Events
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Remember - to purchase tickets and attend, you must belong to Pony Up Polo Boosters (we do welcome out of town guests).
Past 2025 Events
On Wednesday, Jan 8, we toured the Ma Barker House. Our guide was Wayne (the bartender at the north end of the Grandstand), who is an absolute expert on all things Ma Barker and gangs.
The Spring Season began on Fri, Feb 28th! There were exhibition matches on Feb 21 and Feb 23. Can't wait to see all of our polo players back in their saddles and back on the field!
We had a Polo 101 & Opening party at the Oxford Polo Club on Saturday, March 15.
Saturday, May 3 - The Kentucky Derby Party and Silent Auction. Not only is this a very fun, enjoyable event, it is also our main fundraiser for the Injured Players Fund and other efforts. Your support is greatly appreciated! This year we raised $9056.31!
Spring Season ended on Sunday, May 4.
June 7 - A group of Boosters attended the Meet an Arabian Horse Day at the Peri Lee Show Horses facility in Wildwood. It was an entertaining and educational event where we saw these beautiful horses in both Western and English tack. Pony Up Polo Booster member Manish was one of the emcees. It is located at 2888 County Road 222. This is off of 301 just north of Napolina's Restaurant.
Aug 17 - One of our Boosters is a member of the Silver Springs Shores Cricket Club in Ocklawaha. Neil
Ma Barker House Tours - Jan 8, 2025
The 10AM group arrive back after their tour
In the dining room with Wayne's display of photographs of famous gangsters and some of their families and friends.
The noon tour group at the front of the house.
Thirty boosters enjoy a tour of the Ma Barker House on Lake Weir. Our guide, Wayne, is an expert on the gangsters of the 1930s, their lives and eventual deaths. The house and almost all of its contents are original and visitors can see the results of the gun battle.
2025 Spring Opening Party & Polo 101
This year's Opening Party, on Mar 15 was a great event. The weather was pleasant, albeit windy. The Polo Academy students played four chukkers with the team wearing purple taking the win. Dale spent some time going over Polo 101 which was helpful for all of the new people. Deidre Miles and Chrissy Moyer won the Tailgating Competition and will receive a Fall season pass. Alex and Marguerita Copher took second place with Rita and Jerry Kelly taking third. The cash raffle was popular with Regina Jessop, Arthur Lewis and Emily Evans taking home their shares. Thank you to all who participated! Lewis Arther and Billy Lindsey performed as Elvis and was excellent. We all owe Lord Lyall a ton of gratitude for hosting us at the Oxford Polo Club. Thank you, Lordi!
The 2025 Annual Derby Party
On May 3, Pony Up Polo Boosters held its annual Derby Party and Silent Auction. It was a great event with Lordi keeping the attendees laughing and entertained. Wayne astounded people with his incredible magic. Bridgette's Catering provided an excellent dinner.The polo players had fun participating in their own races, complete with hobby horses. Charly came away with the win. Other participants in the races were Lordi's PeeWee Herman doll and our youngest booster, Nandini.The best news of all is that due to the generosity of our donors and of our members, we raised $9056.31! We will make a donation to the Injured Players Fund along with other efforts. The Board thanks everyone that participated.
2025 Peri Lee Arabians
On Jun 7, a group of Pony Up Polo Boosters traveled to the Peri Lee Show Horses facility in Wildwood. Polo Booster Manish Bhaat served as the emcee for the event. We were treated to demonstrations of these beautiful horses in both western and english tack. We also saw the younger students going through their paces. Peri Lee Show Horses offers riding lessons, boarding and other events.
Cricket!
On Aug 17th, a group of Pony Up Polo Boosters enjoyed an afternoon of cricket. Booster Neil H is a member of the Silver Spring Shores Cricket and Social Club in Ocklawaha. He organized our visit which included watching the home team play their half of the match and a lunch of Caribbean dishes. The weather cooperated with the rain holding off until the very end. The best part, other than the food, was watching Silver Springs edging out the Orlando Warriors by 4 runs. Some of the Silver Springs players will be visiting The Villages Polo Club on Sun, Sep 28.
2025 Fall Opening Party
Excitement was in the air as enthusiastic Booster fans celebrated the opening of the 2025 Fall polo season. Fans with chairs and tailgating supplies arrived early at the Oxford Polo Club to grab their favorite shady spot to watch the afternoon’s festivities.
What a treat to have players (Courtney Flynn, Lupe Castro, Chavello Martinez, Lordy Lyall) representing the Oxford Polo team playing against players (Ella Peterson, Mike Sparks, Hunter Jelsch, Martine Eddy) representing the Villages Polo team. Our favorite polo match announcer Dale Gavitt also joined us to call the action for the match. Play was fierce among these players for the 6 chukker match, but in the end the Oxford Polo team proved victorious.
Once the match play was finished, Boosters were treated to a much different competition with a “grooms’ race.” Two teams, each comprised of a player and a groom, had to complete a full tack up and tack down of a very patient polo pony, with each team hoping to finish the task before the other team. It would have been much easier for the teams if Lord Lyall who adopted the role of a “sponsor” hadn’t decided to “help” them along by providing them with special leg and tail wraps that were – well let’s just say – not the quality that the teams were used to. He also provided toothbrushes to brush the horse. This was quite entertaining and greatly enjoyed by the Boosters cheering on their favorite player/groom team. And while the competition was close, in the end Team Martine and Cat Eddy proved victorious against Lupe Castro and David Limos.
Congratulations go out to Maureen (Pat) Slattery who was the winner of the drawing for the Spring 2026 season pass.
More Boosters got involved in the festivities for the afternoon by taking part in the penalty shoot-out against Lord Lyall and Mike Sparks. Jeff Gillingham, Maureen Slattery, Diana Hollingsworth and Emily Evans all took their turns with hitting a polo ball through the goal from different yardages. Great efforts were shown by all, but in the end, Lord Lyall displayed the talents that have earned him his name of “Lord of Polo” as he won the competition with a strong, straight backshot.
This was a great afternoon with fun and entertainment for all the Pony Up Polo Boosters in attendance. The excitement continues this Fall at the Polo Club.
Don’t forget to bring your new unwrapped toy donation to the field and deposit it in the box by the Boosters’ information desk. All the toys collected during the Fall season will be sorted and transported to the Orlando Health Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children.
(Submitted by Regina. Thanks!)
To view all of the Photos, click here.
Ocala Breeders Sales and Horse Country Tour, 8 Oct 2025
This adventure started at The World Equestrian Center where we met our guide, Karen Grimes, owner of Farm Tours of Ocala.
At the WEC, we were to have a brief tour and then head off into Horse Country to meet Arabians and Thoroughbreds at 2 farms. However, we had an unexpected treat and were able to watch some of the horse jumping competition.
Our first stop was at Hennessey Arabians. There we interacted with these majestic horses as they enjoyed the treats provided by Karen. We also saw two of the fattest little donkeys - they wanted treats, too.
The next stop was the Pleasant Acres Farm where we met Presious Passion, 2008 and 2009 Florida Turf Champion of the Year, Multiple Graded Stakes Winners, the 2009 Florida Horse of the Year, and a Happy Retiree at Pleasant Acres Stallions. He and his buddy, Pure Sensation, love hanging out with visitors. Presious Passion is a very affectionate horse, rubbing our shoulders and necks, and popping a button open on a blouse.
At the October Ocala Breeders Yearling Sales, Karen gave us a behind the scenes tour of “How it Works” at a Thoroughbred Auction. Fascinating world. Over 500 horses, all one-year-olds, were auctioned off. While we were there we saw prices from $3000 to $85000. Bid came from buyers on the premises as well as phone and online bids from around the world.
The last location was the Florida Owners and Breeders Association Museum to learn how Ocala came to be the Horse Capital of the World! If you're in the area, definitely worth a stop.
To view the photos, click here.
An Evening With Sukey
Sukey Forbes, author and polo player joined the Pony Up Polo Boosters on Wed, Nov 5 at the American Legion Post 18 in Wildwood. Sukey is the author of "Angel In My Pocket", about the loss of her six year old daughter Charlotte. She also rewrote and updated "As To Polo", written by her great uncle William Cameron Forbes. While Sukey has spoken about "Angel In My Pocket" many times around the country, ours was the first time she was asked to speak about "As To Polo". She graciously accepted the challenge to speak about both books at one time, and she definitely delivered. She titled her talk, "Between Heaven and the Field". She spoke about the grief she went through after the loss of Charlotte, having to decide between dying, existing and living. Through a process that took several years, she chose living while explaining that she knows that Charlotte is still with her. She then spoke about "As To Polo". Life and polo have a lot in common. There is a strength and a softness you need to balance, much like life and horses. In the book, her great uncle wrote about saving your horse. That often one sees new players constantly galloping about but not affective at all, only accomplishing the exhaustion of the horse. "Saving your horse is like saving your life", you need to rest, to breathe. Going fast doesn't mean you're getting anywhere.
Sukey's talk was interesting, provocative at times and profound at other times. Pony Up Polo Boosters is greatly appreciative of Sukey traveling to The Villages to meet with our group and of the Paynes who hosted her. It was a wonderful evening.
To see photos from the event, click here.
Polo School Tournament Nov 12
Coming soon...
This was a wonderful event! The first set of chukkers was won by the team wearing the Pony Up Polo Boosters jerseys. Kudos to all of the students and pros who participated; Juancarlos for referring; and Dale for announcing. All of them received prizes including additional items from the Boosters. We announced the new name of the horse we purchased for the Polo School - Serena. For additional photos, click here.
Elf Party Nov 18
Coming soon...
Our 5th Annual Elf Party, Nov 2025
This is the fifth year of the Toy Drive and subsequent Elf Party. We had a great time unboxing, sorting and re-boxing all of the toys purchased for the Arnold Palmer Children's Hospital in Orlando. Lordi called Nick Johnson, who was in transit back home to England but was in Iceland when he answered the phone. The Villages Polo Club Cheerleaders were there to lend a hand and perform some cheers for us. Lordi sang a few songs for us including one off of his new album, "Alien". And the special guest for the event was Serena who enjoyed the attention, carrots and apple snacks. She even wore a Santa hat! Thank you to all who donated to this year's toy drive, your generosity is greatly appreciated.
