Quick swim between holiday hoopla

Had a bunch of holiday shopping to do in the morning and the Tacoma Polo Club holiday party in the evening, so did a quick swim during the afternoon. The swim was OK, nothing all that great, but nothing bad either. My times were pretty consistent. I do need to bump up to a full hour soon though and switch my workout around, maybe add some more other strokes. We'll see what Ed has to say after my next private lesson. I also have to think about adding some time to my weekly schedule to do the small weights, biometrics and ab work that Ed wants me to do.

Tacoma polo

Spent most of the weekend helping Jason and/or Virginia groom since Jason is down to three horses at the moment. I did get to warm up Jason's Aticus with a little stick and ball though. It felt great, I had some great hit and my riding felt good as well.

The Argentines are in town for a couple weeks, so got to see some really great polo. Marcos runs a polo school down in Argentina that many of the Tacoma players have attended. Marcos brings his family up on vacation each year and this time brought a family friend, Augustine, to play polo with him while the rest of the family toured and shopped in Seattle. On Saturday night we all went to the Roy Saloon for dinner and had a great time dining and dancing to some barely acceptable country music.

Tacoma polo

The club had a tournament this weekend, so I did the spectator thing this time around which was great since it would give me a good chance to really watch the game. Now that I've been playing, I was able to see and understand a lot more plays. There was some exceptional polo during the tournament with a couple teams that compete around at different clubs on the circuit. After watching the full on polo, I'm not too sure that I ever want to play at that level, it gets pretty rough and although I'm sure I may get injuries from pentathlon training and competition, I'm not too keen on getting injured in a hobby and then not being able to do the pentathlon. So I'll be choosing the slow chuckers for a while.

On another note, Even - one of the polo gurus at the club - brought a horse for Laura (my riding coach who was down watching a friend play) to consider for training...an 8 year old Chestnut named Meyou (short for "Me and You Forever"). Meyou has done some jumping and has played polo once...chestnut, jumper, polo, exactly the horse I would be looking for...just next spring. I had planned on looking for horses in the spring but with Meyou showing up, I may have to reconsider the timing. Keep an eye on my pentathlon journal for more news.

Tacoma polo

Great weekend of polo at the Tacoma Polo Club. The weather was crazy Saturday morning, so we all thought we would be rained out, but the field didn't get any rain and it actually turned into a beautiful day by the time the players hit the field.

I was on Jason's Aticus again, in the 3rd and 5th chuckers. Aticus was pretty happy with himself and tried to go full gallop whenever possible. The play went very well, I even hit another milestone...I committed my first foul. With the help of some great polo players, I finally felt like I was able to be an asset in the game. I played the 4 position, which allowed my to hang in back and watch to see what was going on. As the 4 player, I also got to hit in a lot of the balls when they went out.

Afterward, a bunch of us went back up to Seattle to send off Randy's son Trevor back to NY. Hit Daniels Broiler, Larry's for cigars (I took the ice cream route instead) and then Floyds.

Sunday was an even better day for me. I playe in the 5th and 7th chucker this time. I had a couple great runs with multiple hits and got closer to where I should be playing positionally. I almost got a couple good hooks, but I'm still to cautious I guess to charge in for the hook. I did do a couple good runoffs though.

Next week is a big tournament, so I'll be watching from the sidelines. Should be some great polo though and now that I've played a little I'll be able to observe more knowledgeable.

Sun Run

I was able to sneak a run in before heading down to Roy for polo. It was one of the most beautiful mornings I'd seen in a long while. The run went well and I took a full minute off my time so I was pretty pleased. My feet and lower legs still fatigue quickly, but this should go away as I get back into shape.

Tacoma polo

Another beautiful day for polo! I was really looking forward to playing today as I've gotten to the point where I can start getting into the game more now that I'm not so concerned about my riding.

Polo was extra special today as my Mom (Ingrid) was up from Arizona. She used to be a hunter/jumper back in Germany, so she's getting a kick out of me getting back into horses. It was also great that she could stop by as a polo ranch down by where she lives is for sale and she may be able to get some gear for cheap...she took a good look at all the gear so that she knew what to look for. In addition, the circuit governor, Derek, and his wife, Deb, were visiting and playing at the club.

It was Jason's Aticus again for me. I took him out for some stick and ball and passing drills with Jason. Felt great! I was scheduled for the 7th chucker, so had lots of time to watch the game. I did much better this time around, I was able to play my position, with a lot of guidance from Nancy, and even was able to hit in one of the penalty shots...MY FIRST GOAL!

I helped Jason groom and put away his horses then headed back for dinner at the clubhouse. The club put on a big dinner in the governor's honor, so we had quite a feast.

Pure polo weekend

It was a pure polo weekend at the Tacoma Polo Club and my riding felt better than ever. Something dramatically improved, both in my riding and my overall understanding, of the game. It must be my progress in jumping that has given me the confidence to really feel comfortable in the saddle and the ability to concentrate on my game rather than worry about just staying on the horse. I rode Jason's "Aticus" again, so had to work really hard on not balancing off my hands and thus putting pressure on his mouth. All went well though. A good day for riding, a good day for polo. Click here for more details.

Tacoma polo

It was a perfect day for watching polo. The plan was to head on down to the Tacoma Polo Club to watch some good polo now that I've played a little and understand a little more of the game. That's just what I did. I filled my water bottle, grabbed a lawn chair, picked up my Maya Angelo book of poetry, headed out to the practice field and found myself a nice shade tree from which to sit at watch polo. Mount Rainier was off in the distance, it was warm an sunny...just perfect for watching polo. I did just what Virginia told me to do to help get a feel for the game...I started 'announcing' all of the plays to myself. I was actually able to see quite a bit in the four chuckers I watched from my hilltop perch under the tree. In between chuckers I read a little more Maya.

Then...Jason, showed up and once again offered Aticus for me to ride. I was told long ago to always bring my gear just in case. Well...it proved wise advise today. I did a little better tacking up this time, still not perfect by a longshot though. George and Annetta offered to let me borrow George's old helmet too, so with my rollerblading kneepads and helmet, I certianly looked a little more official than when I was just in my English riding boots and jumping helmet.

I headed out to do some stick and ball in between the player's chuckers. With Aticus, its all about staying out of his mouth. This is good for me since I still am trying not to balance off my hands. Everything seemed to go pretty well. I was able to balance well, hit the ball and work well with Aticus. I was invited to play as a 5th player in the next chucker. Although I only hit the twice, I felt like I did a much better job playing my position, especially defensively. I played in the next chucker as well, just after George Dill gave me a few really valuable pointers. Even better!

We washed the horses off, delivered them to their overnight pasture and came back to the clubhouse for some good food and friends.

Sunday morning, we all went to Roy for breakfast at the Roy Saloon. Mmm mmm...Biscuits and Gravy! Then it was back to the club. Play didn't start until 1:00 so since I had to be back up in Seattle at 3:00 for a fundraiser I wasn't able to play in any of the chuckers. I did spend some time in the morning doing some stick and ball with Jason, Randy and Suki though. Jason had some good drills and as usual was very patient in tutoring me.

For not planning on playing polo, I had a great weekend. I learned a lot, met some great new people and had a lot of fun. Thanks again to all those in Tacoma who helped me out.

Tacoma polo

Tacoma Polo club had a day of indoor polo, so I thought I'd go down and see what indoor was all about - of course I did take my jeans, boots and helmet just in case. Ran in to Tom Skaggs right off and since his wife recently had a baby he was more than happy to have me help get his ponies back into playing mode (he and his wife have six horses). So, I got to ride "Miss Piggy" in the 3rd and 6th chuckers (chuckers are the periods in polo, usually four are played in a regular match). The club set up the two 'slow' chuckers for a few of us beginners. The more seasoned players, Annie, Randy, Tom, Chris, etc. were great and gave us a lot of advice along the way. I did well enough...I stayed on "Pig" as Tom called here and managed to hit the ball at least a couple of times. Almost scored once, but missed the shot completely - that would have been too much for my first try anyway. Once again, polo made it clear that I still have some balance and overall confidence issue to address. Overall, I had a great time, its a wonderful group of people and I look forward to playing some more.

Chucker!

Its been a while since I've made a journal entry, but don't fret, I have been working out on occasion; riding and a little swimming mostly. Still no fencing for now though. With things a all a stir at work I'm just too frazled to do much more than the riding and swimming.

And now for something completely different...I played my first indoor polo today. Tacoma Polo club had a day of indoor polo, so I thought I'd go down and see what indoor was all about - of course I did take my jeans, boots and helmet just in case. Ran in to Tom Skaggs right off and since his wife recently had a baby he was more than happy to have me help get his ponies back into playing mode (he and his wife have six horses). So, I got to ride "Miss Piggy" in the 3rd and 6th chuckers (chuckers are the periods in polo, usually four are played in a regular match). The club set up the two 'slow' chuckers for a few of us beginners. The more seasoned players, Annie, Randy, Tom, Chris, etc. were great and gave us a lot of advice along the way. I did well enough...I stayed on "Pig" as Tom called here and managed to hit the ball at least a couple of times. Almost scored once, but missed the shot completely - that would have been too much for my first try anyway. Once again, polo made it clear that I still have some balance and overall confidence issue to address. Overall, I had a great time, its a wonderful group of people and I look forward to playing some more.