COMMENT: Polo's intricacies no longer a mystery

As a sports writer and lifelong sports enthusiast, I’ve been to my share of games and matches.

Of course, there are the obvious: football, basketball and baseball. And the not so obvious: lacrosse, weightlifting and cheerleading and gymnastics. And even the really obscure: field hockey, Ultimate Frisbee and cricket.

Yes, I’ve been to them all and then some. But in all my years of covering athletics, there’s one sport that has eluded me.

Polo.

Perhaps it’s because I never had seen the sport until I moved to Lakewood Ranch. Or maybe it’s because I didn’t know anyone who played it. But no matter what the reason, I finally can add polo to my lengthy list of sporting events.

Sure, I’ve been to the Sarasota Polo Club numerous times over the past five years to write stories on the upcoming season, a new program or a player. I’ve even been out to the fields on many Sunday afternoons to take pictures of tailgaters.

But, I never had a chance to pay attention to what was actually happening on the field.

Until now.

After snapping a few photos of tailgaters and some action shots for this week’s edition, I sat down to take in a few chukkers.

I’d like to thankPolo Operations Manager Rebecca Gutierrez, who was kind enough to give me a detailed polo refresher course to help with our weekly polo coverage. With her help, I was able not only to capture the action with my camera but also follow exactly what was going on out on the field.

And who knows? Maybe one day, I’ll trade my camera and notepad for a helmet and mallet.

It sure looks like fun.