The history of polo in Colorado Springs: the Broadmoor Polo Association -- The Penrose Polo Park (Elm Avenue and Polo Drive).

Speranza


The U.S. Polo Association organized in 1890.

The first polo match in the Pikes Peak region was played in the 1890s at Cheyenne Mountain Country Club at the city’s south edge, which was also one of the earliest polo clubs in the West.

A handful of people can be credited for bringing the Sport of Kings to Colorado.

Speck Penrose likewise installed polo fields near his world famous Broadmoor hotel, added barns and raised a few ponies.

Three sites stand out in the Colorado polo story: Colorado Springs, Glenwood Springs, and Denver.

Colorado Springs and the Broadmoor blossomed into a premier polo centre, cultivated by Speck Penrose.


Passion for equestrian pursuits was heightened by Easterners who flocked to Colorado Springs and brought their taste for equestrian pasttimes such as trail rides, jumping and fox hunting.

The city’s founder Gen. William Jackson Palmer was also a horseman, and honored by a downtown bronze statue of him astride his steed.

There is a photograph of two teams of polo players in Colorado Springs, possibly the 1906 match that celebrated the Pike Expedition centennial celebration. 

The photo is by Louis McClure.

An early Colorado Springs polo event was a tournament during the 1906 Zebulon Pike Centennial Celebration.

Four teams participated:

i) Cheyenne Mountain Country Club
ii) Denver Country Club
iii) Sheridan (Wyoming) Polo Ranch, and
iv) United States 10th Cavalry.

The sport was spurred further in 1912 when the Army Polo Association became part of USPA.

By 1914, there were 17 Army stations playing sanctioned polo, many in the West.



Polo’s popularity took off during the roaring twenties.

Celebrities enjoyed and promoted the sport, among them Oklahoma humorist Will Rogers.

The Broadmoor became a major polo centre with stables for more than 400 horses.

Quite a few guests brought their own ponies.

Speck Penrose installed FOUR 900’ x 1800’ polo fields for sportsmen who sought the cool summers in the Colorado Rockies.

He groomed a Broadmoor gentlemen's polo gteam and sent it East for national competitions.

Accentuating dashing image, innkeeper Penrose pulled on his jodhpurs and donned his Stetson to ride horseback, making his daily rounds to oversee the Broadmoor and surrounding grounds.

Locals enthusiastically embraced the sport, organizing "The Broadmoor Polo Association" and applauding when "The Penrose Polo Park" with grandstand opened at Elm Avenue and Polo Avenue.

The 1920s saw outdoor sports in Colorado blossoming, popularised by vacationing movie stars and aided by the efforts of the Colorado Mountain Club.

Tourists took pleasure in trail rides, picnics, pack trips and backcountry hunting and jodhpurs became the stylish choice for the trail.

Polo declined in the thirties due to the Depression and sunk further during World War II as horse stock was depleted by the war.

The Broadmoor polo auditorium was converted into an indoor ice arena for figure skating.

Not until the 1960s did polo see a revival.

Polo clubs active in Colorado today include:

The Aspen Valley Polo Club
The Boulder Polo Club
The Colorado Springs Polo Club and
Colorado State University Polo Club.

Also Columbine Polo & Equestrian Center (Littleton), R & L Farms Polo Club (Elizabeth), Red Rock Rangers Polo Club (Larkspur), Roaring Fork Polo Club (New Castle) and Rose Spur Polo Club (Snowmass).

The Roaring Fork Polo Club west of Glenwood Springs hosts the Devereux Cup.


Named for the founder of the historic Hotel Colorado, the end-of-August event attracts more than 1,000 spectators for the round-robin matches.


The Denver Polo Club operates fields and barns 30 miles south of Denver beside Plum Creek.


The annual Denver Polo Classic is world-class polo.

The three days of entertainment, sport, and culinary delights held at majestic Polo Reserve in Littleton against the spectacular backdrop of the Rocky Mountains with Schomp BMW as the major sponsor.