Mini Fun at Surya

 

Finn on Mohara with Ketav Shah, founder and president of Surya Polo Club

 

Surya's new pavilion on the spectator side, almost done!

Surya Spotlight Profile: Richard Prather

Hello Saratoga horse and pony friends (and other friends who know nothing about horses but still feel obliged to read this blog), I hope you all have some wonderful plans for this upcoming holiday weekend. I personally will be somewhere in the middle of the country, relaxing by a lovely little private pond watching the minis and an energetic chocolate lab run around like maniacs. I will NOT be thinking about the Belmont, not just yet, since I am still annoyed at myself for once again not picking the winner of the Preakness, but more on that later. This post is dedicated to a new friend I met over at Surya this week, Richard Prather. Richard is the new club manager and I got the chance to meet him on Monday when I dragged the minis and La Nina over there with me to chat with him while he taught some lessons. It seemed like the first day it hadn't rained in ages and I was glad to put down my blueprint for a potential ark to take the short trip over there. Surya is well into the swing of things over there now, the new pavilion over on the spectator side of the field is almost done and looking absolutely fantastic, and there were three students taking lessons the day I was there.

This is Richard's first year with Surya, and he comes to the club from the program I have mentioned earlier, the Philadelphia based Work to Ride program. Richard joined the program a year after its inception, in 1995, and became a member of the first all African American team to compete in Interscholastic Polo in America. I asked Richard what drew him to the polo part of the Work to Ride program and he explained that polo had a different feel to it, the teamwork, the fast pace, the more aggressive aspect of bumping people off the line and charging at the ball, that the other parts lacked. It was something I felt too when I first started taking lessons, being part of a team is not something you really have when doing horse shows, it's you against the other riders, but in polo it is of course an essential element. That teamwork element will definitely be present at Surya this season, since as I mentioned in a previous post, Richard's friend and teammate Kareem Rosser will also be part of Surya this summer. You can watch an interview with Richard and Kareem's brother Daymar, also a part of Work to Ride, on Fox LA, here.

As I kept one eye on the minis romping gloriously through the biggest field of dandelions they had ever seen I watched Richard teaching the lessons and thought what a great fit Richard and Kareem and Surya are. Having young, energetic and enthusiastic players helping to grow this young club seems like a match made in horse heaven. Richard is off to Nigeria this week, one of many trips he has taken there to play polo, and I can't wait to hear all about it when I go back to Surya to take a lesson after vacation.

Horse and Pony Link Round Up

• Get to know the 9 Preakness horses that didn't run in the Derby DRF 

• Five storylines to watch at the Preakness Baltimore Sun 

•  R.H. and one of the minority owners of Mucho Macho Man are of the same mind Sports Illustrated    

• Do you think alcohol should be the draw for young and new fans to the track? Saratoga Seen

• Three Preakness runners are sons of past race winners Saratogian

• Zenyatta's Trainer uncovers a colt that gives him hope NY Times

Introducing Resident Handicapper

Readers, believe it or not, I have changed my mind on my Preakness pick. Well, that's not entirely accurate, as I had originally picked one horse, then changed my mind for the last post, and now I'm changing it back to my original choice. Why, you ask? Well, besides my notorious lack of decision making skills when it comes to horse racing, I was reminded by my resident amateur handicapper that I had originally picked Sway Away as my Preakness pick. I was pretty impressed with myself because this was also one of his picks, and I'm not sure why I changed my mind, besides, as I said, I really enjoy saying Mucho Macho Man. I even challenge myself to say it five times really fast, but I assure you there is no little dance involved with that. Really. There isn't. Anyway, moving on, this brings me to a new facet of the NEW AND IMPROVED TITO BLOG, and that is my "Resident Handicapper" feature. I was going to try to pass all of Resident Handicapper's information off as my own, but then I realized the odds of me being exposed as a fraud were pretty high, especially if anyone had the opportunity to challenge me on any of this information in person. So I will post it here, on my blog, without taking credit for it. The credit will solely go to my very own personal in house Resident Handicapper, and I assure you I have personally witnessed, and enjoyed, his past successes at the track. There is even one particular bartender at Siro's who can assure you not only of his past successes but also of his past over-tipping as a result of said past successes. Moving on, here are Resident Handicapper's Preakness picks...

The first thing R.H. said about the Preakness is how he likes Mucho Macho Man, since he was closing in on Animal Kingdom in the Derby, almost clinching second  over a dying Nehro, finishing third in the race. That being said, he's pretty certain that Mucho Macho Man won’t win the Preakness, but that he has a shot at winning the Belmont if he runs in it. R.H. doesn’t think the length of the Preakness will favor Mucho Macho Man’s late closing speed like some of the other horses that are running, but he thinks he'll hit the board. His final picks as of right now (subject to change as the day goes on and gets more boring and doing internet handicapping becomes more and more enticing) are Sway Away, Mucho Macho Man, Dialed In, and Animal Kingdom, with Dance City thrown in for good measure. For the price though, Sway Away is the pick. He's got closing speed that will benefit him greatly in what deems to be a much faster race than the Derby. I'll be sure to let you know what bets we actually wind up making, rest assured.

R.H. also provided a couple of links that have some pretty good insight for the race tomorrow:

• NY Times

• USA Today

One last thing before I finish up R.H.'s  premier blog post, let's talk about this whole "Kegasus" debacle. I think it's awful, and quite frankly hard to look at. Rather than a mascot he looks like a walking cautionary tale. If I saw this idiot walking around the racetrack in Saratoga I'd be ashamed. But overall my overwhelming thought about it is "THIS is the best that they could come up with?!". An unattractive, beer bellied, creepy man/horse? And he's supposed to attract people rather than repulse them? I realize the market they are trying to reach, but still, surely no one wants to relate themselves to this? It's like a nightmare come to life! But then again, so is the idea of running around on top of a row of porta-potties while being pelted with beer cans, so maybe I am just missing the whole point. What are your thoughts dear readers?

Preakness and Polo (and hopefully Pimm's)

So this rain really needs to stop. I've had fun larking about in my Hunter wellies, splashing in puddles with the two minis, and I really will use the smallest cloudburst as an excuse to use my Liberty print umbrella, but this is getting ridiculous. Just two weekends ago there I was, sitting at Siro's in my adorable horse print strapless Lily, freshly purchased at the Pink Paddock, soaking up the sun and Ketel One while changing my Derby pick in my head pretty much non-stop for three hours. I didn't wind up settling on the winner, but I thoroughly enjoyed myself and was excited about my unofficial start of racing season. That brings me to this upcoming weekend, Saturday brings the Preakness and also the opening barbecue at Surya Polo Club in Greenwhich, both of which I can hardly wait for.

Now, let me tell you something about me. I'm pretty horrible at picking horses. I'm not of the slightly annoying variety who chortles "Oh I just pick based one which name I like the most", said while shrugging the shoulders and twirling a lock of hair around a finger. Not anymore at least. I don't pick based on the color of the jockey's silks, the color of the horse, the number, because I had a dog with a similar name once, the way the planets are aligned that day, or any other seemingly random factors. No, I have actually learned some (very little actually) ways to pick a horse based on real things, aka those little sometimes confusing words printed in the racing program. It used to be a bunch of meaningless numbers and abbreviations to me before I was educated on things like Beyer speed figures and the length of the race and the horses past performances. I did have to draw the line at one point though, I was afraid all of this new knowledge might push something else out of my head and I would forget how to drive or something. So I am trying to operate on a somewhat more educated level this year. However, as I said earlier, I did not wind up picking the winner for the Derby. I did have a dream a few weeks beforehand that Uncle Mo was not going to win in which some of the horses grew plane wings and took off, but that was about it. I'm hoping this weekend though that I can pick the winning horse, and I will share that pick with all of you dear readers so you can be sure to not bet that horse.

The other part of my Saturday will be spent at Surya Polo Club, which is located down a particularly pretty stretch of Route 29. It's a beautiful field, with the original brick farmhouse and barns on one side that were built in 1815. The original English style barn is made of massive hand hewn beams and there are amazing views of both the Adirondack and Green Mountains. On the grounds are two huge eastern white pines that are two hundred and fifty years old. It's one of my favorite places, and pulling up to it for either a polo lesson or to watch a match always fills me with excitement. This is Surya's second year, and it's president and founder, Ketav Shah, is taking a unique approach to polo, one that is gaining more ground in the polo world. Ketav's goal is to help bring "polo to the people". A lot of people think that in order to play polo you need to have a string of ponies and very deep pockets, but Ketav wants to make it a sport that is accessible to anyone. This year the club is welcoming Richard Prather as the Club Manager and Polo School Instructor. Richard came to the sport as part of the "Work to Ride" program that was created in 1994, which provides disadvantaged urban youth from Philadelphia with constructive activities centered around horsemanship and polo.

Surya is also excited to have Kareem Rosser, winner of the 2011 USPA Interscholastic Championship to Surya Polo Club. Kareem (that is him on the left in the picture) is from Philadelphia where he began riding at the age of 9 at Chamoinix Equestrian Center, home of the Work To Ride Program, where he had the opportunity to join the only all African American polo team in the country. Kareem has travelled throughout the U.S and around the world to compete in numerous tournaments, his most recent and notable win being the United States Polo Association National Interscholastic Championship, while also being the first all African American team to win a major USPA title in the history of the US . You can read more about Kareem and the Work to Ride program in Ralph Lauren's online magazine feature here. 

With all of this new stuff going on I know it's going to be an exciting season at Surya, and I really can't wait to meet all of these new polo people as I try to not make a complete fool of myself atop Carpentera. The new season kicks off on June 11th with the Salem cup, with the gates opening at 5 and the match starting at 6. I urge all of you to come check out a match this season, bring a picnic basket and a blanket and take in the scenery and ponies. It is such a relaxed and fun environment for polo at Surya, with Ketav and his wife Laurel being the friendliest of all of the friendly faces you will encounter there. If you make the short trip over there, come by and say hello, and please give me some horse tips for the Saratoga season as well...

That being said dear readers, I suppose this is the time I give you my EXCLUSIVE TITO PICK for the Preakness. Now, we all know the world is going to end just before the horse race, so it is all really just for fun at this point, but I will nevertheless impart my knowledge to you. But really, couldn't the rapture wait until after the horse race? Is that too much to ask? Anyway, my pick is...Mucho Macho Man. I have based this on some serious research readers, none of which I'm going to get into here, but in addition to that I do quite enjoy saying Mucho Macho Man. So maybe I still have some of that annoying, hair twirling, nonsense horse picking personality in me. I'll have to get rid of it entirely this summer...Happy betting readers! Let me know what your picks are in the comments and who knows, I may just change my mind and piggyback on your choice! 

One last little gem I'm going to share is my recipe for Pimm's, a fantastic little drink to have while killing time before the race:

Pimm's Cup

• 4 lemon slices
• 4 apple slices
• 4 orange slices
• 4 cucumber slices
• 3 cups Pimm's No. 1 Cup, available at liquor stores
• 2 cups lemonade soda
• 4 fresh mint sprigs
• Ice cubes

Preparation: 

Fill four 8- to 10-ounce highball glasses* with ice cubes. Divide the fruit slices among the glasses. Pour 1/2 cup of lemonade and 3 tablespoons of Pimm's into each glass. Garnish with the mint and serve. 

 * I like to class it up at home and use Bonne Maman preserves jars, but if you own a set of highball glasses, then aren't you special?!

Update: The polo barbecue is canceled because of the rain, instead of going on a rant about the rain (again) I will just remind you that the season starts June 11th, and I hope to see lots of people there!