NEWS
The New Orleans Polo Club's fourth annual charity event filled Summergrove Farms with two matches, a "Pretty Woman" hat contest and a silent auction on the first cool Sunday of the fall.
By Kim M. Braud | October 19, 2026
FOLSOM, La. - Golf carts met guests in the parking lot at Summergrove Farms on Sunday and carried them to the gate of the 2026 Autumn Polo Classic, the first stop on an afternoon of polo, fashion and fundraising for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.
The event, now in its fourth year, is presented by the New Orleans Polo Club, a nonprofit club based in Folsom. Proceeds benefit St. Jude, according to the club. The club's event page describes the Classic as the Northshore's premier equestrian event and said it expected more than 400 patrons.
The weather cooperated. A seasonal change had arrived just in time, and the day was cool, clear and bright over the field on Highway 40.
Before the first chukker
Before play began, the horses were being tacked up near the field: bridles fitted, legs wrapped in bright polo bandages, saddles cinched.
Several riders took time to talk while they prepared. They were eager to introduce their horses by name and to share a bit about each animal.
Before the first chukker, the riders were happy to make introductions, one horse at a time.
Polo is played on horseback by teams of four, in timed periods called chukkers. Players change horses between periods, which is why a single match requires a string of mounts for each rider.
Hats, suits and a field full of style
Walking across the field meant walking through a fashion show. Women wore wide brims crowned with feathers, tulle and silk flowers. Men came in suits and polo whites.
The afternoon's signature event was the "Pretty Woman" hat contest, which the club scheduled for 2:30 p.m., between the two matches. More than 40 women entered, each wearing a numbered pink rosette.
The club's program also called for divot stomping at halftime, a polo tradition in which spectators walk onto the field to press back the turf kicked up by hooves.
Food, spirits and a cigar roller
Inside the venue, vendors served food and spirits throughout the afternoon. Veuve Clicquot operated a champagne booth, and Pour Lush, a luxury mobile bartending service, poured from a mobile bar. A cigar roller worked on site.
A silent auction, which the club's program listed as opening at 11:30 a.m., ran alongside the matches.
The event drew a long list of sponsors, donors and partners, displayed on an easel near the entrance. Among them were Evergreen Tractor of Covington and Kubota, whose logos also appear on the field's scoreboard; host venue Summergrove Farms; The Pontchartrain Club; Koga Neurosurgery, whose banner hung over a tent near the hat contest; and media partners Fox 8 and WWNO 89.9.
Where the money goes
St. Jude is based in Memphis and treats children with cancer and other life-threatening diseases. The club's event page notes that families do not receive a bill from St. Jude for treatment, travel, housing or food, and that the hospital operates affiliate clinics closer to home, including two in Louisiana.
The day closed the way it opened, with the hosts looking after their guests.
As Evans Cutchmore Press was leaving, one of the organizers offered a souvenir: a polo ball from the day's play.
The club posts event photos on its Facebook page.
Kim M. Braud is the Founder & Editor of Evans Cutchmore Press, an independent newsroom covering Louisiana and the Gulf South, and the author of Financial Power for Life™, a financial literacy framework that helps people earn, protect, grow, leverage, and transfer wealth. Her reporting focuses on government, infrastructure, business, culture, and the public policies that shape communities, with a commitment to highlighting progress and the people doing meaningful work in a news landscape often dominated by conflict and crisis.
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