Thank you to everyone that supported the Hay Barn Campaign at Virginia Polo. Donations from alumni and friends made it possible for the club to make a much-needed upgrade to the hay and farm equipment storage set up.
In addition to alumni and friend support, we were lucky to receive additional supporting funds from the USPA’s Polo Development Initiative (PDI). Through this program the USPA helps clubs with a financial grant after an application and approval process. Between individual donations and the PDI grant the cost to the club was greatly reduced.
The first step of the process was demolition of the older wooden barn, this took place in June. By our Alumni Chukker Event we were looking straight across the old barn site admiring the ponies in their paddocks. The removal of the old barn left the hitting cage on center stage. Students jokingly said they felt self-conscious on the wooden horse with their swing on full display to anyone coming up the driveway! Karlin's Construction began building the new barn the second week of July and worked steadily placing the frame, hoisting the enormous rafters into place, and putting up the siding and roof. Once these steps were completed, they cut back the old concrete slab to the dimensions needed and removed the old pieces. They then poured the rest of the cement floor for the workshop portion of the shed and finished the project by installing the large garage door to the shop.
The result is a sturdy, attractive structure with plenty of space and shade. The barn is all we hoped for, a dry place for bulk hay storage, protection to the farm equipment, and a great place to do repair work. The building fits into the overall look of the Virginia Polo Center well.
We hope you will come out this fall to see the new building during one of our tournaments, we have many exciting upcoming events this fall. Check our events page for dates and times.
