Polo in the Coachella Valley; What’s the BIG deal? When I came to the desert over 30 years ago, I was a groom, hoping to one day be able to play polo professionally. I was overwhelmed by the scope of the Eldorado Polo Club at that time. It seemed to my eyes, that the fields went on and on, horses were everywhere, and Polo was the Valley’s Sport! What a dummy. In my small world of Polo and horses, EVERYONE knew about the club. In reality, when I meet with clients to show them property 30 years later, it is the rare individual that knows about our amazing East Valley horse Industry, and how it contributes to our Coachella Valley economy.
The world renowned Eldorado Polo Club is almost 60 years in our Valley! For players, the age of the fields is crucial, as grass roots are longer, hold up better to the trauma of steel horseshoes digging in, and provide a softer cushion under the horses’ legs. In this sport, it’s ALL about the ponies. We say in the Polo world that our horses are “80-85% of our game. A player will ALWAYS be a better player if the horse you ride is a better horse. In Polo, we refer to all our horses as “Ponies”. The Eldorado Polo Club is made up of 9 regulation size, grass fields. When Golden Voice bought the Eldorado Polo fields 2 years ago, tournaments were “grandfathered in” as part of the purchase agreement. But only for 7 years. If you are a Valley Local, or a season visitor, be sure to take advantage of the Sunday games because they could be GONE in a few years!
Not so fast. The privately owned neighboring Empire Polo Club, owned by Alex Haagen III, is an international site for grass Polo games, Arena games, Friday night Tournament games under the lights, Summer games, and Polo Lessons. Since 1987, Empire has been a huge draw for both players and fans. In 1993, Mr. Haagen leased the grounds to Goldenvoice for the inaugural Music Festival, and we all know how THAT turned out!
Our official Tournament season runs from January through March. Public spectating is always welcome, but Sundays are the big day for Tournaments. Both clubs have feature matches at 2 pm every Sunday, with a preliminary match at noon. Empire also features a fun, family evening at it’s Friday nights under the Lights, where a game is played under overhead lights! Spectators are welcome. The Music Festival has driven up awareness of our East Valley, but the Polo Clubs have always had a huge impact on our valley economy.
For each player, there is a family. Players generally travel with 4-20 horses each, and these ponies require one or two grooms to keep them happy and conditioned. Grooms have families too. All of these people lease or buy homes, shop at our stores, eat in our local restaurants, buy gas, etc. The Sport has driven a large amount of money to our Eastern Valley, and now with the success and following of the Coachella and Stagecoach Festivals, the demand continues to grow. Indio, Coachella, Thermal, and VSR property values have gone up, and New Homes are sprouting up, and being scooped up. If you are interested in touring homes or Equestrian Properties, give me a call at 760-285-3578.
This is my amateur video of the Eldorado Polo club fields last year about this time. Gives you a good look at the magnitude of the clubs’ size!