…but something even better, Polo in The Villages.  Polo is a seasonal phenomena, much like snowbirds the players travel from all over the country and even the world to participate in our spring and fall seasons.  The Polo Club recently celebrated their 15th Year Anniversary calling it their best year ever!  They had more teams and more matches than ever with 30,000 dedicated fans and a Booster Club with over 1000 members.  I’ve attended a few Polo matches but unlike baseball and football I don’t understand the rules and therefore not sure who to cheer for or as far as that goes, when even to cheer.   It still was enjoyable as it is very exciting to see the horses with their riders running full tilt down the field and stopping almost on a dime, to race back just as fast in the other direction.  However  when I wanted to write about Polo I spent some time researching it and I am going to start being one of those enthusiastic fans.  I learned some fascinating things:  Horses used in Polo are referred to as ‘ponies’ but they are full grown horses – usually thoroughbreds because of their speed, endurance and intelligence.  I can understand they need speed as the ball travels 100 miles an hour after being hit by the side of the mallet, they do not hit the ball like you would in croquet on the front.  100 miles an hour!  The size of a Polo field is: four City blocks or nine football fields or 32 Olympic size pools or 720 tractor trailers end to end. And The Villages has two fields, that is certainly something to be proud of.  It takes 15 tons of sand to repair divots after one game on a field and if you were going to mow it with a standard push mower you would have to walk 55 miles.  They have a very active Booster Club and something more than that, that is not normal for Polo Clubs, is they have cheerleaders.  In order to be one you must be 55+ and backflips and pyramids are not part of any routine.  I had a hard time doing them in my heyday, can’t imagine trying to do them now.  It is not a normal occurrence to have cheerleaders so attendees from other clubs are very surprised when they come to The Villages.  Even the players that come for the first time,  are overwhelmed by the amount of fans in attendance and their unbridled enthusiasm.  The fans tailgate from their golf carts before the matches and that is another unbridled habit we all enjoy…eating and after stomping out divots in between matches the Boosters enjoy a glass of champagne, another enjoyable habit.  I highly recommend you go to the following websites and read more about the sport.  I’m sure it will peek your curiousity and maybe become an avid fan too.  The Booster Club gives classes so that you can be knowledgeable…Polo 101, 102, etc…what a great opportunity to really learn.  If you go to www.thevillagespoloclub.com you can read all about it and also you can navigate at the top menu to The Booster Club and on the left side menu to The Villages Polo Magazine. Enjoy and tally-ho.  Oh wait, I don’t think they say that for polo, just fox hunting….anyway, there’s two matches today, one at 12 noon and one at 2:00 pm, open to Villagers and general public.    Hurry.