When Christie Knott mentions polo, she braces for the puzzled stares she receives in return.

"People look at you and go, 'Really? What's the connection?' " said Ms. Knott, executive director of the Oakland-based Family House organization that houses thousands of seriously ill patients and their families every year.

Twenty-five years ago, when Family House began its annual fund-raising polo tournament, there wasn't any connection -- the organizers were just looking for something unique to draw donors.

These days, though, the ancient sport of kings plays a crucial role every year in helping Family House serve those waiting for some of the most cutting-edge medicine that Pittsburgh has to offer.

Ms. Knott expected the 25th Family House Polo Tournament, which took place yesterday afternoon under cloudy skies at Hartwood Acres, to raise about $300,000 for the organization.

With tickets costing a minimum of $200, attendees wearing pastel dresses and yes, Ralph Lauren Polo shirts, sipped champagne with strawberries and feasted on two-toned chocolate mousse.

But off to the side, under a large shaded tent, a group of current Family House residents also took in the gathering.

"Isn't this awesome?" remarked Susan McDonald-Burgess, of Tampa, Fla. "It's so first class."

Ms. McDonald-Burgess has spent the last eight months living at Family House, waiting for the right pair of "petite" lungs to come along for a transplant.

"My only option is a transplant," she said, explaining that she suffers from pulmonary fibrosis. "Without Family House, we would not be able to do it. Financially, for us to stay in Pittsburgh, a regular-priced hotel would be undoable."

Family House charges between $30 and $50 per day for rooms and suites in its three locations, which have communal kitchens and bus shuttle service to area hospitals. The facilities cannot accommodate all patients and their families who request lodging, even though only patients with life-threatening illnesses are eligible.

Most of the Family House patients are here for organ transplants, cancer treatment or neurosurgery, said Ms. Knott, because Pittsburgh draws patients from around the country for those specialties.

Sandra Hendricks, of Watsontown, Northumberland County, debated whether to even come to the polo event, feeling guilty that her daughter, who is waiting for a lung transplant, couldn't attend.

But given that "we don't have things like this in our little town," she decided to come to see polo for the first time. Ms. Hendricks, a florist, was impressed by some of the elaborate floral arrangements at the "tailgates" surrounding the polo field.

"In my business, presentation is everything," she said. "It's wonderful that they would have a fund-raiser like this."

Ms. Hendricks sat next to Donnafrancine Tisdale, who lived in Highland Park for years before moving to Daytona Beach several years ago. A few days ago, the women introduced themselves on Centre Avenue outside their Family House -- only to discover that they'd spoken once before.

When Ms. Tisdale's mother died in Watsontown earlier this year, she'd called none other than Ms. Hendricks to ask for a single red rose to be placed in the casket.

"We were crying on Centre Avenue," said Ms. Tisdale, who is also waiting for a lung transplant. "I'm sure that people thought we were bonkers. I think someone up higher was sending a signal."

And with that, the national anthem came over the loudspeaker yesterday at Hartwood Acres, sending a signal that a polo match was about to begin.

Oxygen tanks trailing behind them, Ms. Hendricks and Ms. McDonald-Burgess prepared to take in a polo match -- one that, unlikely as it might have sounded a quarter-century ago -- would allow them to continue waiting for the most modern of medicine.