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going out and buying a 'made'
polo pony"
The term "polo pony" is ac-
tually a misnomer, left over
from the early days of polo
when small horses were used.
Thoroughbreds and quarter
horses make the best polo
horses, but the name "pony"
has stuck.
"Polo is 60 to 70 percent
horse," says Kalt. "You take a
mediocre-type player and put
him on a bad horse, he's out
of the - game. In the same
respect, if you can give him a
good horse, that person will
be able to look really good:'
But the horse must be led by
the rider.
"Contrary to popular
belief," says Gray, "the horse
does not follow the ball. Some
of them will ride straight and
true - and they'll look like
they're following the ball. But
they're just finely tuned
horses and they're guided by
the rider's leg motions, the
shifting of the weight."
Since horses require care
year-round, polo is an expen-
sive sport. Training your
horses helps minimize the
cost. But Gray estimates that
to play polo in Michigan, with
a five-month season, the cost
ranges from $5,000 to
$100,000. The variables in-
clude the number of horses,
the number of people who
work with the horses and the
qualifications of those people.
In warmer climates, polo is
played year-round. Gray, a
chiropractor, recently took a
two-year sabbatical, moved to
Arizona and did little but
play polo. He returned to
Michigan this year. "I like
polo that much," he explains.
"I just wanted to take the
time off while I was still
young enough to enjoy it."
Polo players can compete in-
to their 70s, because the horse
is a player's legs. "Unless you
have very bad arthritis of the
knees or something like that,
you can keep going on in-
definitely," says Gray.
Gray points out another
unique aspect of polo.
"You can own a football or
a baseball team, but you can't
go on the field and play with
them. The advantage to polo
is, say somebody's got a lot of
money, they can field a very
competitive, internationally
and/or nationally ranked
team and be on that team.
That's one of the attractions
of the game — you're playing
with professional players.
Even as an amateur, I still
play with professional
players. So the competition is
keen?'
Glazer, a family practice
physician, says polo is good
aerobic exercise. "I would
compare a game, which lasts
the better part of an hour, to
a pretty intermediate game of
racquetball of maybe a good
tennis match?' He also enjoys
"the physical relaxation, the
involvement with the horses
and various other benefits of
hoige activity."
On the negative side, polo
can be dangerous. "Anything
you do on top of a horse," says
Glazer, "You have a risk of
coming off and that is the
number one risk involved.
We've all been hit by the ball.
If you're hit on the hand, the
bones in the hand are broken
very easily."
Polo players wear helmets
and knee pads. Face masks
are optional. Glazer compares
the rate of injury to that of ice
hockey.
There are no special ties
between polo and the Jewish
community. "There are
Jewish people all over the
country that are playing"
says Glazer.
Jewish membership in the
Detroit Polo Club has been a
steady 15 to 20 percent of its
20-25 member field in recent
years. --
"It's not a game for
everybody," says Gray. "You
have to really like horses,
number one. I think that's the
premier aspect of the game.
And the competition — you
have to really like competi-
tion in real life."
Despite its dangerous
aspects, the sport does have a
genteel side. Clubs such as
the Detroit Polo Club put on
many benefits. The crowd at
such benefits is a bit more
dressy than the typical,
tailgating polo audience.
There is also a more refined
image in U.S. polo due, says
Glazer.
"There is a definite
aristocratic influence that
has come into the sport. And
our club has changed over the
19 or 20 years that I've been
involved. We're constructing a
new image, of sorts, to match
up with a - lot of the clubs
around the country . . . It's
less blue jeans and cowboy
boots and more jodhpurs and
field boots."
Although the aristocratic
image may not play well in a
blue-collar city like Detroit,
polo's halftime tradition
makes it more down-to-earth.
At the half, the polo fans walk
onto the field to stomp down
divots made by the horses'
hooves.
This tradition knows no
aristocratic bounds. "Even
the Queen of England goes
out and stomps divots," says
Kalt.
Fans enjoy the tradition, he
says, adding, "You just have to
be very careful to be sure it's
a divot." ❑
Free
ennis
An one
MUM
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Tennis is back! . . . In the newly completed
Edward and Shirley Rosenberg Recreation
Complex. Come and tour our newest facility
at the Jewish Community Center and if you
join the center as a member in October you can
receive up to
6 free hours of Court Time
(A Value of up to $150) !!
• Promotion good during October 1989 only
• Must not have been a member in the past 12 months
• Non-transferable
• Tennis court time must be used by November 30th, 1989
• Payment plans available
• JPM & Social memberships not included
For more information contact the
Membership Office at 661-1000, ext. 265, 266.
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Give every
NEWBORN
the
advantage
Support the
March of Dimes
NORBERT H. KETAI, DP.M.
131P 11 - I DEFECTS F OUNDAT ION
•••
ROBERT S. KETAI, DIM.
DRS. KETAI, RC.
ACT
PODIATRISTS - FOOT SURGEONS
7) Unique Gifts For All Ages
(
u,
ca.
THAT
PERSONALIZED
TOUCH
2 Customized Imprinting
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Always 20% OFF!
Towels, Place Cards
i ; Napkins, Cake Guest
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Boxes and Matches.
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fi Bev and Sue 661 - 0177
• invitations For All Occasions •
Announce the relocation
of their office
26206 W. 12 Mile Rd.
Suite 106
Southfield, MI 48034
In the Franklin Medical Building
(Formerly at the Tel-12 Mall)
354-2262
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS 53