AIKEN, S.C. — Say polo, and one thinks perhaps of Prince Charles or Palm Beach – not this small South Carolina town, population 26,000. But polo is big here and getting bigger.
This is equestrian country, with 38 polo fields, dozens of stables, horse trails, housing developments with horse facilities – and even some special traffic-light crossing switches placed at a horseback rider’s height. Major polo tournaments are held here, including the Gold Cup in 2006 and 2007 and the annual Triple Crown.
Nor are equine activities limited to polo. There are events and training for thoroughbreds, standardbreds, dressage, fox hunting, steeplechasing and trotters – a total of nine disciplines. Enshrined in Aiken’s Thoroughbred Hall of Fame are such Aiken-bred equine stars as Kelso, horse of the year from 1960 to 1964, and Pleasant Colony, who won the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Wood Memorial races in 1981.
Why Aiken?
“The temperature and soil conditions are perfect,” says Gay Elliott, who with her husband, Steve, operates the General Elliott Inn across the street from the 1,000-acre New Bridge Polo and Country Club, the area’s biggest and most important equestrian layout.
During major matches such as the Gold Cup and Triple Crown, New Bridge’s five polo fields are ringed with tents and booths and as many as 10,000 spectators. Whitney Field, built in 1882, is the oldest polo field in the United States and still the site of Aiken Polo Club matches. Spring and fall are the polo seasons, with some of the biggest events taking place in September.
Polo came to Aiken 125 years ago, about the same time Aiken was becoming a favorite winter retreat for wealthy families. Over the years, members of this “winter colony” included such distinguished names as John Jacob Astor, William K. Vanderbilt and Col. Robert McCormick.
Rich and famous visit
Evelyn Walsh McLean rented a home here and reportedly kept the famous Hope diamond in a silk stocking in a dresser drawer. The Willcox Inn, still an elegant hotel here, has had among its famous guests Franklin D. Roosevelt, Elizabeth Arden, Harold Vanderbilt, Winston Churchill and Averell Harriman.
Many professional polo players own fields here or partner with a “patrone,” a wealthy sponsor who foots the bills.
“It (polo) is called sport of kings for good reason,” Steve Elliott says. “It takes a lot of money to have horses. It could cost a patrone $1 million for just a month – and out of it he gets only trophies.”
Polo is not the only sport with special cachet here. Golf is a venerable avocation. The Augusta National Golf Club, home of the prestigious Masters tournament, is just 20 minutes away in Augusta, Ga., and its aura rubs off on Aiken.
Every spring hundreds of golfers and golf fans pour into the area for the annual tournament, filling every hotel room for miles around, including Aiken. Many of them, including the pros, play or practice on Aiken’s golf courses.
One of them is the Palmetto Golf Club, whose course is one of the oldest in America; its clubhouse was designed by famed New York architect Stanford White. It is open to the public only one week a year, the week before the Masters, and such Masters champions as Ben Hogan, Sammy Snead, Byron Nelson and Bobby Jones have toured its 18 holes.
Ben Crenshaw tuned up on the course just days before winning the 1995 Masters and comes back regularly. Also popular is the semiprivate Aiken Golf Club, designed by Donald Ross and the first in America to have women’s tees.
Nature also does well by Aiken, which has the largest urban forest in America. Its 2,100-acre Hitchcock Woods, totally within city limits, is bigger than New York City’s Central Park. Hopeland Gardens not only has miles of trails but is the home of the Aiken Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame and the Carriage Museum. And Aiken State Natural Area’s 1,000- plus acres are popular with hikers, campers and canoeists who ply the Edisto River.
Those wanting to learn more about Aiken’s rich history should visit the Aiken County Historical Museum, which has a remarkable miniature circus on view, with a miniature parade, circus rings and even a mess tent complete with miniature place settings.
