By Jolene Farley
The Sioux Falls Polo Club has converted 10 acres of leased pastureland northwest of Hills for a polo field. The land has been re-seeded and manicured for the club's needs.
A polo field is 160 yards wide by 300 yards long, or 10 times the size of a football field.
"We practice several times a week and most weekends, subject to the weather," said club member Dwayne Myers, Elkton, SD.
The club practices and holds meets at either the Hills field or another field southeast of Sioux Falls.
The 10-year-old Sioux Falls Polo Club competes against other teams in the Midwestern circuit and has played in Des Moines, Iowa, Peoria, Ill., and Winnepeg, Canada, among other locations.
Players bring their own horses to the field. There are four members on a polo team and only one horse can be used per "chukker," or seven-minute period.
Polo is "a running game," Myers said, and participants often use as many as six horses per game.
The polo season usually runs from June to October and the club has a flexible play schedule.
The Sioux Falls Polo Club is small, with fewer than 10 members, but interested people at any skill level are welcome, according to Myers.
"I don't want to make it into an elitist thing, because it's not," he said.
Myers is a former rodeo enthusiast and trained horses as a hobby. "I got tired of taking my horses out for trail rides and getting bucked off," he said. "So I began to work them harder."
He said when horses have to work hard they are not as feisty because they are tired.
Myers said if anyone is interested in giving polo a try or is interested in joining the Polo Club he can be reached at (605) 542-2901.
He could possibly line up a horse for interested parties to ride during practice. "Anybody from anywhere can play anytime they come through," he said.
The sport requires horsemanship and upper body strength, according to Myers. Historically, women were not allowed to play polo but that has changed in recent years.
Polo's reputation as an elite sport likely stems from the expense involved.
Beginners can start with one or two horses at up to $5,000 apiece. Shoeing is required every six to eight weeks, at $50 to $80, and vet bills can total $500 annually.
To compete in most national polo play requires additional and higher caliber horses, and competing among the world's finest teams can require financial commitment of $300,000 to $1 million per year to sponsor a team.