The Great Canadian Road Trip Tales from an unforgettable journey through Western Canada: Summer 2010 By Garrett Smith, Springfield Polo Club, with foundation by Dan and Sarah Brewin, Black Diamond Polo Club
W
hen you Google the term “road trip”, you get a vague definition of “a journey made by a car or bus.” This clearly does not take into account the trials and tribulations of Western Canadian polo teams, otherwise it would include the word “chaos”.
Picture this: a three-and-a-half-week journey across the four western provinces with ten designated stops, several unplanned stops, two truck and trailer rigs, twelve people, two dogs and twenty-one horses. What could go wrong? Our first stop after leaving Winnipeg was the Saskatoon Polo Club where things kicked off with a combined birthday celebration for fifteen-year-old Garrett and thirteenyear-old Sarah. After a very social stay, which included a friendly polo game against Chandler Howe and the Basaldua brothers
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of Mexico, we were fortunate to be joined by the Saskatoon Club for the next leg of our journey. Given that the Brewin family have connections and relatives scattered throughout the Canadian West, many of our stops and horse accommodations were graciously provided by Brewin family members wanting nothing more than a good visit in exchange for their hospitality. The Jones Hereford Ranch near Calgary hosted our horses at our second destination, while all the guests stayed and visited with the Brewin cousins.
Next up after Calgary was the Grande Prairie Invitational, a classic mid-July tournament with participants from Kelowna, Saskatoon, Winnipeg, Calgary, Black Diamond, and of course, Grande Prairie. GP’s annual tournament, founded by one of polo’s all-time most entertaining characters, Cledwyn Lewis, has drawn players from Springfield for decades and some of our members have attended this tournament all their lives. Topped off by a killer costume party, it is a tournament that embodies Canadian polo on the prairies as well as any
