Fall Quarter 2022 Updates
We've made some changes to how the Aggie Polo Club will run for the 2022-2023 academic year. Scroll down to learn about our lesson schedule, memberships, and how to sign up.
Fall Quarter Lesson Schedule (September-December 2022)
The UCD quarter system consists of three 11-week quarters. Our fall quarter schedule goes from September 19th to December 2nd. During our Fall Quarter, we'll be in full swing with our weekly lessons, culminating with our quarterly student tournament on Friday, December 2nd!
All practices will take place at the Sutter Buttes Polo Club at 373 Shannon Rd, Yuba City, 95991. Carpools are available for UCD students. Starting times reflect when students should arrive at the club to pull out horses, and the end time reflects a rough estimate of when we expect to finish. These 3-3.5 hour blocks account for tacking up and putting away horses, plus a generous ~90 minutes of saddle time per lesson (sometimes more). Students should bring appropriate riding wear (long pants, boots or close-toed shoes), water, a snack, and their excitement for polo!
Lastly, December 5th-January 8th marks our one-month period of Finals and Winter Break. More info on our lesson/practice plans during that period are TBA, but we can anticipate that things will really slow down. But by then, we'll already be planning for Winter and Spring quarters, so let's not put the polo mallet before the horse :).
Here’s how we’ll be running lessons on a weekly basis:
Location: Sutter Buttes Polo Club 373 Shannon Road, Yuba City, CA 95991
Lesson and Riding Time Structure
This year, in the interest of our horses, the week will be split into polo and non-polo days. We are hoping that this structure will give our horses more days of other activities such as trail riding, sets, and general riding. Additionally, we will be enforcing a strict 24 hour signup and cancellation policy.
Polo Days: Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday
Polo days are the only days you can ride UCD horses and hold a mallet or do high impact activities in the arena (shortworking, drills, etc). These will generally be our lesson days but as the school year progresses it is likely that some weeks will only have 2-3 lessons instead of 4. On days when lessons are canceled, horses will be free to stick and ball by request. Remember, you MUST ask permission before pulling out any UCD horse. Only members can partake in polo lessons. We will do our best to fit everyone into our lessons as we feel is appropriate. If we have extra horses and people with non-polo memberships want to ride, they can’t hit or stick and ball but they may go on trail or ride in the arena before/after lessons or on canceled lesson days WITH PERMISSION. However, priority for extra horses will go to polo members on polo days. Some canceled lesson days will be due to rain or heat, and in this case we will restrict horse use.
Non-Polo Days: Tuesday, Thursday, Sunday
On these days, do not use UCD horses in stick and ball, drills, scrimmages, shortwork, or anything polo-related. People with non-polo memberships have priority for the horses on these days if we are out of horses for everyone that wants to ride. Permission is required before riding or pulling out UCD horses. Please let us know at the beginning of the week (especially non-polo riders)- after the sign up deadline horses will be first come first serve, regardless of membership status. Again, you MUST get permission before pulling out ANY UC Davis horse.
Membership Changes and Pricing
New for this quarter is an opportunity to REDUCE your membership rate by helping the club. We need your help to keep this club running! Our “deputy officer” roles give our students a discounted membership fee in exchange for helping out with a few administrative tasks/barn chores. The discount either reduces the membership by $200 or $350 depending on t whether members decide to take on a role as a Blue Tier Deputy Officer or a Gold Tier Deputy Officer.
Blue Tier tasks require less commitment than Gold Tier, but are subject to change and are more physically intensive (think barn chores). These roles and the jobs associated with them are created on an as-needed basis, but we've listed examples of roles you might be assigned to below.
Are you brand new to polo and not sure if you want to commit to a full membership? That's totally fine! Students can pay per-lesson for up to three lessons before deciding to commit to a full membership. Our students are welcome to decide to purchase a quarterly membership after lesson #1 or lesson #2, and start their unlimited lessons without paying for more individual lessons.
Depending on your class schedule, you can always change your membership at the start of each new quarter. All deputy officers are expected to attend at least 2 club events per quarter.
Here's how it's going to work:
*Non-Student Single Lesson (up to 3 lessons): $70
*UCD Student Single Lesson (up to 3 lessons):$60
Non-Student Member ($800)
For non-UCD students. Pricing includes access to all lessons for Fall Quarter (reserved on a first-come-first-serve-sign-up basis), entry into our quarterly student tournament on December 2nd, access to club social events, and discounts on tournaments held at the Sutter Buttes Polo Club. While we still expect you to be responsible for tacking/untacking your horse at practices and for taking care of your equipment, you're not required to help with administrative tasks or barn chores.
UCD Student Member ($700)
For undergraduate and graduate UCD students. Pricing includes access to all lessons for Fall Quarter (reserved on a first-come-first-serve-sign-up basis), entry into our quarterly student tournament on December 2nd, access to club social events, and discounts on tournaments held at the Sutter Buttes Polo Club. While we still expect you to be responsible for tacking/untacking your horse at practices and for taking care of your equipment, you're not required to help with administrative tasks or barn chores.
Officer (UCD Varsity) $600
Our officers are also members of our varsity team. In exchange for being able to play at a competitive level, officers take on larger leadership and administrative roles within the club, such as President, Treasurer, Secretary, and Barn Manager. In addition to organizing lessons, managing finances, and taking care of the club, officers also serve as lesson instructors.
Gold Tier Deputy (Primary Deputy Officer) -$350 discount!
Pricing includes access to all lessons for Fall Quarter (reserved on a first-come-first-serve-sign-up basis), entry into our quarterly student tournament on December 2nd, access to club social events, and discounts on tournaments held at the Sutter Buttes Polo Club. In addition to tacking and untacking your horse at practices and taking proper care of your equipment, deputy officers help to oversee barn chores and assist the officers with their administrative roles. Deputy officers will have more "fixed" roles, will check in with their supervising club officer weekly, and will attend monthly club meetings.
Blue Tier Deputy (Secondary Deputy Officer) -$200 discount
Pricing includes access to all lessons for Fall Quarter (reserved on a first-come-first-serve-sign-up basis), entry into our quarterly student tournament on December 2nd, access to club social events, and discounts on tournaments held at the Sutter Buttes Polo Club. You will float around taking care of smaller tasks that need to be done for the club. Tasks will mostly be barn chores (mucking stalls, helping to drag the arena, cleaning and organizing tack) with the occasional minor administrative job (flyering around campus, tabling).
Non-polo Membership ($500)
For those who want to get some saddle time but aren’t interested in polo. Can only access the horses on non-polo days.
Social Membership ($400 **for the year!!)
For those who aren’t interested in riding but want to stay in the loop with all of the Aggie Polo news and events. You’ll receive our weekly emails, pen pal notes from some of our amazing polo ponies, and have access to club socials.
Deputy Jobs and Roles
As mentioned above, these roles will mostly be created on an as-needed basis, but here are some examples of the specific roles you may be assigned to depending on which type of deputy officer you decide to be.
Gold Tier Deputy Roles:
-Equine Health Monitor (works with Lili and Melinda): Keeps track of horse health, including noting if horses are lame, colicky, have sores, are missing a shoe, or are losing weight. Can administer meds under Melinda's direction. In charge of recording when horses were used in our notebook log.
-Equipment/Barn Manager (works with Charlize): Records when tack is broken, in charge of cleaning tack weekly, sweeping out barn, keeping polo balls inflated, maintaining updated list of which horse uses which tack.
-Crowdfund Queen (works with Marisa and Maya): manages UC Davis fundraisers specifically on the Crowdfund website
-Finance Minion (works with Marisa): Helps Marisa keep track of finances on the spreadsheet
-Fundraiser Fairy (works with Maya): Manages sales of merchandise, smaller fundraisers like Cane’s, Chipotle, or a bake sale
-Tournament Manager (works with Maya/Bonnie): Works with Maya and Bonnie on FB Hart plus Fall Alumni Tournament—specifically with the logistics of putting teams/chukkers together and matching players with horses. A scheduling role.
Blue Tier Deputy Roles:
-Acting as a secretary for officer meetings
-Rolling polo wraps and washing saddle pads
-Organizing and cleaning tack
-Scooping poop after lessons/making sure our barn stays tidy
-Posting flyers around campus
-Set up and take down for tabling events and on-campus events