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BoB packert Looking Forward rich with history, Myopia polo changes focus to a Bright future By Lindsay Lambert order to attract potential new players is by enhancing Myopia's educational programs. "Some of the advancements we're making over the course of this year and going forward will be in training," he says. "We've got some great polo coaches: We've got Rory Torrey coming back, who will be a certified polo teacher. We've got Cissie Snow rejoining us, who is, frankly, one of the best polo coaches in the coun- try." And as for a, well, classroom in which those new pupils can learn, "We've got a facility to train new players," Colloredo- Mansfeld says, referring to Myopia's arena, located just across from the club. "We have invested in that facility—we had a group of volunteers raise funds for that facility and it's been fixed up over the last couple of years. It's a great facility for novices. So we're going to use that and try to encourage people to take lessons and to join us, to find out about polo and, hopefully, get hooked." In the mean time, this season, specta- At Myopia Polo, players and specta- tors possess the distinct honor of enjoying the sport on America's oldest active polo grounds: Gibney Field. Myopia's is a his- tory its members and athletes know well, beginning with that first match between Myopia and Dedham in a pasture on the Gibney family's farm in September 1888 and continuing with Myopia's joining of the then newly formed Polo Association of America just two years later. Today, in its 123rd season, Myopia remains a treasured landmark, sporting ground, and gathering place in the Hamil- ton community. But rather than resting on those laurels, insiders at the club are more determined than ever to increase aware- 26 Myopia polo 2011 ness of the sport—that includes piquing the interest of a new crop of players—and to render Myopia's facilities among polo's best. These objectives, says 2011 co-captain Franz Colloredo-Mansfeld, can be accom- plished in a number of ways. "Myopia has a long history in polo, as well as a reputation for high-quality polo," says Colloredo-Mansfeld, adding that, go- ing forward, he'd like to see Myopia "strike a balance between that history and to maintain that high-quality polo, but also to open up the sport to attract some younger members. I'd like to get more children play- ing polo, as well as newer players." One of the tactics Colloredo-Mansfeld and his colleagues have employed in tors can expect action-packed matches at the hands of both some familiar and fresh faces on the field—ones Colloredo-Mans- feld suspects might eventually go on to represent the sport on a more widely reach- ing level. "We have a couple of very strong players who graduated from our program, and we have some younger players now," he says, going on to cite Nick Snow and Will Tankard, two young athletes who also are now members of the U.S. Polo Team. "We're really trying to encourage these players that have national aspirations, which is part of the efforts of the USPA." Until then, members of the Myopia community can sit back and relax on the sidelines and watch history as it's made.