The history of Wine Country polo dates back to the start of World War I when names like Billy Linfoot, R.C. Smith and Mack Jason were the crème of the crop. They were the players that everyone looked up to and envied, especially Henry Trione.
Trione, a banker who eventually turned into a vintner and polo player is founder of The Wine Country Polo Club. He discovered the game after returning from his service in the Pacific. He would spend his Sunday afternoons watching the game and admiring its finesse. A few years later, his friend Robert Walter whose farm once covered the entire Fountain Grove district gave him a mallet and a ball and away they went.
“Once when we were trail riding on his ranch, he gave me a mallet and on a level piece of ground he demonstrated the techniques of polo. I was hooked and from there on polo became a part of my life,” said Henry Trione in a 2011 interview.
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Thanks to Trione’s immense generosity and passion for the sport The Wine Country Polo Club (originally, Santa Rosa Polo) was engineered in 1969 into one of the finest polo fields in the West. He has continued to aid the sport of polo, and in 2008 he was recognized and inducted into Florida’s National Polo Hall of Fame. His passion for the sport has never dwindled.
The same is true for The Wine Country Polo Club members who hail from all over the San Francisco Bay Area. In fact, the club has fond a way to bring together its love of polo with its love of community.
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Several times each year the club hosts community fundraisers designed to benefit a variety of organizations. The organizations have included Junior Achievement of Northern California, and the National Kidney Association. This year another non-profit is being added to that list.
The Breast Cancer Emergency Fund, a SF Bay Area organization that provides assistance to those in need, is the recipient of the next polo event, the Stick & Ball Polo Cup 2013. Coordinated by polo club member Elizabeth Welborn, this all-day polo extravaganza is designed to provide all guests a fast-paced polo tournament, South American cuisine, premium wines and a select shopping experience. VIP ticket holders also receive a luxury Stick & Ball polo bag and more.
For more details and tickets visit: http://stickandballpolo.eventbrite.com.
