AIKEN - Bill Rhodes doesn't know much about polo except how to be a spectator.
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Bob Besley (left), who announces polo, and Tom Biddle, the president of the United States Polo Association, have given residents a crash course on polo.
Ron Cockerille/Augusta Chronicle
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Thanks to an introductory class at the University of South Carolina Aiken, Mr. Rhodes and 40 other polo newcomers walked away from the crash course with just enough knowledge to follow the equestrian sport that has replaced harness racing as the third leg of Aiken's Triple Crown.
The polo tournament, which benefits the university's athletics program, begins at 1:30 p.m. Saturday. The event kicks off Aiken's spring polo season and is expected to draw at least 5,000 spectators.
Moderated by U.S. Polo Association President Tom Biddle and Aiken Polo Club President Charlie Bostwick, the class was designed to teach polo novices about plays, scoring and a favorite halftime festivity known as divot stomping.
Fans rush the field between polo games to patch divots in the turf left behind by the horses' hooves.
"I might be the best divot stomper out there," said Mr. Rhodes, a 42-year-old chemical engineer at the Savannah River Site.
Though polo has been a mainstay in Aiken for more than a century, the sport only recently began garnering mainstream interest when USCA dropped the Triple Crown's harness races for a polo tournament last year and top players from across the country began relocating to the area.
The result - many Aikenites like Mr. Rhodes have become enamored with the equestrian contact sport that is played with a pony, a mallet and a small plastic ball across a 300-yard field.
"This is like a combination of football and chess, with the strategy of chess and the brawn of football," he said.
Polo pros like Mr. Biddle are thrilled to introduce outsiders to the sport, particularly to the rules that govern the game.
"You can't be left-handed to play polo," he said. "After every goal, teams change directions. A chukker is a 7-minute period."
But most newcomers often seem more interested in the horses than game procedures, which Mr. Biddle admits is the most important aspect of the sport.
"A polo pony is basically a racehorse that needs to do six things at once," he said. "So if you don't appreciate what the horses do, you won't appreciate polo."
Reach Krista Zilizi at (803) 648-1395, ext. 106, or krista.zilizi@augustachronicle.com.
IF YOU GO
WHAT: The Aiken Polo Tournament
WHERE: Powderhouse Polo Field
WHEN: Gates open 11 a.m., game time 1:30 p.m.
TICKETS: General admission: $10 at gate, $8 in advance; children 6 to 12: $6 at gate, $5 in advance; children 5 and younger: free; deadline to buy advance tickets is 5 p.m. today.
ADVANCE TICKET LOCATIONS: Aiken Drug, H. Odell Weeks Recreation Center, Floyd and Green Jewelers, Lominick Pharmacy and the University of South Carolina Aiken Athletics Office
PARKING: General admission: $5; reserved first row: $100, includes four tickets and programs
CONTACT: The USC Aiken Athletics Office at (803) 641-3406
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