NEWS

Recently the Central Texas Polo Association (CTPA), a consortium of ATX, Heart of Texas, Texas Military and San Antonio Polo Clubs, held an Adult Player Clinic provided by USPA Polo Development, LLC followed two weeks later by a Corky Linfoot Clinic at its Heart of Texas fields and arena.

Over a four-day period September 15-8, USPA Certified Polo Instructor, Robin Sanchez conducted coached chukkers and rules review for CTPA and University of Texas (UT) Polo Club players.

Starting at the weekly club practice on Thursday, Sanchez coached and umpired a round-robin match. The following day, she worked in the evening with nine UT Polo Club members on hitting drills, riding basics and rules review, followed by a barbeque. On Saturday, Sanchez worked again with the CTPA, coaching and umpiring matches for 15 players followed by a barbeque and rules review. Wrapping up the USPA clinic on Sunday, she coached and umpired another round-robin match.

This past week, Corky Linfoot and his wife Kathy returned to the San Antonio, Texas, area to hold a polo and riding clinic. On Friday, the Linfoots worked with three members of the UT Polo Club. This included an introduction to cleaning, tacking and riding a horse. This was followed by an hour in the arena with polo riding instruction.

On Saturday eight CTPA members with an additional player from San Angelo, Texas, met with the Linfoots to discuss the philosophy of the clinic, introduce everyone and get an idea of what the players would like to get out of the clinic. Following the introduction, the players were broken into two groups. The first group worked with Corky on hitting and the second worked with Kathy on polo riding skills. After a hard hour of work on horseback, it was time for a break and another discussion period. The afternoon ended with the two groups switching between Corky and Kathy.

On Sunday, the players again met with the Linfoots to discuss any issues from the previous day and ask questions. The players then moved to the field to work on bowl-in and knock-in drills, followed by another discussion period. The afternoon ended with coached and filmed chukkers.

“All players enjoyed the clinic. If you have not participated in a Corky Linfoot Clinic, I recommend it highly. I only wish Corky and and Kathy could spend the season with us,” stated Karl Hilberg of CTPA.

Both of these clinics were supported and coordinated with the USPA Polo Development, LLC. In addition, the Polo Training Foundation supported the Corky Linfoot Clinic.