| Huntsville Polo Club Leaps Into Success | |
|
The ponies are running in Huntsville. I'm not talking about horse racing but the Huntsville Polo Club. Arlene Stewart, along with her husband, Stew, have turned their passion for the sport into a club for Huntsville enthusiasts. The Huntsville Polo Club is located at the Stewart's farm, Harris Hill Farm, right at the intersection of Highway 72 East and Moore's Mill Road.
This 60 acre farm is equipped with pastures, a stable and additional barns for 40 horses, an illuminated riding area with spectator bleachers, a stadium field and a regulation polo field. It also has a clubhouse, a tack building, and a seven-wooden-horse hitting area.
Rodrigo Salinas, a polo pro from Argentina, lives on the premises and teaches lessons for beginners and experienced members. Rodrigo teaches polo and riding lessons, and trains both polo horses and hunter-jumpers. Seasonal clinics are held to improve mallet technique, riding skills for the game, and hitting accuracy.
The idea for the Huntsville Polo Club was inspired when Arlene Stewart and her daughter Stacey, both horse enthusiasts, were spending Spring Break at the West Palm Beach Polo Resort in 1994 at the world-renowned Major Dawnay's Polo Clinic. Arlene's husband, Stew, has become the announcer and organizing events.
One of the first orders of business was establishing a regulation field. It is located at the corner of Old Gurley Road and Highway 72 East. It used to be a cotton field with a 30-foot drop from one end to the other. It has since been leveled, planted, mowed, and watered. A second stadium-sized field was established facing Hiway 72, at the lower end of the front pasture. It is an alternate playing surface and allows the big field to "rest" between matches.
The Club always welcomes spectators at matches and games. The public is invited to attend and bring a picnic lunch. Practices are Wednesdays at 5:30 p.m. and matches are Sundays at 5:30 p.m. The announcers are helpful in explaining the game to the crowd so don't feel like you have to know everything about Polo before you can go and enjoy an afternoon at the field. For more information about the Huntsville Polo Club, you can call 256-881-6501, 539-6759 or 572-4118.
