Royal Winnipeg Polo Club

2007, John Wayne shoot-out in Des Moines, IA (Gerald Levin in the lead) The story of the Royal Winnipeg Polo Club is more like the tale of Robin Hood and his band of merry men and women, only it’s centered around the Ross Fargey sheep ranch, research lab, and polo farm in 1993. Long before that, Ross had brought polo back to Manitoba from his former life in colonial West Africa. Doing polo his way, he and his wife Mona started up a polo club with their neighbours in the 1970s called the Springfield Polo Club. The club caught fire quickly and expanded into a large 40-member club based in Birds Hill Provincial Park. Ross Fargey soon felt the need to move things in a more independent direction. With a handful of loyal friends and family, the Royal Winnipeg Polo Club was born back at the sheep ranch now renamed “Fargey Park”.

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Ross had brought back many exotic and ancient polo traditions from Ghana, Africa, including but not limited to: The Chiefs Festival Night, The Warriors Bonfire, Humble Beer, and the wildly popular Calcutta, which involved wagering on teams. Strict rule enforcement and fair play were the on-field military style. Much fun and good will was the standard.

Another fine Ross tradition was constantly travelling thousands of miles with polo horses in tow—west to the Rocky Mountains, north to the Peace River country, south into the United States, and everywhere in between. Whether players could go or not, Ross always found a way to get a team on the road. After receiving an invitation from London, England, Ross and family left Winnipeg on a flight to Britain with two strings of polo horses on board in shipping containers. True to form.

The Royal Winnipeg polo crew originally consisted of the Fargey family and the Levin family, along with the Gerrie, Sabourin, Walker, Enns, Phillips and Champagne families, among a few others. These men, women and children of all backgrounds and skill levels had one common goal: to play polo and have fun. And yes, the sheep kept the polo fields trimmed.

COMMUNITY EVENTS

Sponsoring events is a great tradition at the Royal Winnipeg Polo Club— everything from staging games for local

Since the beginning, the culture at the Royal Winnipeg Polo Club has been driven by the families behind it, the Fargey family being the first.

cable television to providing horses and riders for local events and festivals. Involvement in the larger horse community with volunteer work by members is one of the foundations of the club. The return in support and a larger fan base has been very rewarding.

An article featuring Snow Polo in the Winnipeg Free Press entertainment section gained a wide audience, good exposure for the club and polo sport awareness.

As a widely travelled club, it has been estimated that members of the RWPC have hauled horses more than one million

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kilometres to attend polo tournaments over the years. Many trips south to the U.S. continue to draw members today. Gerald Levin has been the driving force for the past 15 years in keeping up the club’s presence on the road for tournaments.

PRESENT-DAY FACILITIES

The club now stands at Teske’s Equestrian Centre, in the southwest part of the city, which is the oldest riding facility still in operation in Winnipeg today. The stable dates back to the “golden era” of polo. Old mallets and trophies are still up in the rafters of the old clubhouse barn, going back a hundred years. The same family has run the facility for over a half century.

The facility has a brand new arena with high side boards for fast play. It has a full staff of Equine Canada-certified coaches, and a polo instructor with 30-plus years’ experience. Horse board is available, thanks to a 30-stall barn attached to the arena. Miles of galloping trails and open stick and ball areas are nearby.

The club operates 10 months a year, with a membership that fluctuates given some only play road tournaments while others only play outdoors and close to

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1 Bill Gerrie and “Dexter” 2 Dayelle and Kyle Fargey with polo legend Bud Tyler, 80 years old, David Williams and Gary Walker 3 RWPC on the road with players, grooms, and families from the upper mid-west, at the Des Moines Polo Club in 2007 4 Sunset at a polo practice 5 Fargey Cup 2001 in Winnipeg, back row, left to right: Ted Grower, Gerald Levin, Ross Fargey, Mona Fargey, Kyle Fargey, Bobbi Enns. Front row: Bill Gerrie, Paul Phillips

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home. Currently, the club’s emphasis is on arena polo and new player development. As in the past, it has developed a credible training program in conjunction with Polo Canada. The club has hosted dozens of polo clinics and travelled far and wide to riding stables, Pony Clubs, 4-H organizations, and other equestrian gatherings to spark interest.

THE HORSES

The vast majority of polo horses coming into the club come from the local racetrack. Assiniboia Downs is a fine thoroughbred track with plenty of young stock being put up for sale, making it a great resource for polo. The players at the Royal Winnipeg Club like to train their own ponies when possible.

Other breeds or crossbreeds can also turn out to be super polo ponies. One example was a large appaloosa named Dexter, owned by Bill Gerrie. With big feet and big bones he had the speed and endurance to run with the thoroughbreds but the dexterity of a kid’s pony that played the game for you—which Dexter did for many beginners for 25 years.

Another exceptional pony was Tiger, a big thoroughbred gelding trained by Kyle Fargey, who never had a bad chukker in 15 years of play. Fast, nimble, and rugged,

Currently, the club’s emphasis is on arena polo and new player development.

As a widely travelled club, it has been estimated that members of the RWPC have hauled horses more than one million kilometres to attend polo tournaments over the years.

he was a dependable “go to” horse for his owner, Gerald Levin, in his wide tournament travels.

The Fargey family, with Ross, Dayelle and Kyle, trained a large number of quality ponies over the years, with many moving on to new owners. Their list of noteworthy ponies is too long to mention here.

THE PEOPLE

Since the beginning, the culture at the Royal Winnipeg Polo Club has been driven by the families behind it, the Fargey family being the first. Over the years, it has grown into a diverse membership made up of people of all ages and skill levels. The club was originally conceived as a strictly nonprofessional organization, concentrating on fun and competitive polo for all, and has continued with this philosophy.

After finishing their education, both of the younger Fargeys developed into highly accomplished professional players, with both Dayelle and Kyle representing Canada in world championships for the Federation of International Polo. They have also played in Africa, Jamaica, Mexico, the United States and China. Kyle now manages the polo school and plays at the Calgary Polo Club, as well as the Eldorado Polo Club in Palm Springs. Meanwhile, Dayelle continues to train horses and enjoy her professional career in Calgary and California.

With the inspiration coming from Dayelle Fargey, Carol Levin, Bobbi Enns, Cass Henry and others, Royal Winnipeg Polo Club coordinated the first all-women polo games in Western Canada. This caught on immediately and spread elsewhere into a larger woman’s tournament.

For the last few years, the club has moved on to playing mostly arena polo at home, with Gerald Levin and others continuing the club’s tradition of travel, and garnering multiple tournament accomplishments.

As support staff goes, four of the young grooms who worked for club members have moved on to become Doctors of Veterinary Medicine, specializing in equine medicine.

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1 Carol and Gerald Levin at Club Polo National, Montreal, QC 2 Going for a goal 3 Focused at speed 4 At Black Diamond PC