Rising Stars: Meet Tara Polson of Colorado Stars & Stripes, Co.

Today we’d like to introduce you  Tara of Colorado Stars & Stripes, Co. .

Hi Tara, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
In 2018, Denver Polo Club in Sedalia, CO had a vision to present the colors at their polo games. My husband, Mark, and I visited and wanted to make this opportunity as professional as possible. We started working on creating a nonprofit, coming up with a name, visiting with our first sponsors, ordering flags, making flag poles, and getting our first outfit created. We had ten days to make this happen. My best friend was on a flag team with me before so she was honored to be asked to be a part of this initial vision!

Colorado Stars & Stripes, Co. had their first members and had their first appearance at PoloFest in 2018 in front of 1000 fans at the beautiful Denver Polo Club! At that point, it was only Chelsea and I (Tara) so we presented the American Flag and the Colorado Flag and had the most amazing time! We had a few sponsors to help get us started: Glaser Energy, UBS, Cowgirl Made, and Greeley Hat Works. By the summer of 2019, we grew the group to five members! We gained Cinch as a sponsor that summer along with Dan Post Boots! Our attire was growing and so were our appearances! By the end of 2020, our team grew to 10 which is where we continue to be at today!

This group is compiled of ladies that come from all disciplines of the equine world including Polo, Roping, Barrel Racing, Mounted Shooting, Fox Hunting, and even rodeo Royalty including Miss Rodeo Colorado 2009. These ladies have also performed as Pikes Peak Rangerettes, The California Rangers & The Freedom Riders where they participated in the 2017 Inaugural parade, parades, and rodeos throughout the state of Colorado, and numerous events at Denver Polo Club the past three years including Celebration of the Horse, PoloFest, Military & First Responder Appreciation Day and Mallets for Melanoma.

They were also the official sponsor flag team for the Greeley Stampede for 2021, 2022 & 2023, The past few years they have had new opportunities including performing at the El Paso County Fair, the Denver 20/30 Polo Classic, The Bucking Horse Futurity, the PRCA Exceptional Rodeo, mounted shooting events and Bull Riding events throughout the state of Colorado! In August 2023 we have a few new rodeos: Douglas Co Fair and Rodeo & the Responder Relief Rodeo!

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
My husband and I have carefully chosen those who are riding on the team. We push for great horsemanship, proud horseman, no drama (which is hard when you bring together a group of passionate horsewomen), and those who are committed to being the best person and horseman they can be. We want everyone to work hard to meet their goals and be their best.

We tried to have a junior team when we first started which was hard as the level of commitment wasn’t there and the horsemanship wasn’t there either. We are proud of ourselves for not spending time outside of our events to practice but once or twice a year. We show up early enough on the day of the event to get a quick practice in and our proud of how we come together as a team.

The past two years at Greeley Stampede we had the opportunity to do a preshow routine and a rodeo routine so we would meet early enough to walk both routines on foot and talk about anything. We are proud of ourselves to be able to help each other grow, learn and be their best by learning from each other and taking advice from each other.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Mark and Tara Polson got married on horseback in 2014. Since then they have continued to fulfill their hopes and dreams as together they go through this thing called life. They own a horse ranch near Hudson, Colorado, where they currently own eight athletic horses and three incredible healers.

This ranch is where Tara can continue her lifelong dream of training horses & helping the younger generation be the best person and horseman they can be through riding lessons or being a clinician for Douglas Co Royalty & 4-H, Larimer Co Royalty, and Girl of the West. Tara works for Bright Horizons & is the Vice President of the Miss Rodeo Colorado Executive Committee. Mark is an owner of Computer Sites Incorporated, and he continually works to improve their ranch and home. Tara plays polo and Mark plays baseball, and they enjoy supporting each other in everything they do. Mark and Tara have four kids and 10 grandbabies with one due any day. They love to spend time with family and friends!

Colorado Stars & Stripes, Co. is truly something to be proud of! It takes so much work behind the scenes that Mark & Tara work together to make the team what it is. The events fly by and we have the best memories from it! Colorado Stars & Stripes, Co. wouldn’t be successful without Denver Polo Club, our sponsors, our ground crew, our helpers, and our families! #teamworkmakesthedreamwork.

What’s next?
It’s always an option to grow the team. We get requests each year for when tryouts are or what they can do to be on the team. More members mean more outfits, more tack from Colorado Saddlery, more lashes from Dandy Lashes, and more work behind the scenes with gathering flags (including designing more with the team growing), gathering yearly sponsors who we are honored to partner with, paperwork, and the organization of everything that goes into it.

We’ve also been asked to have a junior team again too. So it’s always an option depending on what route we go each year.

Growing sounds fun but having the best riders and horses is a priority. Right now, we are expanding our appearances throughout the state of Colorado. This is an amazing opportunity but we need commitment for each event so if we continue to grow with appearances we will have no choice but to continue to grow the team! We are so grateful for the incredible opportunities that this nonprofit continues to give us.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.coloradostarsandstripes.com/
• Instagram: @Coloradostarsandstripesco
• Facebook: https://protect-us.mimecast.com/s/49zLCyPAL8FMoDKDSZkQbm?domain=facebook.com