Canadian Women in Polo

Though traditionally polo was a male-dominated sport, women have been playing the game since it first arrived in North America. In the 1920s, the Calgary Polo Club fielded a women’s team to play in New York at the first international women’s tournament. It was a sign of things to come, but it would take a few decades. Women were not even permitted to join the United States Polo Association until the mid-1970s.

The last fifty years have brought about significant changes. Women players now represent one of the largest growing sectors of polo today, accounting for approximately 40% of registered players with both the Canadian and the United States Polo Associations.

Professional Canadian player Dayelle Fargey flying down the field

1 2

3

4

5

6

‘Polo for the Cure’ is held every summer at the Toronto Polo Club. The tournament is now in its 15th year and is also a fundraiser for breast cancer research and treatment at Southlake Regional Health Centre. To date over $1 million has been raised for this cause.

Pioneer women players in the 1970s at the Toronto Polo Club, such as Kelly Offen and Sue Smellie, paved the way for females to play at the club. Similarly, in Western Canada, Julie and Jan Roenisch were also the catalyst that brought serious women’s polo back to the Calgary Polo Club for the first time in fifty years. Coming from avid polo families, these ladies showed the men that females can be worthy contenders on the polo field.

Loretta Thompson was instrumental in pioneering women’s participation at the Grande Prairie Polo club. In fact, a mutual love of horses and polo was what brought her and her husband, Cledwyn Lewis, together. Not only did they encourage women players, but they also made it a priority to foster relationships with other polo clubs across Canada and around the world.

Thanks to the perseverance and determination of these amazing pioneer women players, most Canadian polo clubs today have a large roster of females. The

1 Calgary 2 Loretta Thompson, from Grande Prairie 3 One of the early Canadian Women’s tournaments at Toronto Polo Club in 1982 4 Canadian team participated in the 4th Manipur Statehood Day Womens tournament. Team Canada: Hailey Van der Burgt, Jessica Wales, Catie Van Bakel, Jenna Tarshis, Selena Watts 5 Julie Roesnisch makes the cover of ‘Polo’ Magazine 6 Polo For The Cure action with Laura Wilson and Alix Begg

2

1

Greater Niagara Polo Club membership is comprised of over 70% women and girls. The club has successful women’s interscholastic and intercollegiate teams that compete on the USPA circuit. It also runs a weekly ‘Ladies Night’—a fun and supportive polo match of 12 to 16 women players, followed by a boisterous potluck with food, drink and a lot of laughter in the clubhouse. Tammy and

3

1 Jessica Schneider on “The General”, Black Diamond Polo Club 2 Battle of the sexes’ charity match at Polo In The Park, Ottawa, 2018. Women’s team (sponsored by Three Wild Women Fashion Boutique) and supporters. Left-Right: Elizabeth Hearn, Carol MacLeod, Ruth Armstrong, Anne Marie Lebrun, Robyn Oliverio, Tiffany Armstrong, Kate Johnston 3 Ladies team at Club Nacional Elisabeth Hallé, Abby Riggs, Dayelle Fargey, Carol Pennycook 110 \ THE SPORT OF POLO IN CANADA

1 2

Hailey Van der Burgt provide coaching and mentorship, and it is the ideal space for women to learn, gain confidence, and develop in the sport.

WOMEN’S-ONLY TOURNAMENTS

As the number of women players grows, so does the number of women’s-only polo tournaments. There have been several highly competitive women’s tournaments held at the Calgary Polo Club over the last few decades, attracting top women players from around the world. In 1991, the Ottawa Polo Club held the first Eastern Canadian Women’s Tournament, bringing women players from Ontario and Quebec. Today, the Ottawa Polo Club membership is comprised of 50% women players.

‘Polo for the Cure’ is held every summer at the Toronto Polo Club. The tournament is now in its 15th year and is also a fundraiser for breast cancer research and treatment at Southlake Regional Health Centre. To date over $1 million has been raised for this cause. The tournament brings between 10 and 12 teams of women every year, with two flights of games. Polo For The Cure was developed by two members of the Toronto Polo Club, Keri Weir and Donna Malloy, and continues to live on as the longestrunning annual women’s tournament in Canada.

Women’s tournaments have been a regular occurrence at the Springfield Polo Club over the years, although not always annually. In 2006, Sue Smith, along with Colleen Kelly-Hrynchuk and Bobbi Enns, organized a women’s tournament with incoming players. Reciprocal polo trips with many clubs across Western Canada for mixed polo had created a “polo family” of friends and it was the women among them who got together in mid-August at the Springfield Polo Club. In 2007, the tournament grew from three to four teams. Club theme parties continued, and the tournament enjoyed five good

3 4

5

1 Ryan Roy, Toronto Polo Club 2 Springfield Polo Club women’s tournament 3 Toronto women’s interscholastic team: Molly Houlton, Jessica Friedberg, Clare Hearn, Samantha Hussey 4 Winning team from Greater Niagara Polo Club Annual Womens Challenge: Left to right: Julia Northcott, Katlyn Gaulin, Claire Gillies, Hailey Van der Burgt 5 Teams at Polo For The Cure Tournament

With the growth of women’s polo in Canada, many strong female players have come up through the ranks and stood out for their exceptional talent.

years. In 2019, a women’s match was revived due to the influx of female members playing at the Springfield Polo Club.

With the growth of women’s polo in Canada, many strong female players have come up through the ranks and stood out for their exceptional talent. Julie Roenisch, from the Calgary Polo Club, got to a 2-goal handicap, and in 1992 became the first woman to ever play in the U.S. Open. Manitoba born Dayelle Fargey is currently the only female professional player in Canada, and also made it to 2-goals (6 goals women’s handicap). Dayelle plays professionally in the U.S. during the winters, and at the Calgary Polo Club in the summers.

There are countless strong women players scattered across the country that have represented Canada on the International playing field over the last few decades—too many to highlight just a few! However, in the short but glorious history of modern-day women’s polo, it is fair to say that women’s polo is alive and well in Canada.

1 2

3

1 Girl gone wild! Champagne presentation at Polo For The Cure 2 Tournament action at Polo For The Cure, with Keri Weir, Penny Davey and Marianne McBean 3 University of Guelph women’s team after winning the Intercollegiate Preliminaries in 2020, with coach Hailey Van der Burgt