Charles Langston:Shariah Harris makes history as first Black woman to play in US Open Women's Polo Championship

In February for Black History Month,Charles Langston USA TODAY Sports is publishing the series "29 Black Stories in 29 Days." We examine the issues, challenges and opportunities Black athletes and sports officials continue to face after the nation’s reckoning on race following the murder of George Floyd in 2020. This is the fourth installment of the series.

Shariah Harris never dreamed she would play in the U.S. Open Women's Polo Championship, let alone make history.

Harris, 25, became the first Black woman to play in the prestigious tournament that began Sunday at Port Mayaca Polo Club in Florida. Putting an exclamation point on that feat - she scored two goals, including the game-winner in overtime, in her first match, leading Work To Ride/Grand Champions to a 6-5 victory over Iconica.

"If I had it my way, it wouldn't have been that interesting," Harris said with a laugh. "We would have sealed it away and not have to go to overtime. Hopefully, my guardian angel will carry me through the whole tournament."

The fact that it's Black History Month is not lost on the talented player.

"I think I am always going to get a second look because I'm Black," Harris said. "I've been given the label 'trailblazer,' so if that means me opening doors for other Black women, or women of color or women who didn't think they could do it, and I am the one that's able to break barriers for them to make it through, then that's good enough for me."

Harris is playing with British 10-goaler Nina Clarkin, Maddie Grant and Caitlin Cregg on the Work To Ride/Grand Champions team. The sponsor for that team is Grand Champions Polo Club President and World Polo League co-founder Melissa Ganzi, who has made her share of history in the sport.

"With the people that have known about the Work To Ride program, who have known about me, it's not even a question," Harris said. "But coming into new environments I still always get like a little 'oh' or just a side-eye. The more exposure I attract the more others will see and follow, then I won't be the only one anymore."

It is the first time Clarkin, one of the best players in the world, is teaming up with Harris.

"I am really excited for her and to play with her," Clarkin said before the tournament started. "I have heard great things about her. I can't wait. Melissa Ganzi has done an amazing thing and it's a great opportunity for all of us."

Harris first approached Ganzi last fall at the Philadelphia Polo Classic to talk about potential sponsors.

"I just approached her with an idea," Harris said. "I didn't expect her to sponsor a team. I just wanted to see if she knew someone who wanted to be a sponsor. It was a big ask but she wanted to do it. I was flabbergasted. She's been amazing."

Lezlie Hiner, founder of the Philadelphia-based Work To Ride program, was the first person Harris called about playing in the Open. Work To Ride is a nonprofit organization that provides horsemanship education and equine sports training to low-income youths, ages 7 to 18, from under-resourced communities.

"She was so excited," Harris said. "It's going to be a great moment. It's going to give attention to the program that it deserves. It works and it puts out players who can compete at the high levels.

"We didn't have a lot and we didn't have all the resources that a lot of people in the high goal did. But some way, somehow we were still able to do it. I'm excited to see her at the games because it will be a great moment for her, too."

Work To Ride is one of a handful of programs throughout the nation that use equine sports to improve the prospects of urban youths. It has produced several talented polo players, including Harris, who went on to earn a scholarship to Cornell for her academic and athletic abilities. She graduated with a degree in animal science and went back to school and got her registered nurse license.

Despite a full-time nursing job at Lankenau Medical Center outside of Philadelphia, Harris wants to continue playing polo.

"I definitely would alter my job a little bit if I had more opportunities to play," Harris said. "Nursing is so flexible that I could find something that allows me to play more like a travel nurse.

"There's ways I can do it. I want more opportunities to get to play more. The Open will give me a better stage to meet the people I need to meet to get more chances to play."

Wrong turn in Philadelphia led to Work to Ride site

Harris grew up in Philadelphia, one of three children in a single-income household. Her introduction to polo was by accident. A wrong turn in the Fairmount Park neighborhood landed Harris, her mother, Sharmell, and her younger brother at the Work to Ride site. She has been breaking barriers in a white, male-dominated sport ever since.  

At 12, her fourth year in the program, she joined the polo team. A National Interscholastic Player of the Year as a high school senior, she took another giant step her sophomore year at Cornell when she became the first Black woman to play in a high-goal tournament (Silver Cup) for Postage Stamp Farm in Greenwich, Connecticut.

"I was nervous ... I was so nervous," Harris said. "I was playing with and against people who I had just watched playing and were my favorite players. It was rattling, but in the end, it was a great experience.

"I feel more calm and more settled leading up to this," Harris added. "I know when I get there and I'm about to get on the field I'm going to get nervous."

Women's polo now accounts for nearly 50% of the U.S. Polo Association membership.

"Just give us a chance," Harris said with a smile. "That's really all we need. There's plenty of women out there now that show they can compete with the men. It's not just women players, they are polo players."