Polo Contest Se for Tomorrow Undergraduates Need to Raise Money

Polo-long considered the sport of rich aristocrats-seems to be undergoing a renaissance at Harvard with hard-working kids.

For three years a small group of dedicated individuals known as the Harvard Polo Club has been putting in as much work as play to keep the game alive in the Harvard community. Besides the excitement of riding, the team contributes to such petty stable chores as grooming, tack cleaning and shovelling horseshit.

Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. in Harvard Stadium these equestrians will play against a Harvard alumni team in a game to help their own economic survival.

Long Haired Riders

Polo at Harvard is not a varsity sport and gets no aid from the University. Since the long-haired riders have arrived on the scene, alumni contributions have fallen off sharply.

The only source of funds is minimal dues from players, solicited donations, various money making ventures-such as concerts and dances-and games like tomorrow's.

The expenditures are high, as the team now owns 15 horses which cost a total of $1500 a month to maintain-even with all the student donated labor.

Despite the economic adversities, the Polo Club has racked up a respectable 8-7-1 record this season, with victories over established and subsidized teams such as Yale and Cornell.

The team is led by sophomores Peter Bennett and Joe O'Conor and junior Howie Coreoran. Sophomore Rick Powell is the team's fourth man. This squad is backed up by a six-man JV team and five graduate student players.

Mike Andrew '68, a professor at the University of New Hampshire and one of the highest-rated players in New England, has coached the team for the last three years. Andrew also does most of the shoeing and serves as the veterinarian.

Face Alumni Team

Andrew and his team will be facing a squad of alumni from Hamilton, Mass., in Saturday's game.

Tickets for tomorrow's affair are on sale at the Coop, at 60 Boylston St, and at the gate. Admission is $1.50 for advance student ducats, and $2 for all others and at the gate.

For these of you who have never viewed a game of polo, don't be afraid you won't understand enough to pay two bucks. There's little to the game, as far as rules are concerned. Just three horsemen per team riding up and down the field trying to whack the ball into a goal.