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The Cheyenne Mountain Country Club is located in Colorado Springs, Colorado at the mouth of Cheyenne Canyon.
| Athletics club | |
| Founded | 1891 |
|---|---|
Contents
[hide]History[edit]
Club founded[edit]
The Cheyenne Mountain Country Club Association was founded on February 19, 1891.[1][2] The founders were successful men or came from wealthy families, many of whom came to Colorado for the climate and high altitude as a means to improve their health.[2][nb 1]Two years prior, in April 1889, a country club was created that offered members facilities for polo, golf, cricket, equestrian riding, shooting, horse racing, shooting and bowling facilities. William A. Otis sold the club a casino and property for the country club in 1891. The club then became the Cheyenne Mountain Country Club.[1]
Early years[edit]
William H. Sanford was the Cheyenne Mountain Country Club's first president and was head of the Polo Committee. Foxhall P. Keene joined the team as a non-resident player in 1896. President Theodore Roosevelt, Harry Payne Whitney and John Percival "Percy" Hagerman played on the club's polo fields.[2]Members—who came from England, Europe, and the east coast of the United States—were called "Grizzlies". They were generally socialites and businessmen in mining or other industries.[1] By the 1890s, a trolley system was inaugurated to run from downtown Colorado Springs to the Broadmoor Casino and the Cheyenne Mountain Country Club.[citation needed] In 1893, Spencer Penrose was made a member.[2]
Chester Alan Arthur II was president of Cheyenne Mountain Country Club between 1905 and 1908. He also provided funding for facilities at the club.[1] Richard Bolles was the country club's president for 6 years.[3]
At one time the club used live birds for shooting events and docked polo ponies tails; To address concerns about humane treatment the club switched to clay pigeons for shooting and discontinued docking ponies tails.[2]
The club won the Rocky Mountain Polo Championship and the Interstate Polo Club trophy in 1906 and 1907.[2]
Broadmoor Hotel[edit]
Spencer Penrose built the "premier golfing resort", Broadmoor Hotel near the country club.[2] To further attract patrons to the hotel, Penrose developed a polo team. As a result of the Broadmoor Hotel's success, country club has not had the notoriety of its early years.[4]Club facilities[edit]
Polo is no longer played at the country club. As an homage to the club's polo-playing history, there is an exhibit with the Foxhall Keene Cup.[5]Notes[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d Steve Bogener (2003). Ditches Across the Desert: Irrigation in the Lower Pecos Valley. Texas Tech University Press. p. 30. ISBN 978-0-89672-509-6. Retrieved 10 June 2013.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h Horace A. Laffaye (March 2011). Polo in the United States: A History. McFarland. pp. 37–38. ISBN 978-0-7864-8007-4. Retrieved June 11, 2013.
- Jump up ^ Steve Bogener (2003). Ditches Across the Desert: Irrigation in the Lower Pecos Valley. Texas Tech University Press. p. 41. ISBN 978-0-89672-509-6. Retrieved 10 June 2013.
- Jump up ^ Horace A. Laffaye (March 2011). Polo in the United States: A History. McFarland. p. 82. ISBN 978-0-7864-8007-4. Retrieved June 11, 2013.
- Jump up ^ Horace A. Laffaye (March 2011). Polo in the United States: A History. McFarland. p. ix. ISBN 978-0-7864-8007-4. Retrieved June 11, 2013.
Further reading[edit]
- Cheyenne Mountain Country Club (1901). The Cheyenne Mountain Country Club.
- Marshall Sprague (1983). The Grizzlies: A History. The Cheyenne Mountain Country Club. Cheyenne Mountain Country Club.
- Percy Hagerman (1947). The Cheyenne Mountain Country Club: The First Twenty-five Years, 1891-1916.
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