By Jim Servin
Now in its second season, Aspen Valley Polo Beach Club is a fun Sunday mashup, created by Gregory Kiner, director of Corporate Communications & Sponsorships, head of Live Events. Kiner had produced snow polo in Aspen for the past 14 years. His annual stays in Palm Beach inspired him to add a coastal twist to Sunday games, at 11AM and 1PM: “I wanted to grow the summer program because we’re in Carbondale, 20 minutes from Aspen. It was important to give people a destination,” he says, and so Aspen Valley Polo Beach Club was born.
To manifest beach days in the Rockies, Kiner ordered up three truckloads of sand from an Antero Junction quarry to be spread across a sun-drenched alpine beach club. “We considered white Miami Beach sand, but that doesn’t work in the mountains—it would blow everywhere,” Kiner says. “We chose a sand that wasn’t superfine, and would absorb water and dry out quickly.”
Creating a chic beach environment called for a few key features: “a DJ—very Nikki Beach-style, cold plunges and a boutique,” says Kiner of the weekly party, where the admission fee is $75 per day, $125 with a bottle of Champagne or a charcuterie board. The DJ plays house, “get up and dance music,” and the cold plunges are set to a robust 50 degrees. A boutique sells everything you’d need for a day at the beach, as well as sweatshirts for evening, when the temperature cools. At another special event, Twilight Polo Series on Tuesday nights, the game is played until sundown, followed by a spectacular aerial light show.
“We learned a lot last summer—when we started, we did not have enough umbrellas, but by the end of the season, we brought in all the shade that we could possibly need,” says Kiner. This includes military-grade camouflage netting, popular at clubs in the South of France and Italy.
“Where we are is about 1,000 feet closer to the sun,” he adds. “People often forget, even in the winter, that you need to wear sunscreen. Between 11AM and 2PM, you’ve got to have shade. Which is what gets a lot of people into the cold plunges. They’ll say, ‘It’s too cold,’ and the next thing, they’ve got their feet in the water, and they’re sipping a cocktail.”
Now in its second season, Aspen Valley Polo Beach Club is a fun Sunday mashup, created by Gregory Kiner, director of Corporate Communications & Sponsorships, head of Live Events. Kiner had produced snow polo in Aspen for the past 14 years. His annual stays in Palm Beach inspired him to add a coastal twist to Sunday games, at 11AM and 1PM: “I wanted to grow the summer program because we’re in Carbondale, 20 minutes from Aspen. It was important to give people a destination,” he says, and so Aspen Valley Polo Beach Club was born.
To manifest beach days in the Rockies, Kiner ordered up three truckloads of sand from an Antero Junction quarry to be spread across a sun-drenched alpine beach club. “We considered white Miami Beach sand, but that doesn’t work in the mountains—it would blow everywhere,” Kiner says. “We chose a sand that wasn’t superfine, and would absorb water and dry out quickly.”
Creating a chic beach environment called for a few key features: “a DJ—very Nikki Beach-style, cold plunges and a boutique,” says Kiner of the weekly party, where the admission fee is $75 per day, $125 with a bottle of Champagne or a charcuterie board. The DJ plays house, “get up and dance music,” and the cold plunges are set to a robust 50 degrees. A boutique sells everything you’d need for a day at the beach, as well as sweatshirts for evening, when the temperature cools. At another special event, Twilight Polo Series on Tuesday nights, the game is played until sundown, followed by a spectacular aerial light show.
“We learned a lot last summer—when we started, we did not have enough umbrellas, but by the end of the season, we brought in all the shade that we could possibly need,” says Kiner. This includes military-grade camouflage netting, popular at clubs in the South of France and Italy.
“Where we are is about 1,000 feet closer to the sun,” he adds. “People often forget, even in the winter, that you need to wear sunscreen. Between 11AM and 2PM, you’ve got to have shade. Which is what gets a lot of people into the cold plunges. They’ll say, ‘It’s too cold,’ and the next thing, they’ve got their feet in the water, and they’re sipping a cocktail.” aspenvalleypoloclub.com