Polo on the Prairie
Huge Success With
Some Surprises
Even after a dozen years of Polo on the Prairie tradition, the fund-raiser
benefitting M. D. Anderson continued to delight supporters and produce
some unexpected twists this year.
Helping to push the event's fund-raising total to more than $1.2 million
since 1987, some of the youngest contributors made the most moving impact
on the weekend-long affair. During a trip to the polo field, the sixth
grade class from Eastland Middle School presented a giant check for $850
to Polo on the Prairie co-chair Mary Anne McCloud.
The class had been studying a mini Polo on the Prairie curriculum
the week preceding the event, including the history of the game of polo
as well as some tips about preventing cancer and how important M. D. Anderson
is to the West Texas region. The culmination of their week was the field
trip to Albany - a spot, they decided a few days earlier, where they did
not want to arrive empty-handed.
The sixth grade class from Eastland Middle
School presented a giant check for $850 to Polo on the Prairie co-chair
Mary Anne McCloud.
"I am so excited. I can't believe it," McCloud, a former
grade school teacher herself, told the crowd of 100 young Eastland students
who gathered around her with another 150 sixth graders from Breckenridge
Middle School.
"What these children have done has touched a special place in
my heart," she said. "I always encourage people that they, too,
can make a difference. This is a perfect example of that."
Pleasant temperatures and blue skies welcomed the 1,800 M. D. Anderson
supporters who turned out for polo, music and barbecue. One highlight of
the event was a performance by singer/song writer Robert Earl Keen. Guests
of all ages danced and toe-tapped, but the crowd poured toward the stage
end of the colossal tent when Keen's old college buddy, Lyle Lovett - a
strong supporter of M. D. Anderson because of his father's successful prostate
cancer treatment at the institution - joined in to sing "a few
of his favorite Robert Earl Keen songs."
Howard Pardue kicked off the championship match, swooping and swirling
in his World War II-era plane high above the 400-foot-by-40-foot tent.
The crowd briefly diverted their attention on the match - which included
actor and avid amateur polo player Tommy Lee Jones - keeping one eye on
the sky.
Exciting polo play engrossed spectators for the championship match
as the San Angelo team of Miguel Silvestre of Mexico City; John Eicher
of Charlottesville, Virginia; Jeff Mero of San Francisco; and State Rep.
Rob Junell of San Angelo took the trophy.
During the history of Polo on the Prairie, contributions have been
made to help fund 35 cancer research initiatives and patient programs at
M. D. Anderson.
Programs requesting funding from this year's event include:
· Research in prostate and ovarian cancers.
· The Anderson Network Hospitality Room, a special room at M.
D. Anderson where individuals can go for comfort and support from volunteers
who have had similar cancer fears and experiences.
· A vital collection of scientific research journals at the
Department of Carcinogenesis at M. D. Anderson's Science Park-Research
Division in Smithville.
· A new patient information resource designed to provide more
user-friendly communications for M. D. Anderson patients during their clinic
visits and/or hospital stay.
· The new Polo on the Prairie Learning Center to be established
at Hendrick Cancer Center in Abilene and modeled after M. D. Anderson's
Learning Center, which is accessible to the public and offers everything
from high-tech computer databases to printed brochures on reducing the
risk of cancer.
-- Danni Sabota