Ivy Alums Observe Equine Duel

For an afternoon last month, a group of Harvard and Yale alumni got off their high horses and hopped onto some smaller ponies.

Hundreds, dressed in the requisite fancy “garden-party attire,” attended the fourth annual Harvard vs. Yale Charity Polo Match on May 21 to watch Ivy League graduates square off in a friendly contest organized by the Charity Network of New York City (CNNYC).

Although the Elis inexplicably bested Harvard, 6-3, the true winners were the local charities to which the proceeds were donated.

Charging $95 to $200 per ticket, the event raised $15,000 to benefit several small nonprofit organizations that support disadvantaged children and fund melanoma research.

The match was held at the Greenwich Polo Club at Conyers Farm in Greenwich, Conn. The club, established in 1981, is considered one of the most elite polo facilities in the United States.

Three years ago, Brett R. Johnson ’81-’82, founder of CNNYC and president of the Harvard Polo & Equestrian Association, created the event with classmate Rhett J. Drugge ’81.

But this year’s match marked just the second time players and ponies made it to the field. After Yale crushed the Crimson in 2002, the next two years’ matches were rained out, and the organizers decided to move the event from fall to spring.

Despite multiple setbacks, Johnson said he has no plans to end the emerging tradition. In fact, next year’s event will include teams from Princeton and Cornell, he said.

While only a small segment of the population actually plays polo, Johnson called it a very appealing spectator sport.

Polo is “a very cool sport to watch, and it makes for a great outdoor social sporting event,” Johnson told the New York Sun in 2003. “It’s the sport of kings.”

“The object of the game,” according to the website of New York’s Bridgehampton Polo Club, “is to move the polo ball down-field, hitting the ball through the goal posts for a score.” Four riders per team play at a time on a field 300 yards long and 160 yards wide—the largest playing field of any professional sport, according to Bridgehampton.

Johnson estimated that Harvard and Yale alumni comprised approximately 20 percent of the partygoers. He said the function drew Harvard alums from as far away as Italy.

Because the event stands out from other fundraisers, according to Johnson, it was able to draw a good number of New Yorkers without Harvard affiliations.

“There are a lot of black-tie events in ballrooms, but this is a very unique event,” Johnson said.

Unique indeed—attendees had the option of taking the privately rented “Polo Express” to Greenwich from Grand Central Station in Manhattan.

After a day of polo-watching, attendees flocked to parties in both Greenwich and New York City.

Stephen C. Wool ‘81, one of Johnson’s freshman roommates, quipped that he wasn’t surprised to hear that his classmate was involved with a polo charity event.

“He’s the kind of guy who would gravitate toward an environment like that,” Wool said. “A lot of money, and a lot of social status.”

­—Staff writer Sam Teller can be reached at steller@fas.harvard.edu.