Stuart Campbell, of The Villages team, approaches the ball during a match last season. The first polo match of this season begins at 3 p.m. Sunday following an array of festivities to set the mood for the event. Mark DiOrio / Daily Sun file photo

Villages Polo Club starts fall season in style Sunday

By DAISY MOON, DAILY SUN

THE VILLAGES — The Villages Polo Booster Club will

celebrate a gala start to the 2008 fall polo season.

The first match begins at 3 p.m. Sunday following an array of festivities to set the mood for the event.

A 1 p.m. brunch (already sold out) will be held in the first-level grandstands. The first half-hour will feature a fashion show with local women modeling couture from area stores.

The fashion show will be followed by a “Medieval Times Knights” performance, complete with horsemen arrayed as knights mounted on Andalusian stallions.

At 2 p.m. the award-winning Watkins Middle School drum corps will perform; their performance will be followed by a chance drawing for a private carriage ride.

Just before 3 p.m. precision skydivers will jump out of a plane flying overhead and descend 10,000 feet to

present the American flag upon landing.

A pre-match parade will step off just after the flag presentation, and the national anthem will be sung by sisters Marcella Richardson and Michelle Boone.

The first chukker will commence immediately following the parade.

As in years past, a large spectator turnout is expected.

“Our biggest issue Sunday is that we are anticipating around 2,000 people (to attend the match),” The Villages Polo Club marketing director Ron Allen said.

Allen, a 15-year polo veteran, said last year’s season brought out a total of 28,000 fans.

Top players participating

Top-notch players from throughout the United States will participate in Sunday’s match, Allen said.

International players relish the level of competition found at The Villages’ polo matches, including the renowned Argentines, whose home country is known as the world’s “polo capital,” Allen said.

Although it currently is undergoing remodeling, The Villages Polo Club facilities will be ready to accommodate guests for the opening match of the season with its usual gracious hospitality.

Daisy Moon is a reporter with the Daily Sun. She can be reached at 753-1119, ext. 9067, or daisy. moon@thevillagesmedia.com.