Known for having a skill set rarely seen in women’s polo, Harris has caught the eye of polo’s elite – not just as one of the best women’s intercollegiate players, but as one of the best in the United States.
In 2016, as a senior in high school, Harris was named the U.S. Polo Association’s National Interscholastic Player of the Year. And just a year later, she was playing for Postage Stamp Farm at the 2017 Silver Cup tournament, the top tier of polo in the country.
An animal science major at Cornell, Harris’ talent sets her apart from the competition, but her journey to the top also makes her stand out.
Harris grew up in inner-city Philadelphia, one of three children in a single-income household. Her introduction to polo happened by accident after a wrong turn in the Fairmount Park neighborhood landed Harris, her mother Sharmell and her younger brother on the doorstep of Philadelphia’s Work to Ride program.
In a sport dominated by wealthy men, you might think she’s not supposed to be here.
You’d be wrong.
Landing on the doorstep of Work to Ride was a blessing in disguise for Harris and her family.
“We were driving around lost, and I remember my brother noticing the horses first,” Harris says. “After looking around for a bit we decided to go inside, where we eventually met with [founder] Lezlie Hiner to pick up an application.”
Founded in 1992, Work to Ride is a Philadelphia-based nonprofit that promotes discipline, self-esteem, social development, life skills, academic achievement and physical fitness to low-income, at-risk youths though horsemanship, equine sports and educational activities. The program is designed as a long-term program for children ages 7-19 who must commit to at least one year of participation. Participants engage in equestrian activities, get paid to maintain the horse stables and receive after-school tutoring to help maintain grades and assist with college enrollment.
Before joining Work to Ride’s polo team, Harris, who became involved in the program at age 8, first had to learn how to ride, clean the stalls and groom the horses. Work to Ride quickly became a full-time commitment for Harris and her siblings, who would spend entire summer days at the stables.
In her fourth year with the program, at age 12, Harris mustered up the courage to join the polo team. By then, the number of girls enrolled in the program had dwindled, forcing her to play against the boys.
“[A]s I got older they either quit, aged out or got kicked out,” Harris says of the girls. “After a while, I was the only girl there for a long time, and all the boys would be playing polo. I watched them play for a while before deciding that I didn’t want to sit on the sidelines while they were having fun.”
Playing against the guys hardened Harris, who’s known as one of the more physical players in intercollegiate women’s polo.
“Playing with the guys took me a step beyond where I was at,” Harris says. “I originally started playing on the women’s team, and I’d say I was decent. But when I got a chance to play with the guys, they didn’t take it easy on me. That’s what first started to fuel the competitive drive.”
Work to Ride has opened doors for Harris. Trips to tournaments across the country and around the world have allowed her to experience different cultures and learn polo from some of the best in the world. That experience has put Harris in a position to give back to the program in any way she can.
“I go back and visit every time I have a break from school,” said Harris. “I’m still connected with all the kids in the program and Lezlie especially. I can’t talk about my life story without Work to Ride because my life evolved from the program. I owe the program a lot due to how it changed me as a person and gave me direction in my life.”
