The Ritz-Carlton British polo team may have prevailed over the Cartier-sponsored U.S. team, but the real winner in the first America's Cup of Polo were the people and businesses of Loudoun County.
Saturday, May 12, Morven Park in Leesburg filled with people from across the country and the world for the polo match, fireworks display and performance by rock group, Journey.
"We were getting calls from all over the world," Michaele Salahi, who chaired the event with her husband and U.S. polo team member, Tareq Salahi, said. "It's been amazing."
In addition to being a fun day for residents and visitors, proceeds from the America's Cup benefited the Journey for the Cure Foundation, which supports the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.
MICHAELE AND TAREQ Salahi got the idea for the polo event when they were asked to come up with an idea to promote Jamestown's 400th Anniversary. As the owners of Oasis Winery in Hume, Va., the couple tried to figure out a way to utilize all of their interests.
"We took the two worlds and merged them together," Michaele Salahi said. "It started out small, around 500 people, and just grew from there"
"We wanted to prepare an event that was beautiful, unique and celebrated every part of America, with Virginia wine and Virginia food," Tareq Salahi said.
It was not until Charles Muldoon, captain of the U.S. polo team and Salahi friend became director of development at Morven Park, however, that the Leesburg facility became the chosen site.
"When I first came here, my jaw just dropped," Muldoon said. "This was a great fit. It was one of those things where we were being really picky about where to hold the match. It was its destiny to come here"
While the planning for the America's Cup started two years ago, Loudoun only became involved in September.
"This is an event where the people who have been invited are a mix, politicians, celebrities and the general public," Cheryl Kilday, president of the Loudoun Convention and Visitors Association, said. "Our job is as a community liaison, that we go beyond to make sure they're made to feel welcomed."
THE FIRST POLO game is on record as being played in 600 B.C. between the Turkomans and Persians and is favored by royalty around the country. The game is played by two teams of four people, in eight seven-minute periods called chukkers.
Players switch horses every period, Debbie French Nash, a member of the British polo team, said, so 48 horses are needed for each match.
"Sometimes you'll even switch during a period," Nash said, "if a horse is tiring or isn't working well for you."
Nash said horses are trained their entire life for polo. Not only must they be trained for the rider, but they must be comfortable running along side other horses and with the swing of the mallet and crack of the ball.
"Not all horses take to it," Nash said. "Some are just too high-spirited for the game."
While the manes, tails and forelocks of the horses' hair are sheared for safety reasons, Muldoon said the horses do not miss their natural defense against horseflies and insect bites.
"These horses get acupuncture, massages," he said. "They're well taken care of."