POLOat
Twilight
25 YEARS
of Twilight Polo at
Great Meadow.
A model that works.
You can feel Equestrian events including the International Gold Cup,
the FEI Nations Cup and more. During this time his son Peter
began taking Polo lessons. And seeing Peter travel to other
areas to play didn’t make sense. Nick, an avid Polo player
himself decided to leverage the center to help bring spectator
polo to a wider audience and drive interest and participation
in the sport. But he didn’t build a Polo field. Instead
he built an arena. While field Polo is the traditional venue,
Arundel felt Arena Polo would be easier for spectators to
follow along and feel more involved. “Polo is much easier to
watch and understand in the arena if you have never seen
the sport.” – Teresa Connors Condon, Director of Operations
Construction began on the arena stadium and on Saturday,
October 23rd, 1993, Twilight Polo at Great Meadow launched
its Inaugural match and it was an instant hit with the fans. “Twilight
Polo was popular from the get-go. Once the lights were
installed, it was full.” – Bobby Hilton, GM Grounds Manager.
Players came from all around the area, from DC businessmen
to 5 goal professional players. The arena has also
drawn its fair share of celebrity guests in the stands, including
Academy Award winning actors Robert Duvall
and Tommy Lee Jones. Celebrities have also played in the
arena, including media personalities like news Fox news
correspondent Shepherd “Shep” Smith, and news analyst
(CNN\FOX\HBO VICE) David Tafuri. The biggest draws of
course tend to be the professional players seen weekly in
the arena. In April 2007 Former Captain of the United
the arena wall reverberating against your palms as you lean
forward towards the roar of the fast approaching ponies
which are completely encircled in a cloud of dust like a cyclone
trapped inside a barn. The cheers of the crowd are
deafening, almost equaling the ominous roar of the hooves,
drowning out the shouts and commands of the players as they
strategically and relentlessly drive the ball forward. You duck
as the ball goes sailing past your head seeming to momentarily
pause in midair right before your eyes before sailing off
in a long arc down field towards the goal. It was a 2 pointer
and the actions thick tonight. Its Saturday night. And you’re at
Great Meadow for a fun and thrilling evening of Twilight Polo.
Just an hour out of the nation’s capital and a brief 2 miles
off the freeway nestled among the trees and rolling hills of
Virginia sit 380 acres of equestrian wonderland known as
Great Meadow. Founded in 1982 by Arthur “Nick” Arundel,
a former US Marine Combat officer of 2 wars (Korea,
Vietnam) who went on to become a well-known News Executive
and Philanthropist. Arundel saw the potential of
the land which had previously been slated for a 500-home
development project. His father had been chairman of the
Virginia Gold Cup since 1930 and with their lease expiring
in 1982, Nick Arundel saw the opportunity to preserve the
land and provide the Virginia Gold Cup a new home. So,
in 1980 Arundel bought the land, then invested millions of
his own money developing it into the sprawling equestrian
Eventing center that it is today. Great Meadow went on to
not only host the Virginia Gold Cup races but many other
42 www.EliteEquestrianMagazine.com
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