Summer Continues and Belated Spring Update
Now that the team has fully decompressed from the excitement of the China trip, we have time to give a few summer updates and an extremely belated recap of happenings during spring quarter!
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During spring quarter, the Polo Club welcomed Dr. Sherril Green (pictured above) and Stanford’s Horse Medicine Class for a hands-on practicum with the polo ponies. The students were able to practice the knowledge they’d been learning throughout the course, and we’re proud to report that our horses were very patient and willing subjects. After learning more about horse medicine the students also had the chance to try polo.
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A few Stanford Polo Club members were also enrolled in the class and furthered their knowledge of horse medicine and care. With a thriving herd of nearly twenty horses, we’re sure they will have the chance to put this knowledge to good use! Photographer Merrie Asimow came out to photograph the event and generously shared her pictures for posting on our website. Thank you Merrie! To wrap up spring quarter right before final exams, the team went to Half Moon Bay to do a work day at Square Peg, a foundation that simultaneously helps both horses and people. We strongly believe in Square Peg’s mission and the services they provide, and it’s always a pleasure to help them in any way we can.
Stanford Polo has kept very busy since our trip to Tianjin. The team trailered down for a weekend at Central Coast Polo Club to play in a PCal arena tournament. This was a great chance to get back into the arena after a summer of primarily field polo and catch up with friends from other clubs in the area. Stanford fielded two teams, an A flight and a B flight team. The A flight team, consisted of coaches Heather Lake and Russell Field, and team member Eric Birdsall. This was Eric’s first A flight game and he did a great job keeping up with the level of play. The first day, the A flight team played a close game against the Roark Winery team and lost by a few points. Stanford’s pony Elvis won a well-deserved best playing pony. The second day the team was victorious, finishing 3rd in the Tournament overall. The pictures below were shamelessly stolen from Erin Malen.
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The women’s team was able to play our first arena game together all summer in the B flight! The girls were very happy to be playing together again and put in a strong performance, finishing with 11 or 12 points on the board, Shivani Torres as MVP, and Olivia Cords winning a sportsmanship award. The second day Ellie Redding won her game with other Poway players. Shivani, Russell, and Olivia had a tougher time in their game. Playing greener horses and trying new additions to the Stanford string made it tough to keep up the consistency in each chukker.
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Finally, the Stanford women made trip north to play at the Women’s Tournament in Santa Rosa this past weekend. This tournament was a great chance to show off some girl power! We had a great time playing on this beautiful field. Thank you to returning alumni Russell for trailering and coaching! Thanks also to former women’s team captain Laura Hansen for her help during the game, and special thanks to Bonnie Magill for organizing, providing great prizes and camaraderie, and accommodating student players. The Stanford women were the winners of this round robin tournament as a result of a balanced team effort. Goals were made by Shivani Torres, Ellie Redding, and Olivia Cords. Elizabeth Lake in the number four position played strong defense and fielded many passes. As always, there is plenty of room for improvement, but the Stanford women were able to complement each other’s playing styles and strengths.
The students on summer team have been incredibly motivated and dedicated to improving our game, which has not waned since the trip to China. We’re looking forward to making the most of the last few weeks of summer!
