Port Mayaca Polo Club

TAILGATING BY ANY OTHER NAME 
By: L.J. Margolis  

Q: What do Wellington and Pahokee have in common?

A: Easy access to world-class polo.

Q: What is polo?

A: Polo, like football, is a very competitive physical contact sport. Polo is a fast paced sport that combines a horse, its rider, a mallet and a ball. A typical polo match lasts about an hour and a half.

Port Mayaca Polo Club is just 16 miles north of Pahokee, the same distance that Clewiston is from South Bay. Port Mayaca Polo launched its first season a little over two years ago. In that short time, the club has grown and gained strong recognition within the polo community, according to designer, builder and owner Stephen Orthwein.

Right now, though, most of the people who attend the matches at Port Mayaca are polo fans from Wellington who go out to watch specific players. Orthwein says that many of the big names of polo play at Port Mayaca. “Most significantly on a consistent basis we have had (polo hall of famer) Memo Gracida and his son Julio playing with us,” he says.

Don’t be fooled by the common perception that polo patrons are impossibly beautiful, fabulously wealthy people flaunting fashionable hats and enjoying expensive champagne. Polo people are regular folks like you and me.

Port Mayaca Polo wants to encourage its closer neighbors from the Glades and Okeechobee, to visit. The polo club generates its revenue from stable rentals and player membership fees. But the polo players really enjoy playing for an audience, so all of the matches are free and open to the public. During the week, the match schedule may vary, but there is a feature match regularly scheduled every Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning from November through April. “It’s a really fun thing for people to do. It’s like going out the park and bringing a picnic lunch, sitting under the trees and watching a polo match with friends. Large groups are always welcome,” says Orthwein. “The audiences encourage players to want to play at the polo club.”

Cindy Findley fell in love with the Glades and moved from Wellington to Pahokee six years ago. She and business partner Carlos Arellano are strong polo fans. “I missed the tailgating parties at Wellington polo,” says Findley.

“I have been riding horses all my life, in Cuba,” says Arellano. “My interest in polo started when I lived in Nicaragua from 1967 to 1979.” Polo drew Arellano to Wellington in 1979. He played polo there, and now his three sons have entered the sport. Arellano’s real estate office is in his barn overlooking his family’s polo field.

Port Mayaca Polo Club was designed and built by club owner Stephen Orthwein, a former Chairman of the United States Polo Association and a member of the Executive Committee of the International Polo Federation.

When Orthwein opened Port Mayaca Polo Club, Arellano started looking for real estate opportunities in the Glades. He and Findley partnered to purchase Todd Realty in Pahokee. The two polo aficionados want to interest other Glades residents in getting together as groups to enjoy tailgating at Port Mayaca Polo.

Port Mayaca Polo Club is located 4.7 miles north of the Port Mayaca bridge on Connor's Highway. For polo schedule and information, visit portmayacapoloclub.com or call (772) 228-0115.