NEWS

Peter Poor died on Dec. 21, 2024, in South Hamilton, Massachusetts, from complications of renal disease. He was on a waiting list to receive a donor kidney at the time of his death. He was 74.

Poor began playing polo at age 6 when his father put a mallet in his hand at Myopia Polo Club (South Hamilton, Massachusetts). When his father died just four years later, then-club instructor, 7-goaler Cyril Harrison, took him under his wing. Poor fell in love with polo, earning a 4-goal handicap and tried to convince everyone he could to try out the sport.

As a player at Myopia Polo Club and the now-defunct Gulfstream Polo Club (Lake Worth, Florida), Poor regularly competed in both outdoor and arena events. At Myopia, he competed in the East Coast Open numerous times, as well as 6, 8- and 12-goal tournaments. Among the many titles he won were the 12-goal Inter-Circuit and the National Sherman Memorial.

In 1983, Poor started Stage Hill Polo school (Newbury, Massachusetts). He taught polo in Massachusetts in the summers and eventually taught in Florida during the winters. Over more than 40 years, Poor introduced countless people to the sport, including men, women and children from every background imaginable, including teachers, retail workers, doctors, lawyers and business people. Many of his students, including USPA Treasurer Steven Rudolph, Myopia Manager April Clark, Newport Polo’s (Portsmouth, Rhode Island) Dan Keating and USPA Circuit Governor Dave Strouss, went on to compete at clubs up and down the East Coast.

Poor became a member of the USPA in 1967. He was eventually elected Northeast Circuit Governor, serving from 2002 to 2019. He also chaired the USPA Nominating and Tournament Committees. During his time at the USPA, he helped expand Polo Properties, the USPA’s brand licensing business at that time that continues to fund the Association and its many programs. At one point, he was hired as USPA Executive Director when the headquarters were in Lexington, Kentucky, but health problems required him to stay closer to home, so he had to decline the offer to relocate to South Florida.

Above all else, Poor’s greatest joy was his family. He was immensely proud of his daughters’ achievements in polo and life. He is survived by his wife Sharon; daughters Jennifer Mcleavy, Amanda Roberts and Alyson Poor; and grandchildren Mason Roberts and Samantha and William Mcleavy.