Continuing a sporting legacy

By Betsy Gilliland
South Carolina Bureau
Tuesday, March 28, 2006

Whitney Polo Field, named for William C. Whitney, was first used for polo in 1882, six years after the sport was introduced in the United States. The 32-acre field boasts the longest consecutive period of play in the country.

Mr. Whitney, a New York City lawyer who served as secretary of the Navy under Grover Cleveland, and fellow Winter Colony resident Thomas Hitchcock Jr. deeded the land, along with the 188-acre Palmetto Golf Club property, to a nine-member board of trustees April 3, 1901, for $1.

"Whitney wanted to protect the property for the benefit of sport," said Woody Millen, a Whitney trustee. "If all of a sudden polo was no longer going on, we could use that field for another purpose."

Attorneys have called the deed a "forward-written document," he said.

"If things fell on hard times, we could sell bits and pieces (of land) as long as the proceeds went back into what's left," Mr. Millen said.

The trust leases its properties to organizations such as the Aiken Polo Club. The trust currently owns about 250 acres, including two polo fields on Powderhouse Road, Mr. Millen said.

The University of South Carolina Aiken Polo Tournament, the final jewel in Aiken's Triple Crown, will be held at Powderhouse Field on Saturday.

Polo has enjoyed a resurgence in interest after its heyday in the early 20th century, Mr. Millen said.

"When the Depression came along, all these luxury sports went by the wayside," he said.

Polo, which has been called a "game of kings," has maintained its status as a luxury sport.

For starters, a good polo pony costs $15,000 or more, said Mr. Millen, and each player needs six to eight horses.

Whitney Field is used to train flat-race horses until 11 a.m. each day, and polo players can exercise their horses on the field after that time, Mr. Millen said.

However, he said, the real value of the trust and its properties is its ability to ensure Aiken's legacy as a winter sporting place will continue.

"We're keeping a lot of property for the benefit of sport and not development, which makes the surrounding residential property more attractive and more valuable," Mr. Millen said. "It just makes the city of Aiken a more attractive place to live."