’re used to: This is played in an arena, not on grass. The grass polo field, which is literally a moments walk away, is not used for this event.
Simplified Rules of Polo
Despite having played polo before, I remember next to nothing about the specific rules. But it’s easy enough to understand, each team tries to hit the ball into their opponents goal, scoring a point. Each match is divided into chukkas, which is seven minutes of play time. But it doesn’t end right at the 7 minutes, it can go on for another 30 seconds, or an end in the play.
After each chukka, players have a three minute break to switch ponies or take a break. Then play resumes. Sunset Polo does between 2 and 6 chukkas per game, depending on the level of the match.
Polo Ponies
For me, the main attraction is the polo ponies. Polo ponies are not technically ponies, they are actually horses, but they are always referred to as ponies. They aren’t called this because of their size, as most of them are usually about 15.1, but more about their personality. They are quick and agile (and probably have some level of evil possession, as most ponies do).
Because the matches are so intense, polo ponies are usually switched out every chukka. Serious polo players will have a whole string of ponies to make this possible, which is why I think polo is the most expensive of the equestrian sports – it costs a lot more to maintain 5 or 6 horses for competition than just one.
The ponies will usually of their tails tied up and manes “roached” or shaved off, to prevent the equipment from catching it during play.
Family Photos
I’m not going to miss an opportunity to get photos while I’m all dressed up and in such a beautiful location, so naturally we took some photos.
If you want to grab some quick photos, just walk slightly away from the main group, and there’s beautiful vistas in every direction. We weren’t the only ones getting photos, there were several others, but we were very spread out.
We left about 8pm, which was before the final match started. We weren’t the only ones, we were part of a group of parents herding their children back to the cars. Unfortunately our children aren’t old enough to stay up past their bedtimes.
Since we left early, we missed the halftime tug of war, the award ceremony, and any partying that happened after. The event is advertised as being a dance party after polo, but I have no idea how that goes. Once day I’ll be able to stay to see.
But still, this is a fun and inexpensive way to hang out with family and friends on warm summer evenings. It’s the perfect set up for memories to look back on fondly.