Polo Pony of the Month: Nala
We will be featuring one of our polo ponies each month to share with you a little about their backgrounds and special roles they carry at Franklin Polo Academy. We hope you enjoy getting to know our horses and encourage you to seek them out at polo matches to say hello as they ride by!
The first Polo Pony of the Month for 2017 is our simple-looking Thoroughbred mare named Nala. Nala is a bay and doesn't have any white markings on her legs but has the smallest trace of a white star between her eyes. She is so quiet that you will often find her napping at the trailer before playing a chukker or being ridden in a lesson. However, if you bring her a treat, this cookie monster will wake up with eyes wide, ears perked forward, and tongue stuck out until you give it to her!
Nala was actually Franklin Polo Academy's first official polo pony purchased for the school in October of 2015. After a few riders tried her out in chukkers over a couple weeks, Nala easily proved that she would be a great foundation for our polo pony "string" we hoped to build. We know Nala was trained as a polo pony after a short career on the racetrack. She is now 9 years old and one of our most quiet horses. We tend to put beginners without riding experience on her because she has no problem going a slow, safe speed. However, for our advanced riders, she perks right up when asked correctly and can be a great mount to have during a game. We can also (as seen below) fly a flag off of her so our umpire has used her for this during the opening ceremonies and then umpiring the matches with her
Yes, Nala was named after Simba's best friend in The Lion King.
She also won the Best Playing Polo Award at Poloween last year. (shown below)
We hope you've enjoyed learning about Nala and look forward to next month's feature polo pony! We would love to hear about your personal horses and how they're special to you so please comment!
Franklin Polo Academy's Instructors Pass Certification
Last week, James Armstrong and Sammie Uys spent three days in Aiken, South Carolina completing the Certified Polo Instructor Program with the United States Polo Association. This program is designed to educated polo professionals by setting industry standards of teaching and managing the sport of polo. There is a great emphasis on sportsmanship and safety to ensure a lifelong love of the sport by newcomers. To learn more about the Certified Polo Instructor Program, click here.
Photo by: Elizabeth Hedley
During their field testing, they fine-tuned their lesson planning and unmounted/mounted teaching techniques by covering multiple topics, receiving critiques from certifiers and fellow aspiring CPI's, being the "student" in mock lessons, and being graded overall in order to pass. James and Sammie are now considered Level 1 Certified Polo Instructors and brought home some great teaching skills while training with top instructors, Mark Prinsloo and Scott Weir. Prepare for some great polo lessons in 2017, these two have a lot of new information up their sleeves!
Photo by: Elizabeth Hedley
Check out their "congratulations" from the USPA here!
Franklin Polo Academy gets Featured in USPA's "This Week in Polo"
Franklin Polo Academy was featured in the United States Polo Association's "This Week in Polo" today! A wonderful article was written about our mission to bring the sport of arena polo to the Middle Tennessee area through riding and polo lessons of all levels and public matches throughout the Summer and Fall. Take a moment to read it by clicking here!
USA to Play Against Mexico on July 15th. Reserve Your Cabana Now!
On Friday, July 15th, USA will compete against Mexico at the Tractor Supply Co. Arena at Harlinsdale Farm. We have moved the start of the game to 6:15pm, gates opening at 5:30, in order to beat the heat a little. What better way to stay cool at the polo match than purchasing a VIP Cabana to provide shade to you and your guests?
Available now for $250 per cabana! Call for more information: 615-800-2268
