Ottawa Polo Club

2020, Ottawa Polo Club members and visiting players. Back Left-Right: Emma Hill, Sarah Gray, Barry Cloete, Alyson Bailey, Sean Taylor, Mel Gagnon, Edmond du Rogoff, Carol MacLeod, Linda Porebski. Front Left-Right: Robert Campbell, Dan Crosilla and Pat Menegoz (Club Polo Nacional), Ward Yaternick. Alice Campbell is missing from the picture. Photo credit: Stephen J. Thorne Canada’s National Capital Region, which includes Ottawa (Ontario), Gatineau (Quebec), and surrounding urban and rural communities, is the geographic footprint of the Ottawa Polo Club. The club’s mission is to provide a fun, competitive polo experience that inspires players of all abilities to safely progress on the continuum of polo skill development. An inclusive and friendly environment along with affordable membership fees showcase the club’s core values.

Bi-weekly matches are coed, multigenerational and multi-level, with experienced, higher-rated players supporting developing players in realizing their potential. Informal field-side barbecues foster strong relationships among players, families and friends. The sport of polo is promoted through

2020, Edmond du Rogoff, Mel Gagnon, Emma Hill, Dan Crosilla. Photo credit: Stephen J. Thorne

Ottawa Polo Club

tournaments, fundraising for charitable causes and social media marketing.

The Ottawa Polo Club has a large presence in the Canadian polo community that belies its relatively small membership. 100% of members belong to Polo Canada, many of whom travel tirelessly to play in Polo Canada tournaments. Other members often provide support by grooming, hosting gourmet dinners, posting photos or simply cheering on players.

FACILITIES & SEASON

The Ottawa Polo Club leases two polo fields. The Manotick Field at 1600 Bankfield Road is exceptionally welllocated, 25 minutes from downtown Ottawa. The Burritt’s Rapids Field near Kemptville, Ontario, is situated beside the Rideau River and the historic Rideau Canal inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List.

From May through August, polo matches are scheduled twice a week on Wednesday or Thursday evenings, and Sundays. In September as the days get shorter, matches are held on Sundays only, with the season wrapping up the last week of the month.

HISTORY

In 1986, the National Capital Polo Club was founded by Cherry and Cameron Stobie. Prior to immigrating to Canada in 1981, Cherry Stobie managed a polo stable in

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The Ottawa Polo Club has a large presence in the Canadian polo community that belies its relatively small membership.

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England, and she wanted to bring the same to the National Capital Region.

The spark was lit when Edmond du Rogoff—an Argentine-born Professor at the University of Ottawa—organized an exploratory meeting that attracted nearly 100 local equestrians. After that, the National Capital Polo Club was born, although it was renamed Ottawa Polo Club in 1994 due to a name conflict within the polo community.

Arena polo started at the Stobie’s farm in North Gower, Ontario, sometimes with improvised mallets! Cherry Stobie served as a Founding Director of the National Capital Polo Club and the Canadian Equestrian Federation delegate to Polo Canada.

In 1989, the growing club moved to a three-quarter-size field in the village of Kars, Ontario, facilitated by the Kars Community Recreational Association. The community was enthusiastic and local children often acted as volunteer grooms. Other clubs in the Polo Canada family shared their expertise and support. For example, in 1990 the Toronto Polo Club’s Michael C. Sifton led a popular

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1 2020, Barry Cloete. Photo credit: Stephen J. Thorne 2 2020, Sarah Gray, Mel Gagnon, Sean Taylor, Parth Bhatt 3 2019, Jean François Bonin, Barry Cloete, Carol MacLeod. Photo credit: Alan Meyers

Ottawa Polo Club

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purchased part of the Kilreen farm property including its first-rate polo field. Around 2005, there was a renaissance when polo resumed in earnest at Huntingford Farm on Upper Dwyer Hill Road, near Carleton Place for several years before it was sold. International professionals taught and played including Memo Gracida, Major Hugh Dawnay and Rege Ludwig. In 2008, polo returned to its former field on Bankfield Road in Manotick, Ontario, and

clinic and players from the Montreal Polo Club frequently travelled to play in the club’s tournaments.

By its fifth anniversary, the National Capital Polo Club enjoyed growth on all fronts. In 1991, it had 21 playing members, including eight women and 13 associate/social members. The National Capital Polo Club was invited to play on a purpose-built, regulationsize field in Dalmeny Village donated by the Velthuis family. Members shared the workload for tasks such as field maintenance and editing a newsletter called “The line of the ball”. Years of intense activity and regular co-operation with the Ganaraska Polo Club in Port Hope, Ontario, followed. New associated facilities were developed at Kilreen Farm in Manotick, Ontario, and at Augusta Stables in North Augusta, Ontario. In the late 1990s, a series of financial crises and other factors reduced polo activity considerably. The Ottawa Polo Club, as an organization, became dormant but members continued to play at other venues. In 2004, Ward Yaternick and his wife Denise

Bi-weekly matches are coed, multigenerational and multi-level with experienced, higher-rated players supporting developing players in realizing their potential.

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gained momentum under the umbrella of the Manotick Polo Club.

After a fifteen-year hiatus, the Ottawa Polo Club brand was revived as a notfor-profit corporation. The 2015 season was played on a new field developed at Thistlestone Farm in Beckwith, Ontario, and at the Burritt’s Rapids Field. Partnerships were forged to promote polo by way of events like the demonstration polo match for Ottawa Horse Day at Wesley Clover Parks. The Ottawa Polo Club also partnered with the Rotary Club of Ottawa South and Wesley Clover Parks on “Polo in the Park” (2016-2018) which benefited charities including Wounded Warriors Canada, Wabano Centre for Aboriginal Health and Therapeutic Riding Association of Ottawa-Carleton (TROTT). The Manotick Polo Club amalgamated with the Ottawa Polo Club in 2017.

Partnerships were forged to promote polo by way of events like the demonstration polo match for Ottawa Horse Day at Wesley Clover Parks.

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1 1997, Ganaraska Paddock Polo T 2 2020, Alice and Robert Campbell 3 2020, Pat Menegoz and Ward Yaternick. Photo credit: Estelle Yaternick EY Images 4 1989, Founding Director Cherry Stobie at Kars Field