Where I Call Home

I suppose I have mentioned that I board Monty at a very interesting place. It's called the West Hills Polo Club. During polo season, arena polo matches are played. Arena polo differs from grass/outdoor polo in that it is played like hockey or racquetball in an enclosed but not covered space.

The polo arena on the property is a huge, sand arena. During the off-season, there are jump standards and poles enough to set up a little jump course. When polo season is running, the jumps are moved from the ring and then replaced after a match. There is also a smaller riding arena close to the barn where the jumps can stay set up year 'round but it is smaller and better suited to schooling exercises. The big sand arena is level, almost rock free and great for all sorts of schooling from lungeing to flatwork under saddle and jumping. The only thing that would put this place in sheer horseback riding nirvana would be a covered arena to use in the winter.

There is also a veterinary clinic on the premises, the Long Island Equine Medical Center.

Imagine boarding your horse in a place with a vet literally in walking distance from your barn door, and I'm talking less than 100 feet from the barn door! Thankfully, in my 6 or 7 years there, I've only needed this convenience a very few times. The horse care at this place is top-notch. Routine shots, wormings and teeth floating are mandatory. It's a comforting feeling to know that even if I can't get to see my buddy, he most definitely has water, a clean bed and proper food and if anything seems amiss, I get a phone call from the office immediately.

Unlike a show barn however, this place has a very "laid-back" atmosphere. It's all adults, no kids and mainly pleasure riders. We all have a similarly laid-back attitude and though there has been the occasional "stinker" moving in, they usually move out again very quickly. Most of the time when I get there in the evening to ride, I have the whole place to myself, which is really nice.