Sugarbush Polo Club is the oldest polo club in Vermont and has been the inspiration for the clubs that have followed. The first polo was a little sketchy. Some forty years ago, a group of Mad River Valley skiers, unsure what to do with themselves in non-ski season, stuck Styrofoam balls on the ends of their ski poles and gathered on the front lawn of the Alpine Inn to whack large balls around. Although the polo wasn’t much, they attracted a crowd of interested onlookers.

It wasn’t long before the players began to acquire real mallets (made of cane) and polo balls (now made of wood or plastic); from then on, the club took on a life of its own. Of those early members, two – Arthur Williams and Holly Ward – are still playing.

Over the years, the club’s membership has waxed and waned, including local people as well as urbanites who made the trek to Vermont every weekend. At one time, the club boasted five fields and a full two dozen members. In recent years, many of the members have hailed from the Champlain Valley, and Sugarbush Polo has developed a beautiful, tournament-sized field just east of Middlebury. However, largely because of tradition, the name Sugarbush Polo Club endures.

We are a club that welcomes both spectators and new players. Indeed, we love to recruit polo prospects such that Sugarbush Polo will remain a vital entity for the next forty years and beyond. So please, if you’re interested call us.