There are sports you watch, and then there are sports you feel.
Polo is most certainly the latter.
I have attended polo matches in the Hamptons, Palm Beach, Croatia and other destinations, yet on Sunday, September 6, 2026, I discovered something particularly captivating at Greenwich Polo Club. Here, barely beyond New York City, one of the world’s oldest sports becomes something thoroughly modern: an exhilarating combination of equestrian athleticism, fashion, food, luxury, family entertainment and social connection.
And American polo appears to be having a moment.
From the USPA National Polo Center in Wellington, Florida, home of the U.S. Open Polo Championship, to California’s Santa Barbara Polo & Racquet Club, the Hamptons summer polo scene and Greenwich’s celebrated Sunday matches, polo is finding an audience that extends far beyond longtime devotees of the sport.
In 2026, the U.S. Open in Florida concluded before a record crowd, while Greenwich’s summer calendar culminated in the prestigious East Coast Open, the only high-goal tournament on the East Coast during the summer season.
That renewed energy makes sense once you experience polo in person.
From Ancient Warriors to the American Polo Field
Few sports arrive with a pedigree quite like this one.
Polo’s ancestry stretches back more than two millennia. The Museum of Polo and Hall of Fame traces its origins to mounted peoples of Central Asia and its development in Persia, where the game became associated with nobility, cavalry training and extraordinary horsemanship. The modern game subsequently developed in India before spreading through British influence around the world.
America joined the story in 1876, when newspaper publisher James Gordon Bennett brought equipment and the Hurlingham rules back from England. Polo quickly took root in New York and Newport, and by 1890 the organization that became the United States Polo Association had been established. Today, the Museum of Polo reports more than 275 USPA-affiliated clubs and over 4,500 registered players.
Yet despite all that history, polo feels remarkably visceral and contemporary from the sidelines.
Four riders compete on each team, racing across an enormous field while attempting to strike the ball through the opposing goal. What sounds relatively straightforward becomes breathtaking when executed at speed.
The horses are magnificent.
Forget any diminutive image suggested by the traditional expression “polo pony.” These are elite equine athletes—powerful, muscular, astonishingly agile and exceptionally trained.
Watching from field-side, you don’t simply hear the horses approaching. You feel them.
The thunderous rhythm of hooves grows louder until the ground seems almost to vibrate beneath you. A group of horses can be charging in one direction at tremendous speed and, moments later, turn as their riders reposition for the next play.
There is beauty, strength and controlled aggression in the movement.
The players, meanwhile, display extraordinary balance and courage. They control their mounts while reading the field, anticipating opponents and swinging long mallets at a moving ball—often while leaning dramatically out of the saddle.
Horse and rider become a single athletic unit.
The Superstars of Today’s American High-Goal Circuit
America’s 2026 high-goal season attracted many of the greatest players in contemporary polo.
Among the elite 10-goal players competing in the United States were Camilo “Jeta” Castagnola, Tomás Panelo and Hilario Ulloa, alongside other extraordinary 10-goal names including Adolfo Cambiaso, Poroto Cambiaso and Barto Castagnola. The 10-goal handicap represents polo’s highest competitive echelon.
Pictured above: Camilo “Jeta” Castagnola, the 23-year-old Argentine polo star and 10-goal player from Cañuelas, Argentina. A member of polo’s celebrated Castagnola family, Jeta competes for La Natividad–La Dolfina, alongside his brother Barto Castagnola, cousin Poroto Cambiaso and uncle Adolfo Cambiaso.
At the 2026 U.S. Open, Jeta Castagnola played for Pilot, while Panelo represented BTA. Pilot ultimately captured the championship 15–10.
It is that caliber of international talent that has helped make the United States one of polo’s great contemporary stages.
The Hilario Ulloa Legacy at Greenwich
Greenwich Polo Club’s own story began in 1981, when businessman, art collector and polo patron Peter Brant established the club.
It became home to Brant’s legendary White Birch Polo Team, one of the most successful organizations in the history of high-goal polo. Over the decades, Greenwich’s fields have welcomed such internationally recognized players as Mariano Aguerre, Facundo Pieres, Hilario Ulloa and Nacho Figueras.
In 2026, the club celebrated its 45th season.
Its marquee late-summer competition was the East Coast Open Presented by Audi, staged from August 30 through September 13. The competition featured FlyHouse, Audi, Las Brisas and IGEA.
And that is precisely the tournament I walked into on September 6.
A September Sunday I Won’t Soon Forget
There was something magical about the day from the moment I arrived.
It was one of those beautiful September afternoons when summer hasn’t quite surrendered to autumn. The field stretched out in brilliant green, horses and riders provided the movement and spectacle, and the crowd brought its own considerable sense of theater.
I had been invited as press, with Lawlor Media Group, founded by Norah Lawlor, hosting a tent for invited editors, television journalists and other members of the media covering the event.
It became a wonderful home base from which to experience the afternoon.
A Season Building Toward the East Coast Open
By the time I arrived at Greenwich on September 6, the 2026 season had already produced its share of high-goal drama. Beginning in June, the club’s summer calendar moved through the American Cup, East Coast Silver Cup and East Coast Gold Cup before reaching the prestigious East Coast Open Presented by Audi, a tournament whose history stretches back to 1978 and which is contested for the historic Perry Trophy, dating to 1905. The Silver Cup alone demonstrated just how fiercely competitive Greenwich polo can be: FlyHouse, the defending 2025 East Coast Open champion, ultimately captured the trophy in a thrilling 15–14 sudden-death overtime victory over Round Hill before a sold-out crowd. By September, the stage was set for the East Coast Open and a field that included FlyHouse, Audi, Las Brisas and IGEA—making my September 6 visit far more than simply a fashionable Sunday afternoon at polo; I had arrived during one of the most important stretches of Greenwich’s sporting season.
There I was, sipping a chilled glass of Sancerre, watching polo, talking with fellow members of the press and mingling with guests, while horses thundered across the field only a short distance away.
For a moment, it felt less like attending a sporting event and more like stepping into an idyllic September garden party—except this garden party happened to have world-class polo taking place in front of us.
That duality is what I found so compelling about Greenwich.
And Then There Was the Fashion
Naturally, I watched the clothes.
Polo has always possessed a sartorial vocabulary of its own, but Greenwich spectators seemed to understand that dressing for the occasion should be elegant without appearing overly considered.
The men embraced an elevated version of American summer dressing: sport coats, lightweight trousers, crisp shirts, polos, loafers, sunglasses and beautifully chosen accessories. There was tailoring, certainly, but little stiffness.
Women brought considerably more color and movement to the field. I noticed flowing dresses, sophisticated prints, summer hats, polished handbags, jewelry and sunglasses. The best looks balanced glamour with practicality—you are, after all, spending an afternoon outdoors and potentially walking onto a polo field.
Even the children were wonderfully dressed, from miniature polos and smart shorts to summer dresses and charming accessories.
It gave the afternoon the feeling of a family occasion rather than an exclusive enclave.
And Greenwich genuinely welcomes families. Children under 12 do not require admission tickets, and even well-behaved dogs are welcome on leash.
Shopping, Jewelry, Food Trucks—and Horses Helping Horses
Between the action on the field, there was plenty to explore.
The polo grounds incorporated a lively retail experience, with pop-up boutiques and vendors turning the sidelines into an outdoor shopping village. The 2026 season included 914PopUps, and vendors during the East Coast Open period included businesses such as The Constance Collective, whose handmade jewelry and charm bar became a popular attraction.
That retail component is another reason Greenwich feels contemporary. One can watch a chukker, browse jewelry or fashion, meet an emerging entrepreneur and then wander over for something to eat.
And there is plenty to eat.
Greenwich brings in gourmet food trucks, while The Cup Bearer operates bar service and Marcia Selden Catering provides additional hospitality options.
The result is wonderfully democratic. You can arrive ready for an elevated VIP afternoon or create your own relaxed field-side picnic.
Equally meaningful was the presence of organizations devoted to horses themselves.
Rising Starr Horse Rescue, based in Wilton, Connecticut, participated at Greenwich during the 2026 season. Its mission is to rescue, rehabilitate, retrain and rehome abandoned, neglected and abused horses.
Rising Starr and Old Friends Equine Rescue were ultimately named charitable beneficiaries associated with the East Coast Open final.
At an event celebrating the remarkable capabilities of horses, that connection felt particularly appropriate.
Where Sport Meets Business
There is another element of Greenwich Polo Club that shouldn’t be ignored: networking.
Look around the field and you find entrepreneurs, executives, investors, philanthropists, creatives, journalists and business leaders alongside serious polo followers and families.
But unlike a formal networking event, nobody seems to be trying particularly hard to network.
That is precisely why it works.
A conversation begins over a glass of wine. Someone introduces a friend. You meet a business owner at a pop-up. An editor speaks with an entrepreneur. People exchange cards or social contacts. An afternoon centered around sport creates the environment in which relationships can form organically.
Greenwich itself recognizes this value, offering corporate hospitality and brand partnerships built around entertaining guests and creating engagement.
In an era when so much professional communication takes place through screens, there is something refreshing about discovering that a conversation beside a polo field can still become the foundation of a friendship, collaboration—or perhaps a future business.
Luxury Brands Have Taken Notice
The commercial partners surrounding Greenwich also reveal the audience the club attracts.
The 2026 sponsor roster included Audi, Interactive Brokers, Hospital for Special Surgery, U.S. Bank Private Wealth Management, Barbados Tourism Marketing, FlyHouse, UBS, COVQ, Morano Group Landscapes, U.S. Polo Assn., La Suite Skincare and others.
U.S. Polo Assn. also became Greenwich Polo Club’s Official Apparel Brand Sponsor for the first time in 2026, strengthening the connection between the competitive sport and the lifestyle it has inspired.
An Escape From Manhattan
Perhaps the greatest surprise is how accessible all this is from New York City.
Greenwich Polo Club is located at 1 Hurlingham Drive in Greenwich, Connecticut, and the club describes itself as just a short train ride and Uber trip from Manhattan.
That makes it a terrific alternative to another conventional Sunday brunch.
Bring friends. Bring the family. Make it a date. Dress beautifully. Have lunch. Browse the pop-ups. Order a cocktail or glass of wine. Watch the horses. Meet someone new.
For Sunday polo, gates traditionally open at 1 p.m., with play beginning around 3 p.m. and concluding around 5 p.m.
The 2026 polo season has now concluded, but Greenwich isn’t finished with horses this year: CSI Greenwich arrives September 26 and 27, bringing international show jumping, food trucks, craft cocktails and shopping from artisan and luxury vendors back to the grounds.
For future polo dates, tickets, seating, weather updates and event information, readers should go directly to the Greenwich Polo Club official website or contact the club at info@greenwichpoloclub.com. For media inquiries, Norah Lawlor and Lawlor Media Group handle Greenwich Polo Club publicity and can be reached at 212-967-6900.
Why Polo—and Why Now?
By the time I finished my Sancerre and watched the final horses leave the field, I understood something about polo’s renewed appeal.
Perhaps Americans aren’t simply rediscovering polo.
Perhaps we are rediscovering the pleasure of going somewhere.
Of dressing for an occasion. Of spending an afternoon outdoors. Of meeting strangers. Of watching extraordinary athletes without staring at a screen. Of bringing children somewhere that exposes them to animals, sport and tradition. Of sharing food and wine with friends.
And, above all, of witnessing the extraordinary partnership between human beings and horses.
I arrived at Greenwich Polo Club expecting excellent polo.
What I discovered was an entire lifestyle built around it.
The pounding hooves, magnificent horses and fearless riders provide the adrenaline. The dresses, jackets, jewelry and hats provide the fashion. The pop-ups, food trucks and wine provide the pleasure. The families provide warmth. The entrepreneurs, editors and business leaders provide conversation.
And Greenwich provides the setting.
On a beautiful September Sunday, with a glass of Sancerre in hand and some of the world’s finest equine athletes thundering past me, the Sport of Kings suddenly felt remarkably of-the-moment.
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