South Bay Polo Club brings the Sport of Kings to the masses in Gilroy – San Jose Mercury News

GILROY — They call polo the Sport of Kings.

But there wasn’t a trace of royalty Saturday morning at the South Bay Polo club’s fourth annual Garlic Cup tournament in Gilroy.

There was the smell of horses. There was a margarita machine. There were several rusting tractors and trailers. There was, however, not a king in sight.

“We want to introduce people to the sport, either as spectators or participants,” club member Terry Reilly said as he watched the first of a weekend full of matches. “And we’re trying to lower the bar and make polo less elitist.”

By presenting polo as a sport anyone can enjoy without having royal blood or a ton of money, the humble little club, which has about 20 members and holds its matches at the 33-acre South Bay Horse Ranch on Masten Avenue, is working to undo centuries of tradition drenched in blue blood.

Since its earliest origins, probably in the sixth century B.C. and likely in Persia, the modern version of field polo popularized by the colonial British in India came with all the trappings of the elite: fine and expensive horses, exclusive clubs with elegant grounds, and strict codes of conduct that turned fastidiousness into an art form.

But as polo has gained in popularity in the U.S. since the 1980s — and more of the hoi polloi have been taking bottom to saddle and mallet to ball — clubs like South Bay have a fighting chance to share their love of the game with the world. And oh how they love batting the baseball-size plastic ball up and down the field with their wooden mallets, perched high on retired racehorses.

Francesca Finato, the club’s manager who was umpiring Saturday’s first match, said polo “is not just for the elite anymore. It’s attainable now for anyone with a bit of extra income. You don’t even have to own your own horse, and it’s something you can do in your spare time.

“We’re a low-budget club,” she said, “and we’re here for anybody who wants to come out and blow off some steam.”

The players on horseback on the field with Finato ranged in age from 13 to 65. Some were professionals, but many were students who routinely make the trek to Gilroy from Stanford and the Central Coast to spend weekends with people who share their love of the sport.

Finato said the ranch is open to the public and anyone can take polo classes, rent a horse and play, or simply enjoy the famous barbecue lunches served up beside the field while others bash the ball around.

“Everyone here is like a big family,” said Camilla McFall. The 13-year-old’s dad, Brian, originally hails from Cordova, Argentina, and bought the Gilroy ranch a few months ago with some associates.

Camilla was about to mount her horse, Coco, and join the action on the field. “It’s hard to describe what it’s like to be out there,” she said. “It’s scary at first, but after you play awhile you just get the hang of it.”

A 71/2-minute-long chukka, or a quarter of the match, “can seem like an hour — and time just goes away.”

The weekend tournament, whose winner takes home a silver cup stuffed with strands of garlic bulbs, is expected to draw 50 players and as many as 200 spectators. Guests pay $5 per car to enter and $15 for a barbecue lunch on the patio.

Said Finato: “Out motto is ‘Come for the polo, stay for the party.’ “

Contact Patrick May at 408-920-5689 or follow him at Twitter.com/patmaymerc.