By Liz Leamy
It was a glorious July afternoon at the Greenwich Polo Club last Sunday as Roller Rabbit, a powerhouse team based out of the New York metropolitan area, rolled out a valiant 13-8 win against IGEA, the high-octane contingent from Wellington, Florida, in the first round of the 2022 East Coast Gold Cup 16-goal series.
Playing in front of more than 4,000 people, the four accomplished members of Roller Rabbit, along with their stealth charges, flew around the vast Conyers Farm field with immense speed, acumen and strategy, knocking in a steady stream of points to wind up at the top of the leaderboard in the final tally.
According to the players, the match was a memorable on all fronts.
“It was a lot of fun to be out there,” said Andrew Siebert, Roller Rabbit’s number-one player and Chief Executive Officer of Roller Rabbit, a travel-inspired lifestyle fashion retailer centered around exotic and sophisticated homewear, accessories and homegoods sold through specialty stores, a wholesale operation and an e-commerce website. “This is such a friendly and welcoming place and you can feel that when you’re here. It was also really great to feel the support of the crowd today when we were out there playing.”
Siebert, who lived locally in town for several years and whose company has a retail location based on Greenwich Avenue, one of nine total stores situated in and around the U.S., said the energy among everyone on hand at the match was palpable and seemed to distinctly capture the storied spirit of the Greenwich Polo Club, which was established in 1981 by Peter Brant.
“One of the very special things about the Greenwich Polo Club is that everyone gets along so well with one another and you feel that, especially when playing,” said Siebert. “This has always been an incredibly warm and welcoming place for everyone and that’s the probably the biggest thing I’ve always felt when I come here.”
Kris Kampsen, the electric Roller Rabbit six-goaler who was named Most Valuable Player at the conclusion of the match and is regarded to be one of the most renowned marquee stars of the Greenwich Polo Club, echoed similar sentiments.
“I always love playing here at the Greenwich Polo Club. I think this is one of the most beautiful [polo] clubs in America,” said Kampsen.
“The number of people who consistently come here for the Sunday matches is amazing and collectively represent some of the biggest crowds I’ve ever seen attend public games. They always get behind the teams.”
Based upon the clear enthusiasm of the spectators, this sentiment certainly seemed to be mutual.
“Everything about this club is amazing. The players and horses are incredible, the crowd is so engaged and the whole environment here is electric,” said Brett Neri of Greenwich, an owner of the iconic Neri Bakery Products Inc. in Port Chester, who was attending the match with her husband, Paul, and their two children, Nico and Bella. “Everything is exciting here and you can see how everyone is having a lot of fun and making great memories.”
The optimistic energy of the afternoon was further elevated by the presence of all the food trucks with their diverse variety of delicious offerings, as well as the presence of the popular pop-up retail tents that included the busy Roller Rabbit merchandise area.
“It’s been such a fun experience to be here. There are so many people and everyone is just so friendly and great,” said Natalie Whiteman, Sales Associate for Roller Rabbit, whose famous Peruvian and Portuguese cotton-manufactured fashions have been in such demand recently that the company reported a 500 percent increase in production over the past year. “The polo is incredible and it’s so exciting to see the [Roller Rabbit] team playing out there. We can’t wait to come back.” (The Roller Rabbit pop-up retail tent, which also was handled by Mia Tammaro, a Sales Associate, is slated to be featured at the Sunday matches through the beginning of August.)
Ralph Pietrafesa, President of Longford’s Ice Cream that is based in Stamford whose blue Mobile Scoop Shop is always a main Greenwich Polo Club hub for so many hundreds of spectators every Sunday, agreed.
“It’s tremendous here,” said Pietrafesa, who has been working with the Greenwich Polo Club for six years running. “This is such a huge event each week and there’s nothing else around like it. The polo is amazing and to see it live is incredible. The property is beautiful, the food is great and even if you don’t know a lot about polo, it’s always a fun to be here.”
The East Coast Gold Cup tournament will continue on Sunday, July 17th at the Greenwich Polo Club.
For more information, please go to www.greenwichpoloclub.com
