A little background on me. I’ve been saying for most of my adult life that Prince Harry was my backup plan. It was all a joke until he married Meghan Markle, a woman with my first name, also Catholic, also not from England, also not fully white, and who happened to also be an actor as I am. So, jokes on me I suppose! Anyway, during that time I took an interest in polo. Over the last couple of years I had been wanting to check out a match but due to filming, traveling, and mommy-ing there just wasn’t a chance to go. Now with the slower pace of life with travel halted, the film industry for the most part shut down, and a kid who is on a schedule that fits with the polo match schedules it became something that I decided we may be able to do afterall! It took until almost then of the season for the parenting schedule and the weather to be agreeable for me to head off to the match with tot in toe.
This past Saturday we headed off to the Farmington Polo Grounds. In polo there are 6 periods called chukkers. They are 7 1/2 minutes long and there is a halftime between the 3rd and 4th period. It was an exciting match the lead to a 10-10 score with minutes left in the 6th. But this isn’t a sports recap. This is about the Farmington Polo Grounds.
The Farmington Polo Grounds located at 152 Town Farm Road in Farmington, CT is just a short 20 or so minute drive from Capital City Hartford is an idyllic country setting with a small town feel downtown. The Famington Inn is just 3 minutes away while the Tunix Country Club is even closer at 2 minutes. Further away you’ll find Farmington mini golf and ice cream at 4 minutes away and the Hill-Stead Museum at a whopping 7 minutes away. This all adds up to a perfect weekend away.
The grounds open to visitors at 2 pm with the match starting at 4 pm. The match lasts about an hour and a half to 2 hours long depending on the amount of penalties called, etc. When you drive up you are asked if you want general admission or VIP. General is $12 while VIP is $20. There are also VIP packages that range from $150 to $350 depending on what you are looking for within your experience. You can find information about that here.
My tot and I arrived at about 3pm. The weather was perfect for me as I am not a fan of anything about 73 or humidity. It was 65 and a cool breeze was blowing through the grounds. We drove over to the VIP side which is separated from the general admission side by the field of play. On the VIP side there are two tents. From what I understand, any of the VIP guests can go under the tents. But the tent at the center of play is used for those with a VIP table package as the tables are reserved for them. But if all tables are not received the rest are open to the VIP guests without a reserved table.
When we arrived I unpacked the car and loaded it into the stroller. Having a toddler with you means different items than baby items, but items nonetheless. especially in this climate. We had a blanket, a towel, a bib, his water cup, his Hulk and Spiderman Duplo Legos, hand sanitizer, and masks. Additionally as a blogger I had my camera, my phone, and of course the car keys. I saw we were able to come and go from the car as we pleased which was nice as I could leave his toddler potty in the car. We found an unreserved front row table under the tent close to the middle point of the playing field. We set up “base camp” there. It was a 10 seat table, but we ended up being the only people at the table. Perhaps people don’t like sitting with a toddler. Either way it wasn’t immensely crowded under there, perhaps some of that is pandemic related and some of that may be that the club is just in it’s 4th year after being dormant for over 50 years.
As we walked the grounds I saw there were two places to order food, a survivor shop with T shirts, sweatshirts, etc, with the Farmington Polo Club logo, as well as a place to get drinks, and some pretty sweet cars to check out. past the cars were the horses that we didn’t get to close to. As much as the kid loves animals, he loves them from a distance. We saw cars from Lamborghini and Ferrari which makes sense because Greenwich Lamborghini was playing Ferrari of New England that afternoon on the polo grounds. The kiddo liked the white Ferrari while I had my eye on the black. It caught my eye as it was the Monza SP1 and just days before Google photos reminding me of my trip to the Formula 1 race in Monza where I spent my time cheering for Ferrari.
On the walk back I saw the bathrooms were not port-a-pottys in the traditional sense which make me extremely happy to see. They were what I was used to seeing while filming on location. Steps up to a trailer with a door. Once inside the door there are multiple stalls, light, heat or AC as needed, as well as running water, soap, and towels to dry ones hands. As a woman this was pleasing to see, as a mother of a kid who is “basically” potty trained I was overjoyed.
There was a step and repeat set up as well as a wooden horse, both which made prime photo opps that the kiddo took full advantage of. He is afterall his mother’s child.
Once we got back to our table we checked out the menu. There were a few servers floating around I went up to one to order. We paid right there by card and when it was ready it was brought to our table.
Before the match began there were some young children who played a match. They weren’t on horses but on what I could only say looked like motorized unicycles. I believe they were probably some of the students from the Farmington Polo Grounds program as they have Professional Lessons, a Beginner Polo League, as well as Hunter/Jumper Lessons, but I have not confirmed that. Before the main event match began there was a singer with his acoustic guitar playing covers of artists varying from Credence Clearwater Revival, 3 Doors Down, The White Stripes, Maroon 5, Michael Jackson, and Fall Out Boy under the reserved VIP tent. He played between chukkers and after the match as well.
After the match they have an awards ceremony for the winning team, most valuable player human and horse! They allow you to stay after and the music continues. For me, I had to get my kiddo home so we made our way to the car, got in pajamas, read a story, and he fell asleep for the drive back to our house. The next day he told me he had fun and wanted to go again. Sadly there is just one match left this season and he’ll be at his father’s. But there’s always next year! If this upcoming weekend if free for you head to the polo match, and while you’re at it make a weekend out of it. With a Friday night family drive in and Sunday brunch all happening at the polo grounds! If not, I’ll see you there next summer!
*** This is a sponsored blog post, but all opinions are my own.***
Weekend Warrior Mama 
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