Morehouse Polo Club and Atlanta B.E.S.T. Academy Compete at 9th Annual Atlanta Fashion & Polo Classic, Which Raised $30,000 for Youth Equestrian Programs

The Morehouse Polo Club and the Atlanta B.E.S.T. Academy Polo Team took the field at the 9th Annual Atlanta Fashion & Polo Classic on Saturday, September 19, at Bouckaert Farm in Fairburn, Georgia. Morehouse is the nation’s first certified HBCU polo team, while Atlanta B.E.S.T. Academy is the country’s first all-Black high school polo team registered with the U.S. Polo Association (USPA). The day’s competition also included an international match against a visiting Nigerian Polo Team.

More than 3,000 guests attended, making it one of the largest turnouts in the event’s nine-year history, and the Classic raised approximately $30,000 for the Ride to the Olympics Foundation. Founded in 2017, the foundation works to expand access to equestrian sports such as polo, show jumping, and dressage for youth in underrepresented communities, and part of the funds will go toward the Atlanta B.E.S.T. Academy team.

“This means a lot not just for me, but also to the kids that we support,” said Miguel Wilson, founder of the Classic. Looking ahead, Wilson said the goal is to build new youth teams across the country and eventually “create a national competitive circuit of youth teams competing against one another.”

Festivities began Friday, September 18, with a welcome party sponsored by Ben Crump Law at The Westin Atlanta Airport Hotel, and continued Saturday with a live performance by Tyrese. Guests included former Atlanta Mayor and Georgia gubernatorial candidate Keisha Lance Bottoms, Mona Scott-Young, Toya Johnson-Rushing, Bryan-Michael Cox, Lamman Rucker, Terri J. Vaughn, Big Tigger, Kenny Burns, and Pastor Jamal Bryant.