The Only Carriage Company in Charleston Owned & Operated by Native Charlestonians
Carolina Polo and Carriage Company is the only carriage company in Charleston owned and operated by Charlestonians whose families have been here since the 1600s.
The owner of Carolina Polo and Carriage Co, Robert Knoth, and his sons Richard and Bobby Knoth, are lifelong horseback riders and polo players. Bobby Knoth played professional polo in Africa and Richard has played polo professionally around the world from New York to France. Robert, Richard and Bobby have won polo tournaments as a family team in Aiken, SC, and Maryland and are members of the US Polo Association. Polo is not just a sport of royalty and high society. It is a sport requiring great skill, courage and hard work from the players and horses alike. The majestic display of athleticism is unsurpassed in this thrilling competition. If you are interested in the sport and would like more information about what is offered in the Charleston area or in South Carolina, call or email us.
Aside from horses, polo and carriages, however, the city of Charleston is a general passion that we simply wish to share with anyone who visits. So, after years of providing carriage tours to so many people and hearing their interest in also seeing Charleston’s rich history, architecture and culture by foot, we started an affiliate company to offer just that, Walks of Charleston.
Fun Polo Facts
- Historians have traced the origins of polo back over 2,500 years ago and it is the oldest recorded team sport in history.
- A regulation polo field is almost as big as 10 football fields and is the largest field in organized sports.
- Each polo match is divided into “chukkas”. A chukka is 7 1/2 minutes of active play time and is supposed to represent the amount of time a horse can reasonably exert itself before needing a rest. Polo matches are divided into 4, 5, or 6 chukkas depending whether the level is Low, Medium, or High goal polo.
- James Gordon Bennett, a noted American publisher, brought polo to New York in 1876. Within ten years, there were major clubs all over the east including in Long Island.
- In the United States, Thoroughbred horses are usually bred with Quarter horses to produce polo ponies.
- Since 1930 some of the best polo ponies have been produced in Argentina. The Argentines cross Thoroughbred horses with their local Criollo horses.
- Divot stomping is a long-standing tradition at half-time. Spectators wander all over the field stomping down the torn up turf. It’s fun and you can meet great people just wandering the field.
- Polo mallets range in size from 49 to 54 inches in length. The specific mallet length is usually on the head of the polo mallet. The stalks used for polo mallet shafts come from a cane called Manau, a member of the palm family. Polo mallet heads are generally made of ash wood or maple.