A day at Summerhill Polo

It’s a humid yet sunny Saturday afternoon and a rooftop happy hour or a day walking around museums in DC just reeks of “been there done that.” So you pack up the family and head 45 minutes north ish to spend the day at Summerhill Polo for lessons, drinks, and duh, a polo match!

This past Saturday, a few top DC bloggers received invitations to head out to the country and experience the Sport of Kings and so we did just that. The folks at Summerhill Polo, greeted us the minute we got to the farm with glasses of prosecco and a carrot. Yes, a carrot and prosecco. Prosecco for us and a carrot for the thoroughbreds housed at the farm. We made rounds feeding the horses and once everyone was settled, we heard from Charlie, the owner all about the sport but also his past championship career as one of its top players. I was feeling a little uppity because my knowledgeable of Polo was a tad bit higher than my peers- shout out to my cousin, Claude-Alix Bertrand who plays for the Haitian team.

After the great intro presentation and background information, we all hopped in our cars or the Summerhill Polo crew’s pick up trucks and went down to the field for our lessons with Charlie.

We first started on the wooden horse with mallets in hand and aimed to strike the ball while trying to stay on. Once we “mastered” that, we were allowed on a polo horse, to do the same. Wow, what a difference. I have been on horses before but the power of a thoroughbred polo horse was beyond impressive.

I had my moments of being a bit petrified when my horse seemed to want to trot a little faster than I was ready for but overall it was a truly AMAZING experience.

I was able to successfully strike 3 out of 7 balls so although I wasn’t “striking” .500, I was happy with my performance! But like most sports he has tried, J was the clear perfect polo player. He looked like a natural!

After the lessons, we all sat down with bottles of wine and watched a professional polo match. Even more impressive to see in person. Those babies move fast!

I am purposely not going into full detail about the background of Summerhill Polo, because I truly would love those in the area who are reading this to really think about visiting on a Saturday afternoon when they open up the farm to the public. It costs $15 dollars to park the car and the rest is covered.

You can bring food, drinks, dogs, whatever and enjoy the match, live music and then the FOOD!

We were treated with delicious open fire grilled food. Next to J’s ribs, these were the best I have had in a very, very long time.

My favorite part of the whole experience was the community over competition feel of Summerhill Polo. It really felt like a family reunion rather than some stodgy affair and I am ALL for it!

July 22nd there will be an event hosted by Summerhill Polo on the national mall and I hope everyone comes out. I am not being sponsored in any way to write this. I just cannot help but express my joy over being out there and even more so remembering the smiles of J’s kids and my sis throughout the whole day. It is MORE than worth the 40 minute drive and when you go, please let me know. I may meet you there!!!!

Thank you again to the Summerhill Polo crew for opening your home to us!