Greenwich Polo Club

Hello everyone!

For today’s blog post, I’m going to do something I’ve never done before. I’m going to write about a place that I have never been before and don’t really know anything about, the Greenwich Polo Club. If you’re wondering how this idea came about, it was from one of my friends who said that I would love it and would have incredible things to write in my blogs. So I am going to take her advice and write about a place I have never been to before, learn about it along the way, and hopefully by the end of it, this place that I have driven past many times will become a place that I and all of you reading will want to go to. 

I feel the best way to start writing about it is by explaining its history. It was first established in 1981 by industrialist and art collector Peter Brant, who also started the White Birch Polo Team, and I recently found out that either him or the father of the current owner is married to my friends’ aunt. Since it opened, the club has expanded from one to three fields, and in 2015, Peter Brant honored founding member Peter Busch Orthwein by naming one of the polo fields at the club in his honor. This club is also one of three polo venues in the United States that offers high-goal polo, which means that it’s 20 goals or above, and it also hosts high goal polo matches throughout the summer, with tournaments beginning in June and concluding in September. High-goal matches that are open to the public are held on Sundays throughout the summer, with gates opening at 1:00 and the matches themselves starting at 3:00.
The White Birch Polo Team has also had some considerable accomplishments over the years, as they won their first US Open Polo Championship in 2005, which was the team’s 31st title at the 26 goal level or higher, and they also won all three 26 goal tournaments during the 2005 season in Palm Beach, and they have won more high goal polo tournaments than any other single team in the past 25 years. It has also hosted a number of tournaments over the years, as it used to hold a Connecticut tournament called the Tommy Glynn Cup, the USPA Gold Cup from 2002 to 2005, which the White Birch Polo Team won those three years, and a charity match in May 2013 called the Sentebale Royal Salute Polo Cup. 

Some of the events that they have scheduled for this year include the East Coast Gold Cup, which has already mostly happened, with the last one happening on July 20. On August 24, 31, and September 7, they will be holding the East Coast Open presented by Audi. On September 14, they will be holding the Greenwich Cup, and on September 27 and 28, they will be holding the CSI Greenwich Show Jumping. What will happen on September 27 is the Major League Team Show Jumping, which will consist of three riders per team, two jump-offs, and what the website describes as one thrilling finale. What will happen on September 28 is the Grand Prix, which the website describes as consisting of top-tier competition and a world-class course. There are also three different types of tickets guests can purchase for Sunday matches. They are a standard General Admission Car Pass, tickets that give you access to the players’ lounge, and tickets that give you reserved seating. 

As you can probably guess, there are also several options for food and drinks here as well. There are a total of three cabana packages, which cost $550, $800, and $1,300 each. The foods they offer are Artisanal Cheese and Charcuterie with Flatbreads, Vegetable Crudite with Lemon Tarragon Dip, Assorted Sushi with Wasabi, Soy Sauce, and Pickled Ginger, Jumbo Shrimp Cocktail with Cocktail Sauce, Mustard Sauce, and Lemon, New England Lobster Roll, Hand-Cut Potato Chips with Creamy Onion Dip, Caprese Skewers with Fresh Tomatoes, Mozzarella, and Basil, and a Dessert Platter that features Cookies, Rice Krispie Treats, Brownies, Blondies, and Sour Candy Lips. 

There are also a few food trucks on site as well. The first one is Taco Guy, which features five different types of tacos on their menu. The next one is Dough Girls, which sells seven different types of pizza and three desserts. The next one is called Gyro Uno, which sells three different types of wraps along with several add ons and sampler boxes. The next one is called Caffe Bon, which sells a number of small bites, seven different types of panini sandwiches, gnocchi and pasta, and some desserts. The last truck is Longford’s Ice Cream, which as its name suggests, sells a variety of ice cream flavors.

Overall, this seems like a very interesting place when you learn about it. I am sure that I might visit it someday in the future, and I hope that I have encouraged some of you reading to check it out as well. I would again like to thank my friends one last time for telling me about their connection to the owner’s dad and for just convincing me to write about it!