Florida Extravaganza

High goal ex

The world’s biggest new polo club in almost three decades has six tournaments at the top end of the sport, contested by teams with superstar line-ups. Herbert Spencer takes a seat at the International Polo Club Palm Beach

Florida’s Gold Coast has been the winter playground of wealthy Americans since the 1890s when oil magnate Henry M. Flager first developed Palm Beach as the ‘American Riviera’. Then, in the first half of the 20th century, polo was added to the coast’s attractions of beaches, balmy weather and high society.

All of American polo's great and good flocked to Palm Beach County between the wars, including newspaper publisher John Hay ‘Jock’ Whitney who piloted his yellow Sikorsky amphibian Pegasus to fly down f rom New York for winter polo. The oldest Gold

Main picture: Action from the US Open final between White Birch and Skeeterville, with the impressive new stand in the background. Right: Skeeterville's Owen Rinehart hooks White Birch's Julio Gracida during the final's sudden-death chukka Coast club still in existence is Gulfstream (1923), once high goal but now playing at lower levels. Two great high goal centres were established after the war, Royal Palm Polo and Sports Club in Boca Raton in 1968 and Palm Beach Polo and Country Club (PBPCC) in 1978.

Now the centre of attraction is International Polo Club Palm Beach (IPCPB), established last year after high goal team patrons got fed up with PBPCC. under its new management. IPCPB is the first club of its size to be founded anywhere in the world in almost three decades and the polo scene there is beyond compare.

This year, IPCPB had three 22-goal and three 26-goal

A charity match for the British Forces Foundation. Back row: The 2005 US team, Tommy Lee Jones, Tim Gannon, Adam Snow, Jim Whisenand. Bill and Linda Kraft, Monsell Darville of Bombay Sapphire. Front row: UK team, George Milford Haven, Julian Hipwood, Adrian Wade, Mark Cann.

the Open. The team included patron Peter, now playing off 4; Mariano Aguerre, 10; Lucas Criado, 9; 17-year old Julio Gracida (son of 16-times Open winner Memo); and Del Walton, 4, as alternative. As it turned out, Peter had pressing business commitments and only played two Open matches, with no time for practice, and so withdrew for the final to leave the battle to his four professionals.

Facing White Birch in the final was Skeeter Johnston's Skeeterville: Skeeter playing off 2 and 8-goalers Owen Rinehart, Julio Arellano and Lucas Monteverde. White Birch had defeated Skeeterville 11-10 in HERBERT SPENCER the 26-goal Hall of Fame Cup, but the latter reached the Open final as No. 1 seed having won all six of their earlier matches in the final contest.

No surprise, then, that the final went into extra time. It was Criado who converted a 30-yard penalty 2 minutes into the 7th chukka to give White Birch it first victory in the 101-year old championship. Patron Brant was not even at the match, but now at least he can see White Birch’s name on the trophy.

Skeeterville's consolation was that its Julio Arellano was named Most Valuable Player and his mare Malice was named Best Playing Pony. And the hard-fought final, played before more than 7,000 spectators, provided a fitting finale to IPCBP's second season.

It was John Goodman of Houston who bit the bullet last year and, with the enthusiastic support of his fellow patrons, founded IPCPB, just five minutes

Above: Club owner John Goodman, right, and Memo Gracida, tired but ecstatic after winning the Centennial US Open. It was Memo's 16th Open victory, an unassailable record. Right: Matias Magrini in action for Old Pueblo in the 2005 26 goal. f rom declining PBPCC. John was already known as a mover and shaker in polo, having been largely responsible for putting Houston Polo Club back on the map. When he revealed his Florida plans to the US Polo Association, the governing body awarded its landmark Centennial US Open to IPCPB – before even one brick was laid. John, who already had four polo grounds in place, built the club’s other facilities in just six months, including an impressive stadium of members’ box seats and bleachers; these were added to for 2005, along with a second restaurant and bar below the stadium The 2004 inaugural season at IPCBP was a resounding success. The Centennial of the Open drew players and supporters f rom all over the US, joined by the crème-de-la-crème of Palm Beach society. John capped it all by winning the Open with his Isola Carroll team, his second victory in the venerable contest.

The flood of money swirling around polo at IPCPB can only be compared to the torrent of water that Hurricane Francis dumped on the Gold Coast last year. John Goodman has already spent an estimated $9M on the club, not counting the value of its land in the area’s real estate boom. The team patrons as a group have spent millions on their own grounds, stables, pros and ponies. All things considered, the polo scene at the new International Polo Club Palm Beach has got to be the richest on the planet bar none. ■

DAVID LOMINSKA