Congressional Polo Club

"Beautiful space with rustic decor. Lack clean bathrooms"

"Beautiful spacious outdoor space, far enough from the District, but still frequented by city folks."

"Attended a fundraiser for Habitat for Humanity which included a Polo match, the first of my life, and a fashion show. Awesome afternoon and the environment was amazing."

"Very beautiful scenery, the horses was amazing. Love the game."

"With the stress of isolation, I wanted to do something active. I decided to take a polo class. I am not an advanced rider and I said that when I signed up and when I showed up. I ride English. I called the number on the website and left a message. A really lovely lady called me back, explained how everything works and how to sign up for a group lesson. I did. I was really excited and showed up for the lesson because prior to this lesson I had had one other polo lesson in Dallas and had a fantastic time. I had a really friendly instructor in Dallas who was funny, put me at ease and had a very reassuring manner because after all, I am not a competitive player. I had the opposite experience at the Congressional Polo Club. From the very beginning the instructor was very testy and snappy. He said I didn’t tell him that I hadn’t ridden in 2 years, well no one asked. I explained that I had surgery after my polo lesson in Dallas and with Covid last year I didn’t go riding. I thought perhaps he was having a rough day but as time went on I noticed that his tone with others was much nicer than his tone with me. First, it is unnerving to be in a setting where there is no one who looks like you. So after about 10 minutes, I told him this was not for me. He softened a bit after that and told me to keep going. It was the most miserable lesson I have ever had for a hobby. I couldn’t wait for the class to be over, he made me feel like I wasn’t good enough. I wouldn’t be taking lessons if I was an expert. I paid $125 for a one-hour lesson, I did not pay to be disrespected. For example, He gave me instructions to hold the mallet and I initially held it the wrong way and he snapped and said “did I tell you to hold it like that?!” I was stunned. As if my day wasn’t going badly enough already, I approached a lady as I was walking towards my car to thank her because she had been nice to me earlier. She asked if I had fun and I said no and I didn’t pay to be yelled that and that I am not one of those students who likes to be yelled at, it makes me shut down. Her response was “there are cheaper places around the area if you want to find a cheaper lesson”. I told her cost wasn’t the problem, the problem was being yelled at. It is 2021 and I am being told as a black person that I can find a cheaper lesson if I have a problem with being yelled at. Please let that sink in and put yourself in my shoes having been through a miserable lesson and being told that by another rider. It makes me wonder if that is how most individuals associated with the Club are (minus the lovely lady who helped me sign up). Clearly the cost was not an issue if I signed up for a lesson. It is a shame that this is happening in this day and age. If this had happened in Dallas, I would have thought, well it is the south. I had a better experience of inclusion and belonging at a polo Club in Dallas (in the south) than I did at the Congressional Polo Club which is just outside of DC."