May/June 2024 Issue

EAST COAST EQUESTRIAN May/June 2024 Page 33 44 Edgefield Rd. • Quarryville, PA 17566 Kelly Wells, who now holds the record for most Girl’s National Interscholastic Championship wins with 14 total: 10 National Championships with Maryland and four with Garrison Forest School.” Wells loves to win, and her record illustrates that. “We either win, or come in second,” she says, considering her teams’ performances over the years. And she is not strictly a coach. She continues to compete, throughout the region and even internation- ally. “I do still compete regularly both in the arena and outdoors on the grass,” she says. “I generally play on teams with my students to give them experience playing competitive polo at a higher level.” One of her favorite players is her daughter, Marissa, who also coaches with Wells at Mar- lan Farm. “I enjoy playing with my daughter in women’s events and traveling the world to play in international tournaments.” She and Marissa played with two of their 14-year-old students in a tournament in New Zealand in February. The outcome? They won! In addition to building championship teams, Wells develops individual champions. According to the USPA, a piece of history repeated itself with Wells’ most recent championship. Isabelle Brockett, one of the Maryland players, is the daughter of Arabella Brockett, who played on the 2001 championship team from Garrison Forest. Coached by Wells. Wells credits the riding teachers she had early in her equestrian career. “I had good teachers who helped me,” she says. Throughout her early years with horses, her teachers focused on horsemanship and equitation. “They helped me learn how to teach riding.” A Sport Facing Challenges Despite the success of Wells’ program, she knows there are challenges. “The cost of horses is really high,” she says. “In the past, prices were more reasonable. But during COVID people wanted to ride and they scooped up all the horses.” And the nature of polo as a sport presents a lot of issues. “Polo takes a while to prog- ress. It’s challenging to get kids and families to commit to the time.” She says that one of the programs she runs is a summer pony camp. “It’s my channel to get kids into the program,” she explains. And those kids fall in love with horses and the sport. Each season she has three or four teams to coach, and, proof of her successful formula, “many of my students go on to play college and professional polo.” Kelly Wells Sets Record with 14 National Girls Polo Championships (Continued from page 32) Tell our advertisers you found them in East Coast Equestrian!