The Calgary Polo Club in Calgary, Alberta, Canada celebrated the Canada Day weekend with a fun, competitive polo tournament with 15 teams playing in four flights. Canada Day celebrates the July 1, 1867 anniversary of the Constitution Act, which united the Province of Canada, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick into a single territory. The federal holiday is comparable to the U.S.’s July 4th celebrations.

The club, dating back to 1890, is one of the oldest in North America. Set on 300 acres 20 miles south of Calgary, it features eight fields, 400 stalls, a mile-and-a-half exercise track and an historic ranch house. The club offers polo for just about everyone. It has a bustling polo school and coaching league, as well as a full schedule of tournaments at several levels.

The Western Canadian Polo Tournament started on Friday, June 28, with a welcome party and rules review with Umpires, LLC umpire Fergus Gould. Players were completely engaged, soaking in all the information Gould could offer.

The polo action got underway on Saturday with two teams in the Eh! Flight (4-6 goal), five teams in the Alberta Flight (1½-2½ goals), four teams in the Canuck Flight (0- 1 goal), and four teams in the Double-Double Flight (school). Finals were played Sunday but the action continued Monday with polo manager Mike Kerley mixing up the teams for the Canada Day Mixer Monday. The fun didn’t end there. Parties were held in the Cantina on Saturday and Sunday night.

The first match-up saw Blizzard edge Centurians, 7-6. Centurians led 3-0 before Blizzard got on the board. Centurians outscored Blizzard, 3-2, in the second to take a 5-2 lead at the half. Blizzard bounced back in the third with three unanswered goals to knot the score, 5-5. The teams battled in the last seven minutes, but Blizzard got the narrow edge.

At the same time on another field, Somerset took on Mayhem for the Canuck Flight. Neither team could reach the goal in the first, but Somerset took over in the second with Heidi Clark scoring two in a row and Jodi Morel adding another. Cole MacKinnon put Mayhem on the board but Kirsten Berrier answered for Somerset. In the fourth, James Scott split the uprights and Berrier added another. MacKinnon answered but Mayhem ran out of time and Somerset had the 5-2 victory.

Next, Engel & Volkers took on Identity Polo, also for the Canuck Flight. Identity got right to work, with Anne Evamy, Brent Watson and Sheryl Sick each finding the goal. Manolo put Engel on the board in the second to end the half, 3-1. The teams traded goals in the third, but Engel ran out of gas in the fourth. Evamy added one more to end with Identity ahead, 6-3.

In the Alberta Flight, Grande Prairie, Black Diamond and Tekarra played off in a round robin. Grande Prairie came out on top with a total of seven goals, while Black Diamond and Tekarra ended with five goals each.

In the EH! Flight, Remax overcame BD&P, 5-3. Remax shot in three unanswered goals in the first and neither team could reach the goal in the second. The teams traded goals in the third, and BD&P outscored Remax, 2-1, in the final chukker but Remax hung on for the win.

The teams came back the following day for the consolations and finals. The first consolation round pitted Black Diamond, Tekarra and Centurians in a round robin. So closely matched, each team won a round, and each round ended 3-2.

Another close match had Mayhem edging Engel & Volkers, 3-2, in the Canuck Flight consolation. A low scoring first half had Mayhem with the only goal. Engel got on the board in the third with two goals but Mayhem responded to tie the score, 2-2, heading into the last chukker. Cole MacKinnon snagged the only goal of the fourth to give Mayhem the win. In the Double Double Flight consolation Blue Besos defeated Insync, 3-1. It was a true team effort for Blue Besos, with three of the four players connecting with the goal.

The Double Double Flight final had Rough Riders getting a 2-1 edge over T Square Polo. Will Schneider struck first for Rough Riders, a goal that went unanswered. Teammate Brendan Kwong followed with a goal in the second. Jenn Foster put T Squared on the board but that would be it and Rough Riders took the trophies.

The EH! Flight final saw Remax get the best of BD&P, 8-3. Tim Rudy jumped out in the first chukker with a hat trick. Ryan Kerley added another for Remax and Rudy shot through back-toback goals. Meanwhile, BD&P was unable to reach the goal, ending the half with Remax ahead, 7-0. BD&P began to rally in the third with Nacho Bello and Saul Torres splitting the uprights. James Kidd added another one for BD&P in the last chukker but Rudy responded. Time ran out and Remax had the victory.

Somerset came out shooting in the Canuck Flight final, adding to a half-goal handicap. Kyle Fargey scored early in the first, then added two more in the second. James Scott also scored a pair to take a 5½-0 advantage. Identity struggled to reach the goal in the third, but successfully stopped the bleeding from Somerset. Anne Evamy put Identity on the board in the last chukker but the team was unable to make up any more ground and Somerset had the win.

In the Alberta Flight final for the Ross Fargey Cup, Grande Prairie came from behind early in the match to take the 6-2 win. Grande Prairie began with a one-goal handicap, which Daniel Roenisch quickly negated. John Rooney added another goal, giving Blizzard the 2-1 lead after the first seven minutes. Craig Nelson and Fernando Pliego scored in the second to put Grande Prairie ahead, 3-2, at the half. Pliego added another in the third and teammate Chet Nelson followed with a goal for the 5-2 lead. Craig Nelson got off his second goal in the final chukker, while the team continued to stop all of Blizzard’s attempts. Time expired with Grande Prairie holding the trophies.

The action continued into Monday when the teams were mixed up for even more competitive fun, and finished out the celebration with a barbecue.

-- Photos by Kerri Kerley