In Photos: Winter Polo Gallops onto Second Beach

The 's kick-off weekend brought exciting polo matches to Second Beach in Middletown Saturday and Sunday that drew a crowd of Newport Polo Club fans and families alike.

For the second year running, Team Middletown in blue and Team Newport in yellow traded the grassy fields of Portsmouth for the sandy beach in a thrilling show of galloping hooves, swinging mallets and a polo ball that continually changed the direction of play at the mercy of the gusty winds.

With close to one hundred spectators, Second Beach gave a glimpse of the summer season to come. The sun was shining, the waves were pounding and folks were seated along the makeshift polo field in their folding chairs with cameras and drinks (0f the warm variety) in hand.  The biggest difference from summer polo, of course, was the thermostat reading 38 degrees and the wind clocking in at 45 miles per hour.