From the Horse’s Mouth

The Many Lives of Polo Ponies

Kelly Wells - Cornell ‘92

They say that cats have nine lives…I believe the same can be said of polo ponies. A young horse is first selected due to their potential and thoroughly trained to play the sport. This can be a long process, requiring a good bit of patience that can span a few years. The results are a mature individual that can handle the rigors of the outdoor game. With this training comes the speed and finesse required to play for adult professional players. Horses playing at the tournament level are sturdy, fast and competent in their skills. Some horses remain at this level for the remainder of their peak years. Others will get deemed too slow or age out of that particular level until they get passed down to players playing at a lower speed on the grass or to arena programs. Many of the fantastic polo ponies that collegiate players are lucky enough to learn to play on are handed down from the outdoor version of the sport. These horses start the next phase of their life teaching and playing for young college students in the arena. Horses typically transition well to the smaller size space. Horses that are deemed “hot” or a “handful” outdoors tend to figure out pretty quickly how to conserve their excess energy as the walls are never all that far away! College players are extremely lucky and excited when new donations are sent to their programs! The horses have their own stories to tell and more to give to the very eager young adults who are so passionate about learning and playing polo. For some horses, their college days will go on until they too become labeled “a little too slow” for collegiate play or “getting a little older.” As the coach of several interscholastic teams, I maintain a healthy collaboration with the college programs near me. The next level down for college ponies is guiding young players in the interscholastic (high school) ranks. The speed of the game dips down some for these ponies, but I believe the love and affections garnered certainly rise. Young riders on interscholastic teams develop quite a bond with their mounts as they are truly just beginning to learn the game and establish trust on and with a horse. It is these mature mounts who have been through so many experiences thus far that are without a doubt the best teachers for them. I respect these horses for what they know, what they have done in their life, and for what they are doing to help me to teach the next generation of players. At Marlan Farm, I focus on teaching riding to young children (often their first time on a horse) all the way up to national champion high school players. The horses that

Butterscotch (LEFT) and Chalupa (ABOVE), teach the next generation of polo players. I have been fortunate enough to include into my string include many who have done their time for outdoor players and played collegiate polo. Those horses are currently teaching and playing for my I/I teams and will eventually step down another level to my very youngest riders and middle school polo players. These are the true heroes, the saints in polo who have done it ALL! They are the most loved and honored horses at the farm. The children respect what they have achieved, the older kids hold the incredible memories of tournaments won on them, and the young kids find themselves completely trusting these safe and worldly horses. If you have a special horse in your life and you are looking for a home where they will be cherished - consider making a donation to a program that focuses on teaching youth to play polo. Those horses will feel the love and give so much to the young people who are lucky enough to share in their story!