- April 23, 2024
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Hanna Hornung of North South Wealth Management/Avalon Farms watches her shot soar into the goal to start the scoring April 23 in a match at the Sarasota Polo Club.
Photo by Jay HeaterStuart Campbell of North South Wealth Management/Avalon Farms rips a backhanded shot past Devin Vass of Whiskey Pond/Columbus Realty and through the goal posts.
Photo by Jay HeaterSarasota's Tobias Kelly, 7, makes a friend in a miniature horse owned by Joe and Olga Zarlenga at the Sarasota Polo Club.
Photo by Jay HeaterMargaux Buchanan of North South Wealth Management/Avalon Farms salutes the crowd at the Sarasota Polo Club.
Photo by Jay HeaterScott Benson, Olivia Rushmore and Kiernan Lemmons warm up for polo with a cartwheel race at the Sarasota Polo Club.
Photo by Jay HeaterStuart Campbell of North South Wealth Management/Avalon Farms launches a shot in front of Devin Vass of Whiskey Pond/Columbus Realty.
Photo by Jay HeaterThe Fly a Kite day at the Sarasota Polo Club on Sunday raised money for the Children's Cancer Center.
Photo by Jay HeaterSarasota's Debby Greer, Sarasota's Nella Travers, Lakewood Ranch's Carol Frazier, and Lakewood Ranch's Tracy Day take a break from tailgating to take a photo.
Photo by Jay HeaterHeather Anderson, Raine Arce, Angela Stickler, Alison Selzler, Nichole Adamo, Camila Ward, Sharon Klein, Kelli Schack, and Mika Schack gather to celebrate Selzler's 40th birthday.
Photo by Jay HeaterKaren Medford, center with champagne, celebrates her birthday at the Sarasota Polo Club. Her friends and family are holding up four fingers as she is 40-something.
Photo by Jay HeaterJoe and Olga Zarlenga brought their miniature horse to the Sarasota Polo Club Sunday on Fly a Kite day to support the Children's Cancer Center. They said the horse would attraction attention to the cause.
Photo by Jay HeaterWhiskey Pond/Columbus Realty's Devin Vass launches a shot at the Sarasota Polo Club on Sunday.
Photo by Jay HeaterLakewood Ranch's Dominik Schack, 2, finds a good use for the Sarasota Polo Club field before the horses come out.
Photo by Jay HeaterHanna Hornung has her hands full during Sunday's match at the Sarasota Polo Club.
Photo by Jay HeaterNorth South Wealth Management/Avalon Farms' Martin Eddy races for the ball against Whiskey Pond/Columbus Realty's Devin Vass.
Photo by Jay HeaterWhiskey Pond/Columbus Realty's Brent Hamill says he will play at next Sunday's season finale at the Sarasota Polo Club and then will take most of the summer off.
Photo by Jay HeaterSarasota's Kristina Vorndran and Cal Smith become front page news at the Sarasota Polo Club.
Photo by Jay HeaterWhiskey Pond/Columbus Realty's Devin Vass breaks away with North South Wealth Management/Avalon Farms' Hanna Hornung in pursuit during Sunday's match at the Sarasota Polo Club.
Photo by Jay HeaterWhiskey Pond/Columbus Realty's Davin Voss slaps hands with the fans.
Photo by Jay HeaterRiley Bloom of the Music Compound belts out the Star-Spangled Banner before the match at the Sarasota Polo Club.
Photo by Jay HeaterWhisky Pond/Columbus Realty's Guille Aguero drives a shot down the field at the Sarasota Polo Club.
Photo by Jay HeaterEvery inch of the sideline was covered with tailgaters on Sunday at the Sarasota Polo Club. Next Sunday is the final Sunday match of the season.
Photo by Jay HeaterMargaux Buchanan of the North South Wealth Management Avalon Farms team slaps hands with the fans before Sunday's match at the Sarasota Polo Club.
Photo by Jay HeaterThe remaining charred structure of the Sarasota Polo Club clubhouse, which burned in January, was cleared away this past week, leaving only a flag and dirt where it once stood.
Photo by Jay HeaterMatt Lemmons moved with his family to Lakewood Ranch in 2007, but he brought them to the Sarasota Polo Club for the first time April 23.
"Since 2007, we have passed it a bunch," Lemmons said. "These are beautiful grounds, and it has a cool vibe. We will come back."
The Lemmons family only will have one more chance until December as the season concludes April 30.
Lakewood Ranch's Chris Schack said the season went past in a snap.
"The season begins (in January) and you are going through playoff football, and next thing you know it's 100 degrees out. We only went three times during the season and we should be going more. They do such an amazing job with this place. It is one of the reasons we love living in Lakewood Ranch."
East County's Alison Selzler was celebrating her 40th birthday with family and friends at the polo fields on April 23.
"I ride horses — not polo — so we love coming here," she said.
For the first Sunday since a fire destroyed the clubhouse on the west end of the main field in January, the charred remains of the clubhouse had been removed. No rebuilding plans have been announced yet by James and Misdee Miller.
"I can't wait to see what they will do with it," Selzler said.
Lakewood Ranch's Tracy Day and Carol Frazier and Sarasota's Debby Greer and Nella Travers became friends when they all joined 3 Form Fitness in Waterside Place to work out. They began going to dinner together, but they wanted to do something different, so they planned a trip to the polo club with their husbands and a few other friends they have met through the workouts.
Frazier said they brought their husbands to the polo club "to carry their coolers."
She said the group was having a wonderful time and added that they would plan better next season so they could attend it more.
"We are learning from those who are around us," she said of the many tailgaters.
"Watching horses, who doesn't like that?" said Travers, who was wearing a hat covered with red flowers that she had made for a Kentucky Derby fundraiser last year.
Hanna Hornung, a 14-year-old who played for the North South Wealth Management/ Avalon Farms team in the April 23 main match and will play again on the final day of the season April 30, said she is looking forward to next season so she can continue her improvement.
"I definitely want to keep playing," she said before the April 23 match. "I just need more training, and to play more games."
She scored the game's first goal on April 23.
Brent Hamill, who owns a ranch at the polo club, scored the game's second goal for the Whiskey Pond/Columbus Realty team, said he will take most of the summer off before getting some specialized polo instruction and then playing in Argentina in the fall.
"It's amazing how fast the season goes," he said.
It was Hamill who called 911 after seeing smoke the night the clubhouse burned.
"I was so sorry to see that," he said, saying the Millers' renovation of the building had just been completed and was beautiful.
Like many of the Sarasota Polo Club members, he said he is very interested to see if the Millers rebuild the clubhouse at its current spot or if they make some changes.
