As it rained down on the horses running in Kentucky, the horses competing here in the North Shore enjoyed sunshine and dust.
At the season opener for the Georgetown-based polo team Boston Polo, they took on Newport (R.I.) in the outdoor dirt arena. The grass field was too soaked and muddy according to team owner Mark Tashjian, but future matches will be there.
Fans dressed in their derby best were on hand to watch and cheer for both Boston and Newport as the teams took each other on in three on three chucker periods.
“We are getting more and more fans. That was a good-sized crowd. At least 50 percent of the fans were people I recognized from games before,” said Tashjian.
The dry dirt arena quickly became a giant dust ball as the horses galloped and collided as their riders pushed them harder and harder to get possession of the ball.
“It was OK [playing in the dust],” said Tashjian. “I was pretty surprised with all the rain we got the week before. If I thought it was going to be that dusty and windy I would have watered it down.”