Polo in Pine Plains

Polo in Pine Plains

http://www.mashomackpoloclub.com/

            Have you ever stood a few feet away from 10 horses running full speed directly at you? It’s a rush that brings out something primal in a person–or at least in this particular horse-crazy girl.  Add mallets, a tiny white ball, a huge flat field of pristine grass and the bluest sky Columbia County has to offer and you have my idea of the best thing to do on a weekend.  Welcome to Mashomack Polo—coming to you in thunderous 3D every weekend between Memorial Day and Labor Day in Pine Plains, NY.

            And it’s free. You don’t even have to dress up or wear a fancy hat.

            All that’s required of you is good manners and a willingness to replace divots.

            Held at the 1900 acre Mashomack Preserve just a few miles south of Pine Plains on Route 82, the Mashomack Polo Club has renovated an old dairy farm and turned it into an international polo venue.  Unlike most clubs, spectators are welcome to drive right up to the field where you can pull out a chair, a cooler and a picnic basket to watch the games.  They encourage questions and there are always several knowledgeable people to help you sort out what’s going on.  And there is an awful lot going on.  I’ve been going for a few years now and will do my best to explain it, but I’ve a long ways to go before I’d consider myself truly knowledgeable.

 Do, however, believe me when I say that it is a really fun thing to do and essential if you have even the slightest horsey/sporty bent.  It is probably the closest you will ever come to experiencing a fraction of what it must have been like to face down a cavalry charge.

Essentially the game is like most ball sports: the ball must go through the goal at either end of the field. There are 4 riders a side (men and women can compete on the same team) with two umpires in striped jerseys who are also mounted. There are flagmen at each goal.  Using a long, fairly flexible mallet, riders wallop or dribble a hard plastic ball about the size of a baseball from the back of ponies (they are actually horse-sized but are referred to as ponies) often at full gallop. There are many rules, most of which are designed for the safety of the horse, that determine who has the right of way over the approach to the ball or how a ball may be hit.  This is where talking to experienced players comes in handy as it is often hard to tell exactly which rule has been broken. But given time it starts to make sense.

Each rider has a number.  Generally number 3 is the best player and is responsible for setting up the offensive riders (1 and 2) with number 4 acting as defense. Unlike other sports, sides of goal are switched after every goal in order to give each side a chance to play with or against the sun. There are penalty shots as well.  Think hockey and soccer and you’ll get the idea.  For more information, I’ve found this site most helpful: http://www.sportpolo.com/spectators/Rules_of_Polo.htm

The best way to learn the game is to attend one of the many championship matches they hold.  There you will see some of the top international players ride.  To watch someone dribble a tiny ball at the end of a six foot stick through 7 other horses at a gallop is like watching Mikhail Baryshinkov dance from the theater’s wings. 

I recommend subscribing to their email as game times vary and weather can be a factor.   You can find out more at http://www.mashomackpoloclub.com/

            And if you are interested, they give polo lessons using trained polo ponies.  So get your game on and come play! I’ll see you there.

Mashomack Polo Club 7435 Route 82, Pine Plains NY 

That pesky glass

My last post saw Renee in her less than happy mode.

Things happen. Sometimes it is personal, most of the time not. It is the times that are not personal that are interesting to me because so much of my upbringing in the "create your reality" 1980's and '90's wants to desperately believe that the Universe spins its web purely for my edification. That somehow I made that horse kick, thereby enabling me to live in denial of that particular individual's own drives. In a perfect world, this was meant to happen. Besides, if it were a result of my vibrations then I could believe her to be trustworthy. But, alas she is a horse and a horse is a horse no matter the breed. Horses kick.

So I got kicked and now I have to work on her awareness of my insignificant and fragile body so that she will be careful when I am around her. Blame in this instance is perfectly appropriate. It directs action, it places consequences upon the proper source and it frees me to spend my time correcting the situation rather than puzzling over what it is my spirit might be trying to tell me.

I often wondered where responsibility became creativity in the philosophy of Attraction? Anyhow, it doesn't seem to hold much salt with the non-human species I have interacted with. Frankly my dear, they don't give a damn- they just do.

So, what's with the glass?

Half-full or Half-empty.

Standard enough metaphor. Used by countless optimists to prove their superiority to countless pessimists. If you are a half-full person then you are supposed to see openings; half-empty sees the world as lacking. I've been a half-full girl my whole life- after all "turn manure into gold" is my motto. Turns out I have been a judgmental and silly girl. You see, my partner- the oft misunderstood Denise, is a half-empty girl. Nothing is ever enough! You can imagine the fights we have had.

One day I decided to do what I always do when we fight. I let her be right and then I open my mind to the consequences. In this particular situation, half-empty meant that there was room for MORE liquid in the glass and half-full meant that the glass was just fine thank you very much. In a later, more enjoyable moment with Denise we discussed other areas in which half-full may be not so desirable. Half-full diaper being the most picturesque. Although half-empty wouldn't really be so wonderful either.

To translate into practical coaching: if your diaper is half-full so you see your world as perfect (ala The Law of Attraction) , then you are welcome to sit in your own mess as long as you like. You are the one who is responsible for the diaper after all. Similarly, if your diaper is half-empty but it is the only diaper you have, then maybe it will do for a little while until you can get another.

So my answer to the riddle?
Depends.