Meet one of the oldest polo clubs on the East Coast, Brandywine Polo Club, whose history is as rich as it’s grounds are beautiful. Located on 122 verdantly wooded acres amongst the rolling hills of southern Chester County. Located near Kennett Square, Pa., Brandywine Polo Club was started in 1950 by James McHugh, a former intercollegiate Yale player. Success came quickly as the Brandywine Polo Club team won the 1956 U.S. Open Polo Championship at Oak Brook Polo Club in Illinois, 11-10 over Aurora. Their winning team was Dr. Raworth Williams, Ray Harrington Jr., Clarence C. Combs Jr., and William A. Mayer.

 

Coping with tragedy

Much like other clubs with a rich history, Brandywine has also experienced tragedy. In 1966 the clubhouse was struck by lightning igniting a fire that spread from the clubhouse to two nearby barns. Club manager Bob Connors was quick to respond leading nine of the 27 polo ponies to safety. Seven additional ponies injured in the fire were rescued and sent to the University of Pennsylvania’s New Bolton Center in East Marlborough Township for treatment of severe burns. Eighteen horses were lost that day. In their honor the Polo Ponies Memorial match was established a few weeks later, with the 5,000 spectators in attendance far exceeding expectations. 

 

The club was able to rebuild the barns with overwhelming support from the community. Now, 50 years later, the 8-goal Polo Ponies Memorial tournament, which is sponsored by international companies such as OneMagnify, and continues to attract teams from up and down the East Coast. 

  

Brandywine Polo faced another financial hardship in the spring of 2013 when the club was left to clean up the wreckage after being hit by a tornado. The damage was severe. The roof of the barn rebuilt after the fire in 1966 was ripped off entirely, with large amounts of debris strewn all over. The riding arena wall was hit with a large piece of the roof causing major damage to the walls and announcers stand. The cost to rebuild was $100,000, according to then-polo school coordinator Robin Bostwick. With help from the community, about 25 percent, and a hefty infusion of money from the club’s board of directors the repairs and rebuilding work began immediately. The roof repair was completed in 2014, and the club added blocks of stalls over time until the project was finished in 2016. 

 

Making polo accessible

Brandywine Polo Club is a club committed to making polo accessible. With a polo school that dates back to 1963, the Brandywine Polo School has continued to offer a comprehensive introductory program called Orientation to Polo (OTP) that is perfect for anyone interested in pursuing polo regardless of age or experience. The OTP clinics are graduated programs designed to build on techniques, rules, riding skills, training, horse ownership and safety, all key foundations for becoming a great polo player.

 

Thank you

We are happy you're here, reading our club's profile. Brandywine holds a special place in many players and spectator's memories, club president Dixon Stroud included. Dixon has played polo since he was a young man, winning tournaments all over Florida, the East Coast, including Brandywine.  An avid horseman, Dixon won the Maryland Hunt Cup in 1984, and is the current co-master of Mr. Stewart’s Cheshire Foxhounds. He carries the torch for Brandywine Polo, stewarding it's direction on the shoulders of polo's greats like Ray Harrington, Gerald Balding, George “Frolic” Weymouth, and James McHugh. These former stewards of the club would presumably be proud if they walked into the club today, seeing two beautiful grass fields, an arena, stabling for 100 horses, and seven major tournaments that attract local polo pros as well as professionals from around the globe. It's a great club. We want you to be a part of it if you aren't already and thank you if you have been. No matter our past hardships and proven resilience, the Brandywine Polo Club is here to stay, dedicated to polo, the education of polo, the competitions and the spirit of the sport at its best.