The Virginia Polo Club is lucky to have had a number of great contributors in its formative years. Two of those important members were Dick “Remo” Riemenschneider and Don “Grubby” Grubbs. To honor the efforts of these two gentlemen, and help their names live on, Virginia Polo alum Richard “Dick” Latham created the Grubby and Remo Awards. Each year these will be bestowed upon Virginia Polo Club members who embody the same characteristics as these important alumni.
The Grubby Memorial Award
The Grubby Memorial Award was created to recognize someone devoted to the club, that works hard to help with the horses and the events, a “worker bee” type.
Award recipients Megan Maleno (L) and Katy Owens (R)
The inaugural recipients of the Grubby Award are Megan Maleno and Katy Owens. Both players have embraced countless opportunities to help, going above and beyond the regular responsibilities in the club. Katy & Megan were both devoted riders prior their UVa years, but never had the joy of experiencing polo until they joined the Virginia Polo Club.
Both Katy & Megan were essential to the planning and orchestrating of the 70th Anniversary Celebration and share in its successes. They both have also actively fundraised for our nonprofit club, selling ads and encouraging their teammates in fundraising as well.
Katy Owens organized and ran the most-loved 70th Anniversary Alumni Chukker event so smoothly and managed the other student players’ roles. Thanks to her organizational prowess the chukkers ran perfectly and earned lots of compliments on how methodical and planned they felt. Additionally, for two years Katy has been the chair & co-chair for the Virginia Polo Magazine, expertly managing the group and lending her eye for detail and planning to the layout of articles, ads, and overall content.
Megan was also essential to the success of the 70th Anniversary, both with planning and day-of preparations. Megan and her mother lent their eye for design to create the beautiful flower arrangements placed artfully on the tables and conceived of the idea of using trophies as vases. Not only did they elevate the overall appearance of the scene, Megan & her family also generously donated the flowers. Megan has also shared her talent for photography with the Polo Club, taking all the club member headshots, pony photos for the magazine, and often game photos to the delight of the members. Along with her creative help, she is co-captain of the club team, responsible for managing the club ponies and players and planning chukkers, stick and ball sessions, sets, and time off for each horse. Megan has played an active role in the Virginia Polo Magazine for the last 3 years, with photography, ensuring the photos highlight the best aspects of each pony and player, and embracing the large job of doing the graphic design and in Adobe laying out the magazine and serving as co-chair to the committee this year. Basically, if it is creative Megan is the club go-to!
Both Katy & Megan have a positive can-do attitude that inspires other club members around them to also pitch in with relish. We will miss them greatly after they graduate this May!
The Remo Memorial Award
The Remo Memorial Award was created to recognize the most improved player.
Award recipient Shang Ruan pictured here with Assistant Coach Elka Sterling
The inaugural recipient of the Remo Memorial Award is Shang Ruan. Shang has been pursuing her MBA at Darden for the past two years and graduated in May 2024. She started riding in June 2022 and joined the Virginia Polo Boot Camp in the Fall of 2022. Accustomed to successfully navigating the challenges of higher education and complex academic ideas, learning to ride and playing polo posed an entirely different set of challenges for this outstanding student. Throughout the learning process Shang demonstrated a dedication to improvement, enjoying and avidly pursuing any opportunity presented to learn more. She attended the clinics, sports psychology session, and watched the more experienced players’ games closely. Shang dedicated much time to polo and rode impressively often for someone in such a rigorous academic program.
Shang plans to stay in polo after UVa while working in New York city and stay connected with the Virginia Polo alumni & program.
We are so proud of the results of her efforts and so happy to have her as a lifelong member of the Virginia Polo group!