First-time polo spectators dip their toes into Aiken's equestrian tradition with Sunday matches

Apr. 20—AIKEN — On April 19, Aiken's historic Whitney Field was alive with energy at the start of the Aiken Polo Club's spring season.

The Henry P. Cato Memorial tournament, which kicked off on April 10, was wrapping up with a showdown between finalists Glen Farms/Aurora and Mullins Land, followed by a match between Latigo Farms and Newland Capital.

The matches concluded with a score of 8-6 in Mullins Land's favor and a score of 5-3.5 with Newland Capital taking the win.

All the way from Iowa, Brian and JoAnn Sadler had traveled to South Carolina just to see the Sunday matches.

JoAnn said she read about Aiken's equestrian scene in a travel book.

"It just seemed like a really unique thing to do," she said. "It's a huge field, and you know, just watching the people and everything, it's interesting."

Peter Christensen, a senior client advisor with Taylor BMW of Evans, Georgia, said the dealership has been a sponsor for the event on different levels for years and that clients are often brought to such polo matches.

"The venue is gorgeous. The venue is so beautiful up here. It's got a lot of great history to it. And if you get a great day like today, you can't beat today with the food and drinks and all that, it's real fun for our patrons."

While Christensen isn't new to the Aiken Polo Club, two BMW guests were: Joan Turner and Jayne Mehrhof.

"I didn't know very much about polo," said Mehrhof. "I've seen one or two matches, but the guests here have informed me of all the rules and explained it. It's just such a fun thing to see all these people out here and the food and the drinks and the horses. It's a lot of fun."

"These horses are fantastic," Turner added while watching the first match of the day.

Situated within a row of tailgaters were two more first-time guests.

"I love horses. My daughter does equestrian. She's done it for like three years ... it looks like a beautiful sport," said Briana Yancy from Augusta.

With her was a friend who traveled down from Pennsylvania for the event. Previously, Geni Wallace has watched one polo match at Lehigh Valley in Pennsylvania.

"From my first polo experience at Lehigh Valley, I liked it, and then when Briana invited me to come to this event I was interested in coming," she said.

When asked what they thought of the event at Whitney Field, they both shared that they found the gameplay to be "intense."

"It looks hard," said Wallace.

"Yeah," added Yancy. "It looks like it takes a lot of control."

For Charlie Bostwick, President of the Aiken Polo Club, it's great to see onlookers, both new to the sport and familiar with it, enjoying Aiken's equestrian tradition at Whitney Field — the oldest polo field in the country, built in 1882.

"Once you get on a good horse, there's nothing like it in the world," said Bostwick, a former poloist himself.