There’s no doubt that Paige Boone McCabe knew what she wanted to do for a living at a very young age.
The 30-year-old daughter of Villages Sales Director Jennifer Parr fell in love with the game of polo at an early age and many believed it was just a matter of time before she oversaw The Villages Polo Club in Florida’s Friendliest Hometown.
That day came for McCabe in June 2014. She had attended college at Colorado State University in 2007-08 and then transferred to Stetson University, where she earned a political science degree in 2011. And she had immediately started her career at the Polo Club as office manager, a position she held for three years before becoming the director of operations.
McCabe very well could have gotten her love for polo from her grandfather, late Villages Developer H. Gary Morse, who brought the game to The Villages. In 1996, Morse took a trip to Barbados with his son-in-law, Jim Parr – McCabe’s stepfather – and Andy Moran. Both were avid polo players and Morse quickly become intrigued with the sport – so much so that he decided to bring it to The Villages.
At the time, the Oxford Polo Club was being run by Dr. William Lyall, who agreed to shut it down when Morse announced that he would start The Villages Polo Club. Lyall’s son, Lord, an avid player who had left behind a music career in Nashville to hone his polo skills while working for his father, then become the first manager of the polo operation in The Villages.
Fast-forward to 2014, when popular polo player Stuart Campbell was running The Villages Polo Club. An announcement was made on June 4 that he was out as director of the operation and speculation immediately centered on whether McCabe, who also competes in 5K events in The Villages, would replace him.
The announcement stated that Campbell wanted to return to playing polo on a regular basis. It said he would be playing in Tallahassee and Lexington for the next few weeks and then would travel to South Africa to celebrate his father’s 70th birthday.
The Polo Boosters also included in their note a message from the Morse family that read: “A quick note to share with you that Stuart’s passion for the game of polo and desire to play has led him to make the decision to get back on the field rather than manage from the sidelines. We’re saddened to see him leave, but excited to see him back in the game. We will be thrilled to cheer him on when he’s playing here at The Villages Polo Club.”
Campbell had come to The Villages about three years earlier and had followed Carlos Gracida as polo director. His wife, Victoria, had been a sales agent at Properties of The Villages, working for McCabe’s mother.
That same month, McCabe moved into the role of overseeing polo and she’s been in that position ever since. She is the great-granddaughter of Villages Founder Harold Schwartz and the sister of Megan Boone, who stars in the hit series “The Blacklist.” She is married to Ryan McCabe, whose father, Mackie, oversees hospitality for The Villages and owns Cane Gardens Restaurant.
