Megan West-Koll started playing polo in 2008 at Purdue University. The same year, she joined the Barrington Hills Polo Club outside Chicago which remains her home club today. During her tenure at the club, she has served as delegate to the USPA as well as the club’s equine welfare manager.

For the past 10 years, she has been part of the club’s Executive Committee involved in all aspects of club management. She organizes the club’s tournaments and practice schedule, and is the club’s primary contact person between Barrington Hills, the USPA, and other clubs in the circuit. She is the founder of the Barrington Hills Women’s Traveling Team program and a strong advocate for women and girls polo in the Midwest.

She believes the best course for growing the sport is to promote amateur, arena and low-goal polo, an attitude that has helped Barrington Hills become the largest polo club in the Central Circuit. Megan earned her Ph.D. in food chemistry at Purdue and is a chemist for Mars Wrigley’s long-term R&D division. She holds a 2-goal handicap in the arena and a 0.5 handicap outdoors. She lives on a small farm in Barrington Hills with her husband James, four cats, and three polo ponies: Dixie, Jane and Bea (Beatrice).

If elected Central Circuit Governor, she promises to visit and maintain on-going contact with each club in the circuit to learn what club needs are and interpret which USPA programs are available to help satisfy those needs. “Our club has benefited greatly from a variety of USPA programs, and I’m sure other clubs could take advantage as well with a Circuit Governor willing to serve as intermediary with the USPA on the clubs’ behalf. That’s a big part of what I hope to do.”