A resurgence of polo in the Pikes Peak Region: Broadmoor hosts inaugural Winter Polo Classic

Feb. 25—Colorado Springs Sports Corp. teamed up with The Broadmoor to host the inaugural Winter Polo Classic at the Norris Penrose Event Center on Saturday.

"Polo does have a pretty rich history in Colorado Springs," said Davis Tutt, CSSC director of operations. "Mr. Spencer Penrose created the Broadmoor Polo Club back in the 1920s. It competed just east of the Broadmoor property, where the present-day Cheyenne Mountain Country Club is."

Tutt said the sport fizzled out during the Great Depression and into World War II.

The event is the brainchild of Air Force Academy graduate and Denver Polo Club member Nicholas Francoeur, Tutt said.

According to Tutt, Francoeur took inspiration for this event from Aspen's annual Snow Polo World Championship.

"We wanted to create an event that's more accessible to everybody here in Colorado Springs and create a resurgence of polo here in the Pikes Peak Region," Tutt said.

While "normal" polo is played on a 300- by 160-yard grass field, with each team consisting of four players, Saturday's Winter Classic was played in a small dirt arena with three players on each team.

Participating were teams from Colorado State University and the Denver Polo Club.

The Emerald Valley Polo Team from CSU was made up of athletes Hannah Stock and Alex Kokesh, and their head coach, Andrew Wildermuth, a recent CSU graduate who was on the university's 2015 National Polo Championship Team.

Emerald Valley brought 18 horses to Saturday's event. Wildermuth said it "means so much" to be a part of the tournament.

"This is so exciting for me as a coach to see my team thrive and find their place, and who they are as people in polo outside our community in Fort Collins," Wildermuth said.

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Emerald Valley is set to travel to Dallas next week to compete in the polo regional championship, fighting for a spot in nationals.

"We have so many different riders from so many different backgrounds; all we want to do is get 100% out of our horse every time we get in that saddle," Wildermuth said.

The Penrose Team from the Denver Polo Club consisted of Francoeur, Brian Salmon and Erica Gandomcar-Sachs. Gandomcar-Sachs is owner and CEO of the Denver Polo Club, as well as an internationally recognized champion of the sport.

She placed first in the 2007 and 2008 International Ladies Polo Tournament at the Kingston Polo Club in Kingston, Jamaica, as well as earning back-to-back wins in the 2007 and 2008 Shanghai Tang International Women's Tournament in Singapore, according to the Denver Polo Team's website.

"My father was the first one to put a polo mallet in my hand," Gandomcar-Sachs said, "It's the true American dream. My father grew up in Iran and had a passion for horses. He came here to Colorado and brought the (polo) scene to a professional level. I just grew up in it and fell in love with it. There's nothing more exciting than getting out there with your teammates and the horses"

"This whole tournament for us — it's history. To have CSU a part of it, Denver Polo Club a part of it. Polo is really family; it has a lot of heart," Gandomcar-Sachs said.

The intensity of the game was contagious. Players and horses were seen bumping into one another and cantering at high speeds toward the brightly colored ball.

For Gandomcar-Sachs, it's all about the adrenaline.

"A polo player is like a modern-day cowboy," Gandomcar-Sachs said. "When you're playing polo, it's a two-hour adrenaline rush. You're mentally, physically, and emotionally exhausted."

The game ended 12 to 9, with the Emerald Valley Polo Team taking the win.

"The polo scene in Colorado is strong and thriving — it just fits with everything that's going on here," Gandomcar-Sachs said, "Reviving polo all year round is an incredible feat."

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