BIG HORN — On a 94-degree smoky day, crowds of people backed up their cars and set up tents, lawn chairs and blankets at the Big Horn Polo Club to watch two games of polo during Sunday’s tailgate party. The event, the end of Sheridan WYO Rodeo week, included the Eatons’ Ranch Cup and the WYO Rodeo Cup.
As with all polo matches at Big Horn Polo Club, the matches were free to attend and open to the public. For Lori Brukert from Big Horn, this was her second polo game ever.
“It’s beautiful,” Brukert said. “The horses are amazing, they’re so athletic.”
It was also Brukert’s third year attending the Sheridan WYO Rodeo. She went on Friday night, and enjoyed the Indian Relay Races.
“It was the best so far,” Brukert said.
The polo horses weren’t the only animals chasing balls on the field. Many tailgaters brought furry friends to the match, and during halftime, when spectators are allowed on the field to stomp the divots, Rosey Wayman played fetch with her yellow lab, Gina Wayman.
“Gina is at every polo match,” Rosey Wayman said. “She has lots of friends, lots of kids that want to pet her. She lives to be out chasing the ball and then sitting under my chair, begging for food.”
Rosey Wayman, from Big Horn, has many family members involved in polo. She’s been involved with the sport since she was a child.
“This is a nice match today, but they’re always good, always different,” Rosey Wayman said.
Rosey Wayman also goes to the rodeo every night. She thought that this year, the contractors and board members did an excellent job with the week’s events.
“(It was) another good rodeo,” Rosey Wayman said. “I can’t think of a bad one here”
Bob Brotherton, also called “Bullet Bob,” has been playing polo for 25 years and played for Sheridan Seed Co. at the Sheridan WYO Rodeo Cup. Now 77, he appreciates the Big Horn Polo Club for not requiring players to form teams or creating any other hindrances to playing.
“This is the only place in the world where a common person can play polo,” Brotherton said.
Brotherton added Big Horn Polo Club was also one of the few places that don’t require an entrance fee to attend the matches.
Before he began playing polo, Brotherton worked with horses as a jockey, exercise boy — somebody who took the horses out to keep them fit — and cowboy.
He attended this year’s rodeo with his children and grandchildren and thought it was “absolutely fabulous.”
“When you see somebody bulldog a steer in 3.6 seconds, that’s quicker than you can take a deep breath,” Brotherton said.
The rodeo sponsored the second match, the WYO Rodeo Cup.
Brandy Campbell, the secretary of the WYO Rodeo Board of Directors, was one of the organizers of the tailgate party.
The rodeo volunteers enjoyed a catered lunch and drank complimentary beverages.
“This tailgate is really our thank you to our volunteers,” Campbell said.
Campbell said the tailgate was also an opportunity for volunteers and board members to relax together after the rodeo.
“It’s a lot of work, but when you see those stands as full as they are and you see the people happy and have people who come from all over the world who come to see it, it fills your cup,” Campbell said of the event.