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Marco Polo had nothing to do with it. The game was invented in Persia in the sixth century B.C. and is generally considered the oldest team sport on record. It looks a little like baseball on horseback with mallets instead of bats, or like an equestrian form of golf without the holes in the lawn. Although full-sized horses are used, for alliterative effect these hoofed conveyances are referred to as polo ponies. The first polo club was established in the town of Silchar in Assam, India, in 1834, and the first polo match in the United States took place at Dickel's Riding Academy at 39th Street and Fifth Avenue in 1876.
Fast-forward to the 21st century A.D., where the American Red Cross Greater Plam Beach Area Chapter celebrated its 18th Annual Polo Luncheon & Auction at the Polo Club Palm Beach in Wellington. Headlined Charity meets Chukkers, oodles of tasty hors d’oeuvres were washed down with Champagne and Brazilian Caipirinhas, followed by a silent auction, followed by a lavish lunch whipped up by IPC’s new cuisinier Aaron Menitoff and served against the musical backdrop of The Tito Puente, Jr. Orchestra, followed by coffee, beignets, and hand-rolled cigars for everyone’s continued oral gratification while watching the 26-goal Piaget Gold Cup Match. (Indeed, it was a live polo game. Mallets and horses and all.)
Polo afficionados on hand included Boehm Porcelain founder Damd Helen Boehm, international polo ace Carlos Gracida, Palm Beach Polo & country Club founder Bill Ylvisaker, plus chairmen Deborah Landon O’Kain, David Miller, Gale Brophy, Leslie Ginn, Mary Frances Turner, and many more. All proceeds went to the American Red Cross.
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