The "Sport of Kings" returns to the country Sunday with the Hawaii Polo Club’s season opener in Mokuleia.

Or, as HPC president Michael Dailey likes to describe it, "the biggest tailgate party on the North Shore." It’s a sporting event combined with picnicking and entertainment in an idyllic setting and a priceless Pacific Ocean backdrop.

"It never gets old, not when you’re playing," said Dailey, a third-generation polo player in Hawaii. "The adrenaline, the excitement is always there.

"I grew up with it, been around it my entire life. If you’re fond of horses, it’s the best thing you can do on a horse."

And it’s addicting, at whatever age. Dr. Val Baliad came late to the sport and with no riding experience, learning both to ride and play polo at age 35 in 2000.

"My wife and I had moved from Hawaii to Washington, D.C., and I was looking to fill my surfing void," said Baliad, who is originally from Detroit. "I read about the Potomac Polo School and decided to check it out.

"I had zero riding experience, started taking riding and polo lessons together. Riding is what brought me into the sport but now it’s all about the ponies."

When he returned to Hawaii a few years ago, Baliad said he had decided to give up the sport because of time and expense. But the polo world is very small and "they roped me back in" he said. "Next thing I know, I have a bunch of horses and I’m playing again.

"For me, it’s all about the horse. They put their heart and soul in this for you."

Spectators often get hooked on the sport and the club offers lessons through its polo school. For some, it’s a one- or two-day trial — "People cross it off their bucket list," Dailey said — but others become good enough after a year that they are ready to get on the field.

"It all depends on how well you ride," he said. "Like learning ice hockey, it depends on how well you skate. If you don’t ride, or skate, well, you’re going to struggle.

"We don’t turn anyone away but sometimes we ended up teaching them both to ride and to play. But we have eight new players out of the 20 to 30 who started lessons last year who’ll be on the field this season. It is a pretty intense (debut) but they’ll be in the introductory game for the new players and the new horses."

Polo is a coed sport and "we have excellent female players coming out of Hawaii," said Dailey’s son Devon, a professional player who played at the University of Virginia. "We have good players coming up. A team from Maui just went to the high school nationals and did well (losing in the quarterfinals last month)."

The U.S. Polo Association’s Women’s Challenge is on the schedule for June 24, as are international matches with teams from China, Mexico, New Zealand and India. Michael Dailey said it’s not difficult to fill the season with quality opponents.

"It’s like the Pro Bowl where the (NFL) players love to come to Hawaii," he said. "Professional polo players like to come to Hawaii.

"I’ve played all over the world but there’s such a wonderful ambience here. You’re playing on a field next to the beach. The grass with sand underneath is kind, the ground is forgiving for the horse and the players when they fall. Being next to the water is pretty magical."

And it continues the long history of the sport in Hawaii. Polo was first played in the islands in the 1800s, nurtured through the paniolo traditions, and established here before it was played in the U.S. west of the Mississippi River.

"A lot of people don’t know the history that is so intertwined," Dailey said. "It’s always nice to introduce them to that."