Monday, July 16, 2007

THE SPORT OF KINGS..."The Ponies"..."Chukkers"...The Grand Sport of Polo!!!






The Sport of Kings...
Sunday morning our neighbors generously invited us to attend a polo match held annually for charity purposes by Saint Marys/Duluth Clinic on a beautiful horse farm on the outskirts of Duluth. I must say that I came away greatly impressed with the athletism demonstrated by both horse and rider. It was truly a sporting spectacle...great fun!!! The game is fast paced and more rough than I expected. A typical game is comprised of six 'chukkers' [each chukker is seven minutes]. After the completion of a chukker, the riders quickly obtain "fresh mounts" and so the minimum number of 'ponies' for each rider is six [note: 'the ponies' are infact beautiful, majestic Thoroughbreds]. The horses go wide-open in what clearly appears to be an act of sheer joy for them, while the riders are just barely hanging on while wielding their mallets at a little ball about the size of softball...Another plus is that consumption of barley products for those of age seems to be readily promoted...The upper crust seem to have the whole hydration problem well in hand...

Starving the Rat: Sunday was the last day of my super easy week: Now this week involves some short bursts coupled with a few two hours rides...Cleaned up and really lubed up both the Kelly and the Gunnar

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