•Harbingers of Summer
             Concours d'Elegance Makes Ultimate Tailgate Party 
        May 22, 2010…..Portsmouth, RI: …Saturday’s road tour of the 5th annual Newport Concours d 'Elegance made a stop at the polo grounds of Glen Farm in Portsmouth, home of the Newport International Polo Series, to christen to the 2010 polo season.  An exhibition of the sport took place for a handsome collection of tailgaters in the finest fashion and cutting-edge coachwork & design of historic and significant automobiles beneath a backdrop of 26 international flags heralding the arrival of challengers from around the world this summer.
         This confluence of horsepower presented a sneak peak at the 50 or more rare automobiles that descended upon Newport for the weekend, as well as the magnificently athletic thoroughbred polo ponies and the skilled horsemanship of their riders demonstrating the finer points of the game of polo, which first took root on American soil in Newport more than 130 years ago, in the same opulent era that the first American Concourse d ‘Elegance originated in Newport.     (.....continuation of story and images)

•Polo Team Rides Out Chilean Earthquake
February, 2010,  Curico, Chile:  … Just days after winning the Copa International de Curico at the Curico Polo Club in southern Chile, USA players from the Newport Polo Club including Jonathan & Lynne Kaye, Christer & Stephanie Still, and Dennis, Barbara & Jonas Mikolich found themselves running for safety from their collapsing bedrooms  in the dark of night as an 8.8-magnitude earthquake struck the region. For details from the earlier part of the trip, see February (USA vs. Chile).

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•BEACH BLANKET POLO
February 13-14^th, 2010, Newport, RI…. Nearly 1000 spectators lined the snow-dusted dunes of Middletown’s Second Beach on Saturday & Sunday afternoons, to take in Beach Polo, the newest attraction featured in the 22^nd annual Newport Winter Festival.  The lively event was free & open to the public, and Mother Nature gave it her blessing.

Beach Polo featured two competing teams each afternoon playing in 4-chukker matches for about an hour & a half worth of fresh, ionized air and rosy cheeks.   People of all ages enjoyed the spectacle of horsemanship and breath-taking views of one of New England’s finest beaches.   A professional color commentator and DJ gave the play by play, explaining the progress of each match, and entertained the audience with music between periods.  Saturday’s result was: Newport defeated Boston’s ‘Myopia’ 3-1.  Sunday’s result was a 6-6 tie between North Island and South Island teams (Aquidneck Island).    

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•Overseas Report: Destination Ireland
 

Jan. 1, 2010, Wicklow, Ireland ... The annual New Year’s tournament in Ireland added an abbreviated new chapter to its annals.  Team USA received a comfy sendoff by O2 Global Chauffeured Services to launch a whirl-wind tour through Southeastern Ireland that included ancient towers and tomes, cozy pubs, champagne toasts in country manors with friends old and new, and a festive New Year's Eve party to bemuse the challengers.

The Herbst clan greeted team USA, represented by Peter Friedman, Minnie Keating and Dan Keating & company with plenty of warm embraces and soulful Irish fare and adventure each day.  The Polo Club at Wicklow is a busy place year-round with the finest polo arena the world over, perched high atop Kilpool Hill overlooking the Irish Sea. It's finely-tuned thoroughbred ponies and ever-present, witty cast of characters gave the Americans a run for the coveted trophy. 

A snowy winter, such as hasn't been seen in over a generation, blanketed the Wicklow mountains and all the region, chilling any hopes of fox hunting, to the relief of the fox population, as well as putting the opening rounds of the tournament on ice.  A foot-mallet polo contest ensued on the golden sands of nearby Brittas Beach, foreshadowing the Irish polo prowess, followed by plenty of merry making and Guinness on tap to abate the mob.

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The third and final match was rescued from the clutches of Old Man Winter, and out came Peter and the Keatings on Polo Wicklow's finest polo ponies to play a 6-chukker match against a dizzying Irish rotation of Robert Patton, Keith Robertson, Tim Bearpark, Siobhan Herbst and Mickie Herbst.  For the complete match report and action photos, go to the January calendar.

Other noteworthy Irish wonders along the way included the 6th century tower of Glendalough, the Powerscourt Manor & Gardens, the notorious Wicklow Jail, the breath-taking countryside & estates of Roundwood, the snow-covered landscapes and frozen lakes of the Wicklow Mountains, Humewood Castle - the most famous Victorian style of Ireland's hundreds of castles, and the c. 800 Celtic Book of Kells at Trinity College in Dublin.

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