A BEAUTIFUL STRETCH OF SAND... is often the scene for some water-based splash time, or the building of castles, or a hand-in-hand stroll along the surf. It's a rarer thing to spy a horse trotting near the water, though that does happen, of course. Still rarer? Admiring the horse as he trots among other horses during a game of beach polo. You're more likely to see volleyball or some Frisbee on a beach, and not the mallets and helmets associated with the venerable pursuit of polo (one that's probably more synonymous with grass in most minds, as opposed to sand). But see such sights you will if you call upon the Hotel del Coronado on Saturday, Sept. 3 and Sunday, Sept. 4 when the West Coast Beach Polo Cup trots between the historic inn and the Pacific Ocean. And while the action is very much centered around the sand-based doings of ponies, humans, and the balls they're pursuing, look for...
A LINE-UP OF OTHER TO-DOS, from a hat contest to the learning of polo to Tangoing with the polo athletes (since polo itself is sometimes thought of as a dance, some Tango fits right into the theme). Fancy eats, fancy fashions, and more are on the two-day docket. The sweetest of scenes might be the parading of ponies, but here's something sweeter: The whole happening is a benefit for Rady's Children's Hospital of San Diego. And if you think you've seen beach polo near the Hotel del Coronado before, perhaps you did, if you were there in the aughts or teens of the last century, when the sport was a Thing, with a capital T, at the posh vacation destination. For tickets to the Polo America event, clip-clop thisaway.
