Special Events

Polo For Heart sketch by Melinda Brewer The Sport of Kings reigns as a world-class stage for philanthropy. At polo fields across Canada, polo continues to score big wins for worthy causes. Action- packed afternoons filled with beautiful horses and riders captures the fascination of the public, far and wide. Polo is often referred to as “hockey on horseback” and is one of the most exciting horse sports to watch. The glitz and glamour associated with the sport definitely helps to draw crowds, who love to cheer on the teams and stomp the divots at half time with a glass of bubbly in hand. More and more polo clubs across Canada are hosting events

Polo Under The Stars at the Toronto Polo Club

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to raise money for good causes and to help raise the profile of the sport.

At the Toronto Polo Club, giving back to the community is a legacy that Club Founder, Colonel Michael Sifton, began in 1979 when he started the very first ‘Polo For Heart’ event. He partnered with the Heart Action Committee of Toronto to host an annual charity weekend of polo games that has now become Canada’s largest and longest running charity event. Polo For Heart celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2019, The Park’ raises money for the Rotary Club of Ottawa South. The Greater Niagara Polo Club hosts an annual ‘Polo For Health’ event for the Niagara Health Foundation. ‘The Pacific Cup’ is the signature event at the Vancouver Polo Club, helping The Canuck House, a hospice for children. The Victoria Polo Club have hosted several fundraising events over the years, including an event that supported the Victoria Riding For The Disabled, and The Rotary Centennial Cup in aid of the Mustard Seed Food Bank.

and to date has raised over $6 million dollars for heart and stroke related charities. From its glamourous kick-off party ‘Polo Under The Stars’ on Thursday evening, to the final trophy presentation on Sunday afternoon, Polo For Heart is a jam-packed weekend of polo, half-time entertainment, shopping, and an enormous hospitality tent. Over the years the event has hosted many movie and television stars, sports figures, and even polo’s very own celebrity Nacho Figueras. Over 5,000 people pass through the gates each year to see the international teams, celebrities, and to watch the exciting game of polo.

Although Polo For Heart may be the longest running event at 40 years old, there are many other notable charity events that take place around the country. Club Nacional, near Montreal, holds an annual ‘Polo avec Coeur’, with proceeds going to The Montreal Heart Institute and The Peter Munk Cardiac Centre at Toronto General Hospital. At the Ottawa Polo Club, ‘Polo In

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1 Champagne presentation at Polo Under The Stars, with King Ward (Chair) presenting 2 Veueve Cliquot Calgary Polo Classic, 2015 3 The Bar Car at Club Polo Nacional 4 Scott Weir with NHL player Larry Robinson at Polo For Heart, Toronto 5 King Ward on “Carla“. Painting by Melinda Brewer 6 Picnic sidelines at Polo For Heart, Toronto 7 Polo In The Park, Ottawa, 2017. Left-Right players: Parth Bhatt, Sean Taylor, Gonzalo Cabrera, Justin Fogarty, Wesley Clover Parks Executive Director Karen Sparks, Majic 100 radio personalities Stuntman Stu and Angie Poirier 8 The Duncan Innes Memorial Trophy, Okanagan Polo Club THE SPORT OF POLO IN CANADA \ 147

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While hosting large public events is a great forum for fundraising, it is also crucial for promoting the sport and attracting new members.

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While hosting large public events is a great forum for fundraising, it is also crucial for promoting the sport and attracting new members. The Calgary Polo Club has hosted many special events over the years, as their Ranch House (a beautiful field-side clubhouse) is the ideal setting for charity functions, and high-goal polo matches such as the Canadian Western Open. These events draw huge crowds, which in turn can attract new players. The Vancouver Polo Club holds a polo clinic on the Sunday after their annual ‘Pacific Polo Cup’ to keep the momentum going for spectators who catch the ‘polo bug’. In 2005, the RCMP Musical Ride performed at half-time at the Victoria Polo Club, bringing 2,000 spectators out to watch the game.

The Okanagan Polo Club holds its signature tournament every July, which draws 12 to 16 teams from all over Western Canada and the U.S. Players travel from as far as Winnipeg (a 15-hour journey with horses) to play in this incredible event. Over 200 horses are stabled on the property for the weekend, which attracts huge crowds of spectators. The sheer enormity of this tournament makes it a oneof-a-kind event in Canada.

In 2010, Justin Fogarty, Co-Founder of the international Lawyers Polo Tournament, brought this world-renowned event to the Toronto Polo Club. The Lawyers for Polo Committee of Justin Fogarty and Eduardo Bereterbide, began this partnership in 2008 with the first event held in Buenos Aires, and subsequent years in Madrid, Canada, Dubai, Paris, Bangkok, Sotogrande and Morocco. Gathering every year in a different country, the Lawyers Polo Tournament brings poloplaying lawyers from all over the globe

1 Polo at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair, Toronto 2 Polo For Health, at the Greater Niagara Polo Club 3 FIP Ambassadors Cup at the Victoria Polo Club 4 International Lawyers Polo Tournament, held at the Toronto Polo Club 2010 5 Game commentators at the Okanagan Polo Tournament 6 Nacho Figueras at Polo For Heart, Toronto 7 Polo Training Foundation Canada Fundraiser at Club Polo Nacional 8 The Pacific Polo Cup, at the Vancouver Polo Club

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together for a weekend of competition and social activities.

In 2015, Derek and Deb Wolstenholme hosted the Ambassadors Cup at the Victoria Polo Club. This was the first time that an FIP Event had been held in Canada, and it brought players from Iran, Costa Rica, Switzerland, and the U.S.A. to Vancouver Island, not to mention a whole lot of media coverage.

Over the years, The Toronto Polo Club has put on a variety of promotional polo exhibitions at various hotspots in downtown Toronto, attracting front-page coverage in major newspapers with polo pony parades down busy city streets, and polo games in the middle of the business district. In the eighties and nineties, the annual “Black & White Polo Ball” was one of the most popular and long lived of these events, bringing polo to the masses in a glamourous format, all at different downtown entertainment venues. The Black & White Polo Ball soon became the hottest party in Toronto. One of its most memorable locations was the Toronto SkyDome. Following the popularity of the ball came “Polo In The City”, also intended to bring awareness of the sport and club to the downtown demographic.

Another successful publicity stunt for polo was the NHL Hall-Of-Famers game at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair in 2010. Brian O’Leary and his team at Polo Management Services had only a few weeks to teach NHL alumni players the game of polo, which was showcased in a performance of “hockey on horseback” to the enjoyment of huge crowds at the Royal Winter Fair. This was not the first time that polo has showed up at the Royal. Periodically over the last few decades there has been a polo match included in the program. The most recent game happening in 2016 with an exciting Canada vs. U.S.A. Challenge that kept the crowds on the edge of their seats.

The Black Diamond Polo Club have done an admirable job of reaching out to the media for their “learn to play polo” days, and getting excellent print, radio, and television coverage. In 2020, several members of the Black Diamond Polo Club had roles in an episode of the popular television series “Heartland”. The episode was about polo, and the members demonstrated their polo and riding skills to a huge nation-wide audience.

Whatever it takes, polo clubs across Canada have come up with innovative and original ideas to raise money for community partners and to raise the profile of polo within their community. These endeavours not only benefit charities, but in the long term benefit the clubs and the sport by attracting new players and supporters.

1 NHL Alumni Polo Exhibition at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair Left-Right: Brian O’Leary, Mark Napier, Brad Marsh, David Freedman, Daryl Sittler, Rick Vaive, David Wayne 2 The Maharaj of Jaipur and his wife visit Polo For Heart, with David Sculthorpe (CEO of Heart & Stroke Foundation), Mike Egan (Chair of Polo For Heart) and Sheila Clark (Vice-Chair Polo For Heart) 3 Royal Winnipeg Team Champions, PTF Thomas Wigdahl Cup, Blackberry Polo Club, Chicago IL, 2018 4 Game action in front of the Polo Pavilion at Polo For Heart, Toronto 5 Pony parade in downtown Toronto for ‘Polo In The City’ 6 Donkey polo was a huge hit with the 400+ 150 \ THE SPORT OF POLO IN CANADA spectators at the 2nd annual Ottawa Mountbatten Tournament in 1991 7 Group picture at the Spencer Smith Memorial Tournament at the Springfield Polo Club, 2019 8 Crowds line the fields at Sunday polo in Toronto

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1 Okanagan Polo Tournament, 2018 2 Vancouver Grand Prix 3 Cowboy polo demonstration at the Bar U Ranch. Black Diamond players vs. Cowboys 4 Vancouver ponies in the city 5 Sidelines at Polo For Heart, Toronto 6 Polo For Heart Chair Derek Watchorn with Event Honorary Chair Lloyd Robertson 7 Outdoor arena action in the rain at Polo For Heart, 2018 8 The mare and foal parade at Polo avec Coeur, Club Polo Nacional 9 Trophy table at the inaugural Spencer Smith Memorial Tournament, 2019 10 Hospitality tent at Polo For Heart