The second weekend in May finds Philadelphia playing host to the largest collegiate rowing event in the United States, the Dad Vail Regatta. Named for Harry Emerson “Dad” Vail, a famous college coach of yesteryear, the event has run continuously since 1934, with a respite for WWII. It attracts over 100 teams from the United States and Canada and for two days thousands of athletes battle other teams, the weather, and the Schuylkill River itself. The two-kilometer course bends under the Strawberry Mansion Bridge and follows the Kelly Drive through Fairmount Park, which is exceptional in both its natural beauty and its scale.  The racers finish up in front of a newly refurbished grandstand area replete with food vendors, sponsor’s areas, and tents of all sizes and colors put up by the students and alumni of the various schools who are racing.

Fairmount Park is as much the heart of Philadelphia as Center City is.

All in all, it is a very festive environment and a perfect place for couples or families to spend some quality time in a very pretty setting. The walk up the river from the Art Museum to the finish line is over two miles and will take you past the world famous Boathouse Row and to the makeshift “Rower’s Village.” This is where the teams prepare for the races and where the boats enter and exit the water.  It is a beehive of activity and well worth a visit – but be alert to the teams moving the boats along the sidewalks as it is a lot easier for you to move out of the way then it is for them to change course to avoid you.

The river scenes may be bucolic, but...

The racing action is frenetic.

Since it is a bit of a hike up to the “Rower’s Village” and even farther to the start finish line, many people take advantage of one of the frequent, and free, shuttle busses. Open air and double-decker buses loop through the ball fields of Fairmount Park, where the remote parking lots are located, and then head south on Kelly Drive (one-way and closed to most traffic) with stops along the racecourse.

Taking advantage of the best vantage point from which to watch the races.

Once you get to the race area the level of intensity goes through the roof as the athletes prep themselves and their boats for the grueling competition ahead. The Dad Vail hosts 2, 4, and 8 person boats for both male and female contestants. The boats themselves appear to be simplistic slivers that are barely high enough to keep the water out (usually), but are, in reality, complex marvels of modern technology. These racing sculls (as the boats are known) utilize kevlar/carbonfiber skins sandwiched over nomex honeycombs and are often coated with the same epoxy resins that are used in the space program. If they sound expensive, that’s because they are. A 2-person competition scull will set you back $10,000 while an 8-person scull that will keep you competitive will go for $30,000 and up. Of course there are less expensive boats, but the problem is that there are also much more expensive boats. While the quality of the crew is paramount, the equipment does play a role, which puts well-funded programs at an advantage.

The boats matter but your teammates matter more.

When you go to the event, you will see that the four and eight person boats actually have five or nine people in them respectively. The extra person is called the Coxswain (or Cox, for short) who is charged with steering the boat, making tactical decisions on the course, and providing encouragement to the crew. They also act as a human metronome, and using a microphone and speakers built into boat, will shout a cadence to keep the oar strokes in harmony. After listening to the commands and demands of the cox (who is “just sitting there” while the others row ever harder) it is easy to see why the cox is often thrown in the water to celebrate a victory and it is a wonder that they aren’t just tossed out somewhere along the course on a more frequent basis.

Keeping the boats going where they are supposed to is a lot harder than it looks.

Events like the Dad Vail Regatta don’t just happen, but require an enormous amount of work. While the competitors are training all winter long to get in top physical condition, the organizers are working just as hard to make the event seem effortless and hassle-free. Over 160 races are run throughout the two-day event and that would seem to be the easy part! Transportation is provided, roads are closed and detours are routed, quality food vendors are selected, sanitation facilities set-up, police and emergency personnel needs are established and met, and then there is trash pick-up, parking, signage, volunteers, safety boats, judging, and a myriad of other issues that must be dealt with.

The reason we bring this up is two-fold. First, the organizers of the Dad Vail do a first-class job and, from what we understand, it is getting ever better. Our hats get tipped to these fine folks. Secondly, it costs a lot of money to put on a show like this. It may be free to the spectators but this event is anything but free with costs mentioned in the $500,000 range. Here we have to once again tip our hats, this time to Aberdeen Global Asset Management. With the event in serious jeopardy of leaving the state due to lack of funding, Aberdeen stepped in to provide primary sponsorship and kept the event in Philly.

Sure, you get thirsty after a race but this seems like overkill.

The local economy owes Aberdeen, the City of Philadelphia, the Dad Vail Regatta Organizing Committee and a host of others a huge thank you for working to keep the race on the Schuylkill River. Not only will the banks of the river remain lined with spectators, but more than $16 million a year pours into local businesses as a result of this event. True treasures are rarely defined by their monetary worth alone and such is the case with the Dad Vail Regatta. It is an event well worth attending and we urge you to mark your calendars for next year’s races now.

This is certainly one event we want to make sure stays in Pennsylvania!

The Penn Relays get the front page because it is the event that solidified the concept of The Treasures of Pennsylvania and thus is very special to us. For several months I had been pondering an extensive photographic project that reflected the heart and soul of Pennsylvania, but had not found a focus that wouldn’t be consumed by the vastness of the state and the diversity of its people. While on the train into Philadelphia to shoot the Penn Relays for some motivational images, I decided to kill the idea and move on. However, upon getting off at one of the oldest stadiums in the country, the huge crowds and enormous energy immediately struck me as did the thought that this was a treasure for a struggling Philadelphia and was bringing in millions of dollars of much needed income to the city. It was one of those “lightbulb” moments when everything gelled and the concept was born.

While the Treasures of Pennsylvania may have promotional benefits for those places and events that we include, you should be aware that we don’t do tourist here. That is not our intent. You won’t find your typical overview pictures or shots of smiling folks holding hot dogs. The images that we have chosen and the copy that we use are selected to convey a sense of place or purpose, rather than being a literal depiction of what you might encounter at one of the Treasures. To that end, we think you will find that each of our contributing photographers portrays the world around them with unique vision and we would recommend that you take a look at their wider bodies of work.

What does it take to be listed here? It has to be something that is really, really good. It can be an event, a place, a person, a group, or perhaps something that isn’t easily categorized, it doesn’t matter – it just has to be special and something that would be sorely missed and fondly remembered if it disappeared tomorrow. The one thing we won’t do is celebrities. They already get enough press, so we will save our space for those people who are true gems, but who move among us unrecognized.

Some may ask why there is an emphasis on Eastern Pennsylvania Treasures. The answer is simple. We live here, so it is the logical starting point. We will add Treasures from other areas as they are submitted and as we travel. If you know of something that we should include, please let us know and we do accept submissions.

All of the images on the site are copyrighted and we enforce our copyrights, so please see our terms before you download them without permission. The images displayed are very small sized files designed to facilitate the rapid loading of pages and are not suitable for reproduction. Most of the images are available as gallery prints in a variety of sizes and are also available for commercial usage. Links at the bottom of each article will take you to galleries of the contributing photographers where you may order full resolution images or prints. If you don’t find the particular image that you are interested in, please contact us at admin@treasuresofpa.com and we will track it down for you. As you might guess, a number of our photographers also accept commercial assignments, so please feel free to contact us about engaging their services.

And finally, photographs from the Treasures of Pennsylvania collection are available for display in galleries or public spaces. Again, please contact us if you are interested in setting up a showing.  On that note, I hope you enjoy the site and will feel free to comment and add your thoughts.    Best Regards,  Henry

Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area.

More Ricketts Glen images.

2010 Penn Relay images including Usain Bolt, the world’s fastest human.

Chanticleer Gardens.

Longwood Gardens

The Yuengling Brewery

We’ll also be covering the Devon Horse Show, May 27 – June 6 and hope to do the Mid-Atlantic Air Museum’s 20th Anniversary World War II Weekend in Reading on June 4-5-6.

Also on the agenda is to try to add some of Pennsylvania’s classic racing venues including Maple Grove, a dirt short track, and the big daddy of them all – Pocono Raceway. As an aside, Pocono Raceway is building a solar farm that will handle not only their needs but provide enough extra power for 1,000 homes. Our hats go off to them and we appreciate their commitment to leading the way towards a clean energy future. Hopefully, we will be able to include the solar farm as a Treasure of Pennsylvania in and of itself.

Remember, May 15th will be opening day for the Tinicum Park Polo Club.

Article by Wayne Beck and Photography by Henry Rowan

Mercedes, Porsche, Ferrari, Cobra, Corvette, Bugatti... they are all there and more!

Treasure hunters often spend their lives searching for rare finds that may elude them forever.  Yet sometimes treasures sit right in front of us and we remain completely unaware of their existence.  A good example of this can be found in South Philadelphia.  Normally, areas like Penns Landing, Fairmont Park, or Penn Square spring to mind when thinking about visiting the cultural or historic sights of Philadelphia.  However, it’s when you look beyond the usual that interesting discoveries often reveal themselves.  In this case, hidden in plain view, just north of the airport, there lies an unassuming, two story, brick building that houses one of Pennsylvania’s recently unearthed gems, The Simeone Foundation Museum; a unique and affordable destination for a day trip.  There’s no need to make a huge investment in time, energy, or financial resources to uncover it.  No archaeological digs or deep ocean dives are necessary.   Just hop in the car and go.

Once inside the museum, you leave the present behind as you’re transported back in time to experience the great age of amateur sports car racing.  You enter an era that began at the start of the twentieth century and spanned seven decades.  It was an era where great engineering, design, bravery, and creativity yielded some of the most beautiful examples of thoroughbred sports cars ever fashioned in both Europe and the U.S.  Their purpose, to test the mettle of both man and machine as they raced through an age that is now largely gone.  That era began to vanish as the sport was slowly transformed, in part by corporate sponsorships with goals that had less to do with the original intent of these contests.

Through the vision of one man, Dr. Fred Simeone, there now exists a truly extraordinary assemblage of some of the world’s finest examples of rolling sculpture that can be gathered under one roof.  A seventy-five thousand square foot factory that once housed an auto engine remanufacturing company has been transformed into a wonderful venue to display this gathering of fine sports cars and racers.  Like most museums, there is a theme here and that theme becomes quite obvious as you enter the display area.  The first thing you see is the written philosophy of what this museum is meant to convey.  It states, “There are few illustrations of the effects of competition as dramatic and beautiful as the evolution of the racing sports car.  This is the theme of the Simeone Foundation Automobile Museum, a 501(c) 3 nonprofit corporation whose mission is to educate the public in the beneficial effects of the spirit of competition.”  Well put.  And in an even more succinct phrase, the museum notes “The first race was conceived when the second car was built.”

The cars here are not just simply scattered around the area, but are presented in dioramas that convey the environment in which they competed.  To racing enthusiasts, there is an aura that surrounds places like Watkins Glen, Le Mans, The Nurburgring, Brooklands, Targa Florio, and the many other racing locals that are represented at the museum.  Dr. Simeone has recreated the spirit of these locations in the dioramas. The cars appropriate to each venue are arrayed in these settings front and center.  Coiled on the salt bed, poised to strike, is a 1964 Cobra Daytona Coupe, looking now, just the way it did in 1965 where it set 23 land speed records at Bonneville.  Nine Le Mans racers sit side by side, angled in front of pit row, waiting for the drivers to sprint across the track and bring them to life.  From exhibit to exhibit you enter into a world where these cars lived in their prime. Between the exhibits, scores of poster sized, black and white photos depicting racing scenes, hang at eye level.  Peering into the faces of those who put their lives in peril countless times to improve the breed, one truly gets a sense of what this place is about, competing and winning!

The intent of Dr. Simeone is not just to recreate an era, not just to display these exhibits as art, but also to reveal how they looked in action.  So on the last Saturday of each month, weather permitting, several of them are trotted out the back of the building to run free on the three acre back lot.  Watching and listening to these machines as they are fired up, gives the museum goer a brief glimpse at what some of these vehicles were capable of doing when given free rein on a race track.  Each month different marques are bought out.  So if you go often enough, you will get to see many of the cars run.

These demonstration days reflect another aspect of the museum’s principles… education.  Since the exhibits are not intended to be just static displays, the cars are also employed as “vehicles” to teach.  The Simeone foundation works with schools, providing education programs for their students.  To date, local high school physics classes working in conjunction with the U. of Penn have used the facilities, as have the Drexel University fashion design students.

The museum has been open to the public since June 2008.  While still a fledgling institution, its vision is clearly defined and as the museum evolves and grows, additional programs will be developed.  Dr. Simeone has numerous ideas for the museum, including opening a library to researchers, increasing the endowment, and adding driving simulators for students, so that they can learn traffic accident avoidance.

From time to time, the museum presents additional auto retrospectives.  Recently, an exhibit called “The Best of Britain” was in progress.  Thirty significant racing and sports cars were being featured from England.  These additional displays rotate in and out; so going back more than once often yields new treasures.  When there, you can either tour the museum on your own or call in advance to arrange for a guided tour.

Okay race fans, hop in and buckle up, because there’s more here.  Do you want to host a large corporate or social event?  Need a place for business or club meetings?  Well, the museum is an exceptional location to hold affairs like these.  There are facilities to seat more than five hundred people for catered affairs right in the center of the displays.  Holding an event surrounded by this vast collection of automotive history provides a unique ambiance for almost any gathering. There are three acres of free parking and it is handicap accessible.  In addition, the upstairs has meeting rooms with A / V facilities for smaller gatherings or meetings.

To inquire about the rental facilities, arrange tours, get directions, or just see more of the museum, visit their web site: www.simeonefoundation.org or call them at 215-365-7233. They are located at 6825-31 Norwitch Drive, Philadelphia, PA 19153 and the museum is easily accessible from either I95 or I76 as well as local streets from Center City Philadelphia.

Ladies and Gentlemen, start your engines!

If you have never been to a bicycle track race you might want to ask the person next to you if they can explain what is going on. The racing takes on a number of formats, many of which may seem a bit odd to the uninitiated. It all starts to make sense after a bit, once you accept the fact that the riders are completely nuts, and you’ll soon know the difference between a Keirin and a Madison.

The price of admission is low, the food concessions are reasonable, and the beer is cheap, making it a great destination point for families, dating couples, and bike enthusiasts alike. The Velodrome is officially known as the Valley Preferred Cycling Center and is located north of Quakertown and west of Allentown with easy access from the Northeast Extension of the Turnpike and the Route 78 corridor.

For more bicycle racing images, please click here.

Throughout the state, valued natural and man made resources are at substantial risk as society struggles to find the proper balance between perceived human needs and responsible environmental stewardship. Very often, it is small groups of people dedicated to protecting their tiny part of the world that are the only thing that stands up against, and in the way of, powerful corporate and governmental interests intent on changing the landscape of their communities forever. In many cases, the stakes are extraordinarily high and both our history and our future are at risk.

While some may ridicule these preservationists as merely being NIMBYs (not in my back yard), to us, in most cases, they are heroes protecting a multitude of Pennsylvania’s treasures and they need all the help that they can get. After all, if you are not willing to try to protect your own backyard, who do you think is going to do it for you?

To that end, this section is designed to be a portal to information on the groups doing important work to protect our resources and the individual threats that they are working to eliminate. Clicking on the links below will take you to websites where you can get more information on the listed topic.

If you are involved in efforts to preserve one of Pennsylvania’s natural or manmade treasures and would like to be listed, please e-mail us at admin@treasuresofpa.com and include a brief description of the situation, the link to your information, and a photograph that visually represents what you are trying to save.

This section is dedicated to the real Lorax, Robert Sugarman. He used his exceptional legal skills and brilliant mind to defend the land and protect the people. We all thought Loraxes were immortal but we sadly found that they are not. Bob passed away in 2008.

Click on the links below for resources at risk in the various regions of the state:

Southeast

The Brandywine Creek – Chester County

Northeast (under development)

Central (under development)

Northwest (under development)

Southwest (under development)

This beautiful waterway and important source of drinking water is under a real threat from a huge, proposed development in Wallace Township. Click on the picture below to visit our good friends, The Guardians of the Brandywine, for more information and details on how you can help.

Photograph by Beth Christman

New threats are occurring all too often so please check back frequently for updates.

Photographs by Henry Rowan

It’s the biggest indoor agricultural event in the nation, but big doesn’t even begin to describe the Pennsylvania Farm Show.  Try massive, huge, or gargantuan and you’ll get closer to being accurate. The multi-day show takes place every year in early January and covers 24 acres in eleven buildings of the Farm Show Complex and Expo Center in Harrisburg.

Square dancing with antique tractors is a bit odd by any standard.

Over 400,000 people typically attend the Farm Show, making it arguably the largest event in the state. Compare that to the Philadelphia Flower Show, which draws between 225,000 and 245,00 people, or 22 sold out Bruce Springsteen concerts at the old Spectrum and you’ll start to get the idea of just how many people come to the show. Even with 24 acres of space, the aisles get crowded and visitors must share them with cows, horses, goats, sheep, and other assorted critters as they move to one of three arenas or other judging areas.

Cows and kids co-mingle in the aisles.

The importance of the show to Pennsylvania’s agricultural community may not be immediately evident to many city and suburban dwellers, just as the importance of agriculture is something that is often overlooked. Beyond being the source of food on our tables, Pennsylvania’s 58,000 farms (90% of which are family owned) are the backbone of our economy with 1 in 7 jobs in the state being agriculture related. Add to that the nearly $45 billion dollars per year that production agriculture and agribusinesses contribute to our economy and you begin to get a sense of just how important farming is to the state.

To this large segment of the population, the Farm Show serves as a vital resource. It is part trade show, where the latest products and services are displayed. It is part educational forum, where the latest ideas are discussed. It is part social, where old friendships are renewed and new friends are made. And, finally, it is part competition and that competition is very intense.

Tired of the rigors of competition? A roll in the dirt helps relieve the stress.

It seems like there is a category for just about everything and anything that fits into a category is judged, or raced, or otherwise challenged in one way or another. Chickens are judged, carriages are raced, sheep are sheared, and tractors square dance. Would you like to go to a Sticky Bun Contest? Well, have we got the place for you! It sounds like it is all in good fun, and it is, but there is also serious money (over $500,000) and bragging rights at play. In some cases, a win at the show can result in a substantial long-term return as the value of the animal or product is acknowledged.  Also at play are significant scholarships to promote advanced educational opportunities within the farming community and there are numerous activities throughout the show that generate revenue to support these efforts.

One of the highlights of the show is always the Pennsylvania Food Court. From chips and dips to sausages and everything in between there are rows of vendors showing the best the state has to offer when it comes to belly filling food. Samples are often available and it seems that many people come just to taste these delights. There are also vendors providing a variety of more substantial meals and treats and the prices tend to be lower and the quality higher than at many similar venues.

To add a bit of uniqueness to a very unique event, you will find a life-sized butter sculpture that can weigh upwards of 1,000 pounds, a 60-year-old carousel, and a full-blown rodeo. The Frontier Circuit Finals Rodeo is a separately managed, ticketed event apart from the Farm Show and we were not allowed to photograph it so we aren’t able to tell you whether it is worth the price of admission or not.

The Farm Show itself is free to visitors making it a great place to bring the family for the day. There is a charge for parking and the main lot does fill up early because of the sheer number of people who come to the show. Getting there early will not only get you a closer parking space, but you may avoid some of the traffic congestion that comes with every show. Parking info and directions are available by clicking here and, though you should expect delays in the Farm Show area, we can assure you that it will be worth the wait!

Photographs by Henry Rowan

The 2013 Penn Relays are scheduled for April 25-27, 2013

Get your tickets early!

Every April, the area surrounding the University of Pennsylvania’s Franklin Field turns into a swirling sea of amateur athletes and their supporters. Streets are closed, buses block those that are open, and only the foolish try to navigate the area by car. (Use SEPTA and get off at the University City stop!) All are converging on one of the nation’s grand old stadiums for the Penn Relays, the oldest track and field competition in the United States and one of the premier track and field events in the world.

The oldest football stadium hosts the oldest track meet in the nation.

The good natured chaos that fills the streets miraculously stays on the streets and once you enter the stadium you are met with an impressive organization that keeps more than 200 events, involving literally thousands of athletes, running smoothly and on time.  These folks could move an army across a continent without blinking an eye: they are that good at what they do.

Banged up, battered, and bleeding.... but leading.

The Penn Relays are a three day event involving high school and college athletes as well as track clubs and Olympic development programs. Teams from around the world take part and you haven’t heard real noise until you have been in Franklin Field when the Jamaican team arrives.  In normal years it is mind-blowingly loud but if Usain Bolt, “The World’s Fastest Man,”  is in the house the cheering can probably be heard in London. It’s just totally nuts and was so loud that Bolt had to take a microphone to ask the crowd to quiet down so the runners could hear the starter’s gun.

When Usain Bolt runs, no one sits!

The quality of the event itself does not overshadow the remarkable quality of the competition. When you go to the Penn Relays you will see underdogs win and records fall. You will find yourself rooting for people you don’t know from places you didn’t know existed. Even fans of the competition were on their feet cheering the Lady Vols from the University of Tennessee in 2009 as it became clear that they were on the verge of breaking the American record in the 3,200 meter event to complete a very rare triple sweep of the Distance Medley, 6,000 meter, and 3,200 meter relays.

Less than a minute later, this young lady was the proud owner of the Pa. HS Pole Vault record.

Over the years the Relays have grown in both size and significance. Over 22,000 athletes participate in front of over 100,000 spectators for the three-day event. Saturday’s attendance always approaches 50,000, making this the best-attended track event in the United States and one of the premier events in the world.

It often gets a little chaotic on the track when exchanges are made.

Saturday’s spectators are treated to a variety of USA vs. The World events which pit, not surprisingly, the top American runners against those from around the world.  The stadium is filled and rafters are rattling as teams from Kenya, Canada, Australia, France, Jamica, Russia, Great Britain, Germany, Nigeria, St. Kitts and Nevis, Trinadad and Tobago, Bahamas, and the Dominican Republican are usually on hand. In 2010 the Jamaican 4 x 100 meter team, anchored by Usain Bolt, electrified the entire stadium with a track record of 37.90 seconds with Bolt anchoring the team with a very impressive 8.79 final leg.

A lot of athletes travel a long way for their brief time on the track - and they all try to make the most of it.

To illustrate the quality of the competition, 23 Penn Relay alumni won Gold Medals at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. In fact, Relay alumni have won Gold medals at every modern Olympics except for the 1980 Moscow Olympics, which the USA boycotted. As you can see, this is serious track and field at its best and one of Pennsylvania’s greatest Treasures.

They may have gray hair but unless you are a track star they will still trounce just about everyone else!

It isn't all about running, it is also about flying through the air and throwing strange objects.

Travel Notes:

The University City train station is only a javelin throw from Franklin Field. All you have to do is cross the street and you are there. Yes, it really is that easy.

The reconstruction of the South Street Bridge is finally finished, meaning that you can once again get off I-76 at University City. On normal days, this is a viable way to get to the Penn campus or the hospital but when the relays are in town it is absolutely insane to try to drive in.

Things to do:

If you haven’t been to the University of Pennsylvania’s campus before, you might enjoy a stroll through. From the train station, walk along the stadium, cross the street, and go right on 34th street.  After just a short distance you will see stairs on your left that lead into one of the older, and very pretty, sections of the campus.

Photographs by Henry Rowan

Looking for a really pleasant way to spend a couple of hours on Saturday afternoons in the summer? Give the Tinicum Park Polo Club a try! From mid-May through early October, polo ponies and their riders partake in the beauty of Tinicum Park and entertain spectators from all over the region.  The setting, which is nestled along the Delaware River in Erwinna, Pennsylvania, is easily accessible, which allows the polo matches to be integrated in easily with the multitude of other recreational activities of the area.

Polo is a game of speed and power, but most importantly, finesse.

Polo may be the “Sport of Kings” but, at Tinicum, every effort is made to ensure that it is an event that everyone can enjoy. The matches are often combined with benefits for local causes and other activities, such as Tailgate or Hat Day competitions as well as the annual British Car Show. Our favorite is the Pooches and Polo event that always draws a crowd and leaves you smiling.

Impressive ball handling skills - polo style!

Although the sport of polo has roots that go back 2,000 years, its rules and nuances are alien to most of us. Never heard of a “chukker”? Don’t worry, the announcers at the Tinicum Polo Club take care to explain the rules and the action as the match progresses so you never feel too lost. Besides, the basic premise of the game is quite simple, hit the ball through the goal posts. How much easier can it be?

Getting chased by five 1,000 pound horses with riders armed with clubs is an odd way to relax!

And polo is easy, provided you ignore the part about the need to hit a little 3 1/4 inch white plastic ball with a mallet in a controlled manner while sitting atop a galloping horse with other galloping horses surrounding you. The teams are comprised of four players each and matches last for six “chukkers” or periods. Each chukker is seven minutes long with a three-minute break between chukkers to change horses, which are commonly referred to as polo ponies. Although not officially a distinct breed, polo ponies are none-the-less quite unique and specifically bred for the game. In the United States they are commonly a combination of Thoroughbred and Quarter horses, but other countries have adapted different breeding strategies.

The players wear kneepads and the horse's lower legs are padded for protection.

The atmosphere at the Tinicum Park Polo Club is very laid back. At $5 per carload, it is also very reasonable. Bring some chairs and some snacks and prepare to relax and make some new friends, as it is a very social atmosphere. Make sure to bring the kids and the dogs, though they (the dogs, not the kids) really must be on a leash as more than one has shown a near fatal inclination to chase the horses during a match. During half time, the kids will have an opportunity to hop on-board Charlie Chukker, which is a “unique” metal horse, and practice hitting a ball with a mallet. In addition, half time includes the tradition of walking the field and stomping the divots to help increase the safety for horses and riders alike. On the subject of safety, matches are cancelled if the field is too wet, so it is best to check their hotline even if the sun is shining on a Saturday but it rained earlier in the week.

10 acres is a lot of ground to cover, even on a horse.

Polo remains a sport with very limited exposure. We are sure that there are other clubs that provide the same combination of thrilling competition and a family friendly environment, but we have not visited them personally. To find other polo clubs in Pennsylvania, click here. Also note that the Tinicum Arts Festival is held in early July immediately adjacent to the polo fields. Check the dates as this is a Saturday and Sunday event that you want to make sure not to miss. Music, good food, great art, and polo – what could possibly be better than that!

Photography Tips:

You are going to want a long lens for most polo shooting. 300mm will leave you wishing for more. The field is 300 yards long by 160 yards wide so that’s 10 acres of ground to cover! However, when the horses get close you are going to curse having the long lens on so go for detail shots or use a zoom.

You are also going to want to keep your shutter speeds up, unless you are intentionally trying to blur your image, as the horses are very fast. This is a great place to practice panning as well.

Fast shutter speeds are needed to stop the action. This one is at 1/2500 of a second.

Slow shutter speeds can also be used to good effect.

Be cognizant of the position of the sun. The direction you shoot in will vary somewhat depending on the time of the year, but it is generally a bad idea to shoot directly into a high, hot summer sun. Again in general, you are better with the sun at your back and you are going to want to be wearing sun screen!