There are two locations just west of the cities where you can view all the action. The Twin Cities Polo Club has a field and clubhouse located at 6755 Turner Road in Maple Plain just off of Highway 12 and northwest of Lake Minnetonka. To see a schedule of events go to their website at: www.twincitypolo.com. The biggest match of the year is the "Binger Cup Tournament" scheduled for August 13-15th, but there are matches and practices scheduled on various weekends throughout the summer.
You can also see a match at the Annual Polo Fundraiser held this year on July 17th at the Blackberg Ranch at 1980 Sally Avenue in Watertown, which is located near the TC Polo Club. This is a scenic ranch that features a wonderful field for playing and viewing polo matches. The above image was shot last year at this event. You can get more information and directions to the ranch at: www.freedomfarmmn.org. Click on "polo event" in the menu for details of the polo match. Also note this is a great location for shooting images of horses and riders when the ranch is open to the public.
If you go to a match make sure to bring a long lens because the field of play is really large (160 yards wide by 300 yards long!). Bring a shorter lens to for close-ups of the horses, riders and groomers on the sidelines and during any breaks in the action. A match is made up of "Chukkers" that are periods of play. Each Chukker lasts 7 minutes with a break in between. There are six Chukkers in a match, or four in arena play. Each team consists of 4 players on the field; 2 for offense, 1 to defend and try to revert the action back to offense and 1 defender playing back near the teams goal. The ball in play is hit with the long end of a flexible mallet as seen above. A score occurs when the ball is hit through two poles at the opponents end of the field.
Despite the speed of the horses you can get a lot of interesting action shots during play and many during the breaks and on the sidelines. Check it out.
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