Charlotte Skaggs Polo Lady Extraordinaire

By Carolyn Richardson


Polo is one of the oldest, fastest and most perilous sports on the planet. Estimates of its origin go back to 600 BC in Persia, or what we now call Iran. We know that Person Emperor Shapur II learned to play the game in 316 AD, when he was a boy of seven years old. Played on a grass field, the pitch measures 160 x 300 yards. Usually, the players are seated on horses and use wooden mallets to try and whack a ball, made of solid plastic, into a goal. Elephant polo is played in Thailand, Nepal, India, and Nepal. Players ride two to an elephant and the field is only 75% the size of a conventional field, owing to the slower speed of the animals. Traditional polo is growing in popularity in Texas, mainly because of a model and marketing expert, Charlotte Skaggs.

Known affectionately as "The Polo Lady, " Charlotte founded an organization, Texans for Polo, in 2006. By skillfully using state-of-the-art technology and social marketing strategies, she raised the profile of the sport and boosted attendance by 500 percent within the space of six months. She raises the profile of polo by associating the sport with events centered around luxury cars, fashion shows, and the Brinker International Polo Cup.

Charlotte's love of horses and the game of polo were fostered by her mother and her grandparents. She longs to tell the world about the powerful and amazing sport of princes and kings. Through the Polo World Network, she aims to provide a forum where players can post videos and commentary about their tournaments and experiences. Spectators and friends of the sport are also encouraged to contribute their thoughts.

Not a big fan of heights, the Polo Lady likes to express her wild side through the medium of speed. She is such a daredevil that only 12 weeks after undergoing neck surgery, she was pedaling madly for Multiple Sclerosis, cycling 150 miles within 48 hours.

Participating in the Oklahoma Free Wheel event in 2004, she and 900 other speed demons cycled across the state in six days, a distance of 400 miles. One night involved camping in a tent being battered by 75 mile per hour winds. She thinks of these endurance contests as less of a race and more of a commitment to stay the distance.

When she is not cycling against the odds, she likes to sail Wild Fire, her Coronado sailboat, around Lake Grapevine. Wild Fire was not her first sailboat. That was a two-seater Scorpion called Horse 'n' Round, named after a yacht owned by her grandparents. She wanted to share the experience with more than one friend at a time, so she acquired Wild Fire, which seats six people.

The Polo Lady is also an accomplished target shooter, and likes to hunt mason jars in Alabama. She also likes cuddling with baby alligators in New Orleans and burrowing into caves in Robbers Cave State Park in Oklahoma.

This multi-talented woman has an unquenchable joie de vivre and masters any task she gets stuck into. It will only be a matter of time before the sport of elephant polo makes it big in Texas.




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