SCOTTSDALE, AZ — What do you get when you pair a horse and 'Captain Coyote'?
You get Shane Doan the polo player, and he has one month to get ready to play with the professionals at The Bentley Scottsdale Pro Championships at WestWorld Scottsdale.
"As a very, very, very novice, first time person, I'm anxious a little bit, but excited at the same time," Doan said. "It's something that's pretty cool. It's a unique experience. Not too often you get to do something like this I can ride. I've done that most of my life, or all my life. So that, I'm not worried."
But it is a little different than the cattle ranching and roping that Doan grew up doing in western Canada. He's never tried polo before. The closest thing was broom ball on a horse.
That's where Diego Florez of the Arizona Polo Club comes into the picture.
"Shane is actually a very, very equestrian savvy person," said Florez. "We're just basically adjusting his riding from the western discipline to polo."
According to Florez, the main barrier for people just starting out in polo is the riding aspect, which is a major leg up for Doan.
"He's very comfortable on the horse, so at that point, it's just basically learning the rules and making sure that he's in the right place at the right time," Florez said. "Hopefully, he'll score many goals during the game."
After all, polo is often called hockey on horseback, and the similarities aren't lost on Doan.
"It's the same motion where you kind of use your hips and then let the pendulum swing of the mallet," Doan said after a practice Friday morning.
The longtime Coyotes captain likened it to firing a one-timer, the only difference being the giant animal he's at the mercy of.
"When you miss on skates, you just stop. When you miss with a horse, you have to kind of convince them to stop too, so that makes it a little bit more difficult.
Doan will join the Arizona Polo Club on Saturday, November 5th for the one-day showcase with top polo players.
Last year, over 13,000 people turned out to watch, so no pressure.
"I don't want to fall off," Doan said. "That's about the only thing I don't want to do."
