Sand, Surf, and Some Ponies | Photography

While this year’s beach polo match was almost 30° colder than last year’s, I will never turn down a pony-filled day that also gives me a chance to snap some photos! Abandoning all attempts at dressing “polo-chic,” a group of fellow horse people and I bundled up last Saturday and drove down to Newport, Rhode Island for Newport Polo’s annual beach polo match.

The day started out warm enough with the temperature hovering around 35°, and we arrived early to ogle at some of the cute dogs that other spectators bring along. It also happened to be the opening weekend of Newport’s annual Winter Festival, so the crowd was large and lined the field of play.

Per usual, the polo ponies were spicy and ready to go, especially a cute little bay that spent a portion of the match on two legs. One of the referee’s horses, a chubby grey, was a favorite in our group thanks to his cute face and pokey gaits. He was probably the only one I would have volunteered to ride, though the excited bay did remind me a lot of Angel in her younger days.

About halfway through the match, a cloud cover that would eventually be a small snow storm blew in and froze our fingers. A bit of wine would have helped the situation, but my only snack was a sad protein bar at the bottom of my purse.

After a quick stop at Dover Saddlery and a place to grab dinner, I was home scrolling through the endless photos I took and still wishing I lived on an island, a few miles from the beach and a few minutes from my horse.

-TC