Hello Friends and Family,

Link to this year's index by clicking here.


Bentley Scottsdale Polo Championships, Part 7

After wandering around for what seemed like weeks, I finally found a polo pony. The were "hiding" on a service road above the polo grounds.



It surprised me that I was allowed get up close to the equine athletes without anyone shooing me away.


Sure there were people around — this guy was braiding the horse's tail — which seemed to be universal for all the polo ponies.


I was surprised however, to see a variety of horses. When I returned home I checked in Wikipedia and it told me the following — "They [polo ponies] may be of any breed or combination of breeds, though many have a significant amount of Thoroughbred breeding. They are called 'ponies', but that is in reference to their agile type rather than their size. They require considerable training and ongoing conditioning, and because each rider requires several horses in a single match, this can be a considerable expense. For competition, polo ponies have their manes roached and tails braided up so that there is no danger of being tangled in the mallet."


Nearby I noticed some horses that did not appear to be part of the polo competition. I came to realize that these were Arabians. You may recall that I shared photos from the 2013 Arabian Horse Show also held here in Scottsdale.

Feel free to link to my 2013 index page if you care to revisit any of those back issues — click here.


After pondering the presence of Arabians for a while, I came to realize that it made sense since horse lovers who love Arabians probably love all horses and gatherings to see or ride horses.


Another nearby Arabian — but I was actually drawn to these cute kids who were enjoying their close encounter with the horse.


Must be a Hawaiian Arabian — wearing his horsey lei.


It was almost time for the matches — the players are beginning to gather.


I found it interesting that there were both male and female players — and that players from different teams could mingle and chat.


Finally they put it all together with a polo pony and a player. Now if we could just get the young women in cocktail dresses and high heels off the field of play.


To be continued...

Life is good.

Aloha,
B. David

P. S., All photos and text © B. David Cathell Photography, Inc. — www.bdavidcathell.com