June 2018 Polo Players' Edition

J U N E 2 01 8

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CONTENTS J U N E 201 8

VO L . 21 ,

FEATURES

DEPARTMENTS

26 Wielding a whistle

6

Umpire program continues to evolve and improve

32 No Sure Bet

N O. 10

Association News

USPA Bulletin Club Spotlight

12 Instructors Forum

Underdog DRF stops powerhouse Valiente

by Tom Goodspeed

38 Magic Mic

14 Equine Athlete

Tony Coppola has called the game for 40 years

18 22 24 40

J U N E 2 01 8

OUR COVER DRF’s 10-goal Hilario Ulloa, riding Future Lituania, pokes the ball out of the air and into the goal in the final of the U.S. Open Championship.

by Heather Smith Thomas Polo Scene News, notes, trends & quotes

Team USPA Intercollegiate/Interscholastic Polo in the Pampas

by Ernesto Rodriguez

60 Calendar 62 Yesteryears

44 Polo Report Windsor Polo wins 6-goal Spring Fling

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OPINIONS EXPRESSED IN SIGNED COLUMNS ARE THOSE OF THE AUTHORS AND DO NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT THE VIEWS OF THE PUBLISHERS OF THIS MAGAZINE.

2 POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N

THE OFFICIAL MONTHLY PUBLICATION OF THE UNITED STATES POLO ASSOCIATION

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GWEN D. RIZZO

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HEATHER SMITH THOMAS, ERNESTO RODRIGUEZ, ALICE GIPPS, CHRIS ASHTON, TOM GOODSPEED

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VOL. 21, No.10 POLO Players’ Edition (ISSN #1096-2255) is published monthly by Rizzo Management Corp. 6008 Reynolds RD, Lake Worth, FL 33449 for U.S. Polo Association, 9011 Lake Worth RD, Lake Worth, FL 33467.

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4 POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N

USPA Umpires, LLC from 0 goal to 40 goal, we’ve gotcha covered!

For information regarding a professional umpire at your club, please contact: Charlie Muldoon (240) 731-2248 cmuldoon@uspolo.org Maggie Mitchell (941) 928-4600 mmitchell@uspolo.org For information regarding umpire certification, online testing, umpire clinics or rule reviews, please contact: Steve Lane (352) 454-6611 slane@uspolo.org

Spring Meetings The USPA board of governors, committees, LLCs and staff met in West Palm Beach, Florida, April 18-22, for the USPA Board of Governors Spring Meeting.

The week began with the Chairman’s Cocktail Reception hosted at the Museum of Polo and Hall of Fame in Lake Worth, Florida, after the U.S. Open Polo Championship semi-finals on Wednesday, April 18.

The reception was followed by two days of committee and LLC meetings and presentations at the Embassy Suites Hotel in West Palm Beach.

On Friday night, the USPA and the Polo Training Foundation co-hosted a polo party and awards ceremony at the International Polo Club Palm Beach pavilion in Wellington, Florida. The USPA Board of Governors Spring Meeting took place Saturday morning in West Palm Beach followed by a board of governors polo game at Grand Champions Polo Club in Wellington, Florida. The week culminated in the U.S. Open Polo Championship final at IPC. Please see the following committee and LLC recaps: Finance The board unanimously voted to modify the budget resolution made in September 2017 (to reduce the 2018 budget by 5 percent and the 2019 budget by 10 percent) to a fixed budget subsidy cap of $11 million per year for the years 2019-2021.

Executive The board approved the Executive Committee’s actions from the fall meetings to present and to enter into an agreement by and among the USPA, USPA Global Licensing and IPC known as the “IPC Agreement,” subject to the specified term sheet and its authorization and direction to Robert Puetz and David Cummings to negotiate and execute the agreement on behalf of the USPA. The board approved the revised USPA organizational charts, as recommended by 6 POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N

The USPA Board of Governors Spring Meeting took place April 21 in West Palm Beach.

the Board and Staff Development Committee and the Executive Committee. They reflect a change in LLC staff reporting and the addition of an advisory position, known as the services chairman, to the Services Department, in line with the LLC volunteer advisory boards and adding the newly approved Strategic Planning Committee.

The revised charts are available on uspolo.org.

played in Nigeria, where strong connections were made with military players from India, Pakistan, Nigeria and Morocco. The committee reported discussions with professional Nic Roldan to form part of a 12-goal American pro-am team to play in a single match against a British military team in the United Kingdom during the Westchester Cup this summer.

Arena The committee has been working to develop a budget to create fall arena umpire and intercollegiate/interscholastic clinics along with integrating more arena polo content into the USPA’s social media channels.

Board and Staff Development The board approved a USPA communications policy to be effective immediately as well as USPA officer job designs, which were presented by the Board and Staff Development Committee. The committee also shared plans to create a successful workplace diversity program in the near future. The USPA Communications Policy can be found on uspolo.org.

Armed Forces Following the approval of two national military tournaments last year, both have been awarded for 2018 and will be played at the 8-goal level. Midland Polo Club (Midland, Texas) will host the outdoor National Commander-in-Chief Cup and the Central Texas Polo Association will host the arena National Commander-in-Chief Cup. The committee also reported on an international event

Club and Member Administration

The committee voted to create a threeyear limit for clubs to remain in inactive or provisional status. The board approved the committee’s presented list of active, affiliate, associate, provisional, collegiate and inactive clubs. The full list can be found on uspolo.org.

American soil this summer, and announced an invitation has been made to host the 2019 Westchester Cup in the United States regardless of this year’s tournament outcome. The committee is also working on securing a USPA club to host the 2020 FIP World Polo Championship.

Armed Forces Committee Co-Chairman Karl Hilberg reports on the committee’s progress.

Constitution Chairman Paul Jornayvaz announced the committee is actively working on consolidation and refinement of the USPA constitution, by-laws and rules for approval at the Fall Board of Governors and Annual Member Meeting. Updates will be provided periodically over the course of the next few months.

Equine Welfare The board approved the policy, procedure and form for the Equine Disaster Relief Fund Policy. The committee has restructured the Equine Disaster Relief Fund Policy into three categories: 1. Catastrophic scenarios in which funds are needed immediately.

2. Neglect or abuse cases brought to the committee 3. Disaster relief fund, which can be applied for and reviewed by the committee.

In the first two instances, funds would go directly to vendors; in the last, funds may be distributed to a member upon review.

Committee chair Dr. Mike Manno announced he is in the process of contracting a new lab to handle testing for the Equine Drugs and Medications Testing Program.

High-Goal The High-Goal Committee meets

monthly and has developed a sub-committee to investigate tournament formats for various numbers of teams, and outline the pros and cons of each format. The HighGoal Committee has worked closely with Umpires, LLC to send out a survey after each high-goal tournament, and have created an online reporting form for teams to fill out. Triple Crown of Polo participation commitments are currently up to 11 teams for 2019. The committee will continue to discuss rules and adjustments to improve the game for players and spectators. The expanded committee is working very well to incorporate more team voices.

International Chairman Joe Meyer announced that the committee was proud to have a team participating in the Copa de las Naciones (Argentina) and looks forward to a USA team participating in the Westchester Cup (England) this year. The Copa de las Naciones was played in Palermo in April and featured a North American team consisting of Team USPA members Jesse Bray and Jared Zenni along with Canadian brothers Julian and Freddie Mannix. USA was also represented in the Junior division

by Landon Daniels, Bayne Bossom, Kristos Magrini and Lucas Escobar.

Meyer expressed his confidence in Nic Roldan, Julio Arellano, Costi Caset and Jeff Hall returning the Westchester Cup to

Nominating The committee will be meeting in May to come up with a slate for USPA Officers (chairman, president, treasurer and secretary) to be presented to the board eight weeks prior to the Fall Board of Governors and Annual Member Meeting.

Charles Stanislawski was elected to serve another three-year term on the Audit Committee.

Rules The committee members in attendance discussed issues relating to the following five rules: (i) Outdoor Rule 19.b (half-goal handicaps); (ii) Outdoor Rule 2.d(4) (the “three-quarter” rule); (iii) Outdoor Rule 14 / International Rule 2 (duration of the final period); (iv) International Rule 16.c (riding from behind into a player in control of the ball); and (v) Outdoor Rule 4.a (the NOCSAE helmet requirement effective on June 1, 2020).

USPA professional umpire Fergus Gould reported on the outcome of 2018 variances granted, allowing clubs to use the “improper blocking” component of Outdoor Rule 26 / International Rule 18, which is scheduled to become effective as (continued on page 58)

Published by the United States Polo Association Offices at 9011 Lake Worth Rd. Lake Worth, Florida 33467 (800) 232-USPA

Chairman: Chip Campbell President: Tony Coppola Secretary: Stuart Armstrong Treasurer: Sam Ramirez Chief Executive Officer: Robert Puetz

POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N 7

American team comprised of Julian Mannix, Freddie Mannix, Jesse Bray and Jared Zenni.

After a tough loss to Columbia and an injury to Julian, Nico Escobar stepped up to play against Argentina. The Copa de las Naciones Junior Tournament was held in conjunction with the tournament. The USA team (Landon Daniels, Kristos Magrini, Bayne Bossom and Lucas Escobar) had the opportunity to play against the top Argentine players on the most famous field in the country, the No. 1 field at Palermo. It was a fantastic learning experience and all the players are eager to return in the near future.

Player Performance Analysis Lucas Escobar, Kristos Magrini, Bayne Bossom and Landon Daniels represented USA in the Copa de las Naciones Junior Tournament in Argentina.

Certified Polo Instructor Program The National Youth Tournament Series is in full swing! The Aiken Polo Club hosted the largest qualifier to date with eight teams competing in two levels. The program continues to grow with each season and the quality of junior polo is only improving with each tournament. This summer, two Canadian clubs join in on the action, hosting their first ever qualifiers. The season culminates in the NYTS National Championship and East vs. West All-Girls division held in Littleton, Colorado, over Labor Day weekend.

Upcoming Tournaments: June 2-3 Banbury Cross June 8-10 Houston Polo Club June 9-10 Bluewater Creek Polo Club NYTS Results: IPC NYTS I: Landon Daniels, Jack Whitman, Finn Secunda, Giuliana Battista IPC NYTS II: 8 POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N

Nico Escobar, Benji Daniels, Lucas Escobar, Malia Bryan Midland: Joe Mac Stimmel, Anson Moore, Quinn Evans, Johann Felhaber, April Galindo, Taylor Morris, Lance Stefanakis Aiken I: Lucas Arellano, Hope Arellano, Charlie Caldwell, Malia Bryan, Harry Caldwell, Jim Deal, Joe Post Aiken II: Winston Painter, Jack Whitman, Robyn Leitner, Alea Crespo, Michael Bradford, Josh Escapite, Virginia Gwinn

Team USPA and Junior Polo Jared Zenni and the DRF team stunned a crowd of eager fans in the USPA U.S. Open Championship, toppling the powerful Cambiaso/Pieres combo in a thrilling final. Following his fantastic weekend, Zenni hopped on a plane and went straight to the field for the Copa de las Naciones. The Mannix brothers proposed joining forces to enter a North

The USPA Player Performance Analysis program partnered with Interscholastic Open and Girls’ Nationals this year to deliver riding and swing analysis to players. On-site players worked with Team USPA member and I/I Alum Connor Deal on riding form using the USPA Riding Analysis Pattern.

After recording, USPA elite clinicians Tiger Kneece and Mason Wroe created personalized analysis videos for each person providing performance feedback. For more information on how to utilize this program at your home club or through the USPA events, please contact Jess Downey at jdowney@uspolo.org or visit the Player Performance Analysis page of www.poloskilz.com.

Intercollegiate/Interscholastic Congratulations to the 2018 USPA National I/I Champions! Intercollegiate Men: Texas A&M University; Intercollegiate Women: Texas A&M University; Open Interscholastic: Maryland Polo Club; Girls’ Interscholastic: Maryland Polo Club.

Twin City Polo Club Maple Plain, Minnesota

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MOON LAI PHOTOGRAPHY

n the heart of the Central Circuit lies a small polo club that encapsulates the qualities of family, friendship and community—words used by many to describe Midwesterners. Twin City Polo Club, located in Maple Plain, Minnesota, offers a community-driven approach to daily polo operations, resulting in a tight knit, enjoyable place to gather and play.

Originally opened in the 1920s at Fort Snelling by the U.S. Army, the club called several small fields home in the local area before 1964 when Jim Binger (then CEO of Honeywell) purchased the current land where the club resides. The land and club were eventually purchased by Peter Alworth and Bob Brady who continue to play polo with friends and family every summer. All the amenities needed to run a successful club are housed at TCPC including three fields, stabling for several teams, 18 paddocks, wash racks, a club house and elevated viewing deck.

Twin City Polo Club has an organizational structure that relies heavily on members who are invested and intertwined with the success of the club.

Club President Peter Alworth takes care of many functions required to run an effective club, but counts on loyal members to assist. “That’s the beauty of the club in my eyes,” said Mimi Alworth, Peter Alworth’s daughter and TCPC member.

“The thing I love is that people who play here have been here forever. Once you start at the club, you stick around for 10-20 years, everyone is here for the long haul.

That’s why everyone is really willing to volunteer and pitch in the best way that they can. It is really great to have a club that a lot of people have a hand in. It doesn’t really feel like it is one person’s Twin City Polo Club is the only USPA club in Minnesota.

club. It feels like everyone kind of owns it and everyone’s opinions are heard. It’s not perfect by any means, but it’s a conglomerate of people that share the responsibility rather than one person at the helm.”

This approach to managing a club means that everyone has to stick together and work as one in order to be successful.

“I think Peter has done a great job in regards to keeping the peace,” said club member Austin Figge. “When you go to other areas of the country where there are a lot of polo fields, you notice people branching off and building their own fields. They no longer play together and they aren’t around each other. As a club overall, there has been a lot of focus on trying to avoid that. Maybe it’s the ‘Minnesota nice’ that allows us to do that.”

With a summer season that runs from May to October, TCPC hosts a range of polo for its dedicated members and out-oftown teams ranging from 0-6 goal. Twin City Polo Club serves as the only USPA member club in the state of Minnesota, but has a strong relationship with clubs throughout its circuit.

“Most of the time we will have a 0-goal tournament that runs simultaneously with the 6 goal,” explained Alworth. “We have clubs in South Dakota, Wisconsin, Illinois and Idaho that bring teams in to play. We will run a 6 goal and 0-goal tournament together and it is fun to have both going at the same time. Often the 0-goal teams will stick around and watch the 6 goal. A lot of times there are younger people playing in the 0-goal and they can aspire to be at the 6-goal level by watching the games. Those tournaments together reinforce our community.”

TCPC tournaments not only offer polo, but entire weekends full of casual social events for players. Club Delegate Robbin Figge added, “I think that the very cool POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N 9

BOB HOSKER

The club has held National Youth Tournament Series qualifiers since 2015.

10 POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N

organized a successful event that featured an impressive four teams. Several team owners bring professionals in to play each summer, but TCPC members recruited all the female players in the area to participate in the inaugural event, which proved to be a great time for all involved.

“The USPA has awarded us the 2018 Central Circuit Women’s Challenge,” said Robbin Figge. “I am hoping that we can grow the tournament to the level that the Alexanders did at Blackberry Polo Club in MOON LAI PHOTOGRAPHY

thing about the Central Circuit in general, and the thing TCPC is very good at it, is that we are very welcoming. We host parties several times when teams are in town. If there is someone new to the club or visiting, a member will usually say, ‘Hey, let’s go have dinner, let’s go have a drink.’

We all get together and have a good time.

Polo is serious, but after, everyone is going to get together, go to someone’s house have a good dinner and start over the next day fresh.”

Twin City Polo Club strongly encourages young players to get out on the field and practice their skills. The club has hosted a National Youth Tournament Series qualifier since 2015, and has grown the tournament each year since. “My brother [Pierce Alworth] is now part of Team USPA, having come out of that tournament,” said Alworth. “He was awarded All-Star in the NYTS qualifier and then he tried out for Team USPA. Once he was accepted, he went to Wyoming over the summer to play with Team USPA. All of that was possible because we had our NYTS qualifier here.”

Young players aren’t the only demographic that has begun to grow at the club. Twin City Polo Club held its first women’s tournament in 2017. Robbin Figge, along with Alworth and two other club members put their heads together and

The club strongly encourages young players to take up the sport.

Illinois, for so many years. We want to do it justice because they did such a good job for 30 years and have decided to pass the torch to us.”

Twin City Polo Club always welcomes those wanting to learn the sport of polo.

Although the club does not have a lesson program at this time, members are willing to help newcomers get involved.

“I encourage people that are interested to come to polo, show up, ride, groom and exercise,” said Robbin Figge. “We want to

BOB HOSKER MOON LAI PHOTOGRAPHY

get people on the field. If they are willing to commit to showing up at the club and helping, then we are very willing to put them on horses.” This work-to-ride approach not only benefits the club, but fosters a sense of community where everyone works towards a common goal, which is to get as many people on the polo field as possible.

This effort to have every person involved in operations extends to those outside the boards just as much as inside. Twin City Polo Club has two very dedicated photographers that capture all aspects of the sport.

“We really value our photographers,” said Alworth. “Moon Lai has been with us for several years and is very passionate about helping Twin City grow. He is just as much a part of the club as any of the players because he is super dedicated and stays late after the game and joins us at asados. He and our other photographer, Bob Hosker, who is a bit newer to the club, have become part of our community and really benefit us with all of their amazing work.” All of the photos in this article were generously provided to the USPA by both Hosker and Lai. Twin City Polo Club’s driving force has been family and friends that come together to play great polo. “It’s a family thing here,” said Alworth. “I play with my dad, my brother and my sister. Husband and wife, Austin and Robbin play together

This year, the club will host the Central Circuit Women’s Challenge.

and they kick butt. They have kids that are going to grow up and be awesome polo players. We all just have a really great time together.” Robbin Figge echoed Alworth’s words stating, “We have a lot of family participation at the club. Even if they aren’t there playing, they are there watching and cheering and taking care of horses.”

Due to the club’s prime location just outside Minneapolis, it has immense potential to become a popular summer destination for traveling teams and families wishing to play polo together.

The club’s teams are made up of families and friends.

Many museums, amusements parks, art centers and attractions are located within the large city, providing entertainment for all ages.

“TCPC could be a major summer destination for players. We are 45 minutes from the airport, Lake Tetonka is nearby, there are lots of things to do and amazing restaurants,” said Austin Figge. “I think that we have room to grow.”

A solid sense of community fueled by dedicated members has been the constant at Twin City Polo Club for several decades.

“The long-term commitment that we get from pretty much all of our players and the ability that we have at the end of the day to realize that we are all part of the club and that we are all there to have fun,” said Alworth. “Everything gets competitive of course, it’s polo, and it wouldn’t be fun if it wasn’t competitive, but when all is said and done, all of us love to get together after the game and hang out and be a club.”

Twin City Polo Club possesses core values that shine through each dedicated member and player. As the only USPA member club in Minnesota, TCPC successfully serves the state with great polo, great friends and an amazing location to compete and grow.

To learn more about Twin City Polo Club, please visit them at www.twincitypolo.com and follow them on Facebook and Instagram.

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TACTICS Helpful strategies for performing your best at every level

ast month, I offered some basic things to consider if you are feeling a bit lost on the polo field.

All players, from low goal on up to the highest levels of polo, must have good field awareness and must think about the level of their riding skills in relation to both their own horses and their opponents’ riding skills. Now, I will be a little more specific as to field tactics and strategy for each level of polo.

Learning these key patterns will help you understand how you can be more effective from play to play and to not get lost on the polo field.

General Rules In any level of polo, the “strong side” of the field is the right-hand side. On offense, you carry the ball down the right sidelines and then, as you approach goal, either break to the middle (in outdoor or arena polo) or carry it through the right corner (in the arena). On defense, you usually play the ball to the sidelines to deny the offense a good shot on goal. Of course, the reason you want to go down the right side of the field is so you can try to force your opponent to your left, giving you the opportunity to carry the ball with your offside protected from the opponent.

Very often, you will see this when you try to mark a more talented opponent on your nearside. With the opponent hitting the ball on their offside to your left, you approach him just a little too aggressively.

He will then check or slow down a bit, turning the ball in behind you as he heads to the right side of the field. You are now stuck on his nearside, leaving his offside protected to carry the ball.

This is a very standard tactical move in polo, both outdoors and in the arena. He is trying to get to the stronger right side 12 POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N

of the field, with you on his left and his mallet protected. But just as sure as the old adage, “what goes up must come down,” what goes to the right side of the field must to come back to the center as you approach goal. So, what do you have in general terms?

•Defense: the ball usually gets cleared to the boards or sidelines, preferably to the right-hand side.

•Offense: carry the ball down the right-hand side of the field with the defender on your left. Then, come back to the middle as you approach the goal outdoors and in the arena, or go into the corners in the arena.

Now, the strong-side tactics are a general rule or common pattern. Your team can certainly run down the left-hand side, but it is harder to protect your mallet and you are more easily pushed into that dreaded nearside shot: the “dark side” of polo.

So, as the level of play and playing abilities increase, so does the movement around the field. In high-goal polo, players are more comfortable on either side, offside or nearside, and they will often run left and then come back center. So high-goal expects players to be strong on both sides of the field. The same is true in the arena: one of the last and most difficult skills I focused on developing for the high-goal arena was the ability to carry the ball at speed around the left or nearside corner. The point is, different levels of polo will call for different tactics particular to the demands of that level of polo.

Entry Level: Amateur Chukkers The pace of entry level makes it a good place for you to start, but the lack of structure does not help develop good field awareness or strategy. It is kind of like

learning to swim in the kiddy pool: you are safe in those few inches of water, but you are not going to learn great swimming technique.

A better start is in coaching chukkers or with experienced amateurs or pros that have some hitting and riding ability.

And when I say hitting ability, I do not mean they can consistently hit the ball 10 yards for the length of the field; I mean those who can effectively pass the ball upfield. This will give you a much better feel for the regular flow of the game.

Coaching chukkers are an especially great way to learn, as both sides usually have a pro whose sole purpose is to help instruct everyone on both teams.

The arena is a terrific place to start new players because it is a confined area with a larger, inflated ball.

Low Goal (0- to 8-goal) The lower-goal levels usually involve lots of turning and changes in direction, and require horses that have better handling and bumping rather than speed.

Importantly, low- and medium-goal polo often create team structures where all of a team’s ability rests in one or two players, making strategy a bit more difficult, as there is usually little regularity to the flow of play. The ball will often be controlled by those more talented mallets, especially in more competitive settings.

If you get on a team to which you are not really contributing financially, the practices will likely be more fun and rewarding in terms of improvement and instruction. If the talented mallets are hired by another player on the team, they will usually be more focused on just plain winning or helping their employer in game settings. That is not always the case, but is certainly a very real factor at times.

If you are playing in an all-amateur or amateur-dominated level, I often advise players to “get on the train.” But what does that mean? In a playing level where there are few, if any, “big” hitters, it is usually more effective to just get in a single row behind whomever is hitting the ball. Whenever someone misses, he just circles around to the back of the train and the next person takes a whack at it.

There are virtually no passes to go up for.

At this level, sometimes the more experienced amateur with a nominal level of ability tells you to stay up in position for a pass that is never going to come. You may want to ignore such well-intended advice and drop behind onto the train.

When you get admonished for not being where you were told to be, you can just play dumb—most of us have plenty of practice at that—or blame it on your horse.

In the arena, amateurs may have a more difficult time getting some horses moving. The arena game is continuously stop and go, so many horses can get a bit lazy in that environment. The same horses are usually much easier to get going on the open grass field.

Medium Goal (12- to 16-goal) This level is where it starts to become apparent that quality of horses is a very real factor. Usually, the team is structured with two higher-rated pros plus a lowerrated, but up-and-coming, pro. Often, that lower-rated pro is the ringer, a player who performs well over his handicap.

Everyone complains about him, but everyone wants one. Sometimes, the team has two amateurs, each with a pro. But as far as trophies, the needle often (though not always) points to three pros on a team.

The pace is much faster and, because of the increasing caliber of horse, the play also turns much quicker. It is best to be assigned an opposing player of your ability. This is also a level where an amateur with strong riding skill who can neutralize a player with a few more goals of handicap can be a tremendous asset.

Due to the increased speeds of medium- and high-goal, field awareness is very important for safety. Players are very quickly dropping onto new lines of play and you must assume, especially as the amateur, the pros will typically be getting to the play first. The amateurs need to fill in the remaining openings.

The arena can start getting pretty physical at this level, but that may be more attractive to amateurs that are experienced riders.

High Goal (20- to 26-goal) For the most part, the 20- to 26-goal is the highest level of play in the U.S. In general, a single amateur hires three professionals to play for him. He is usually placed in either the No. 1 or No. 4 position on the team, and his pros work with him on properly covering an opponent at speed. He is coached on how best to play the back position by defending the opposing No. 1 and working on his angled back shots. If he is himself playing the No. 1 position, he is coached on neutralizing the opposing back and even possibly shooting on goal. He is also being instructed between games by some of the finest players of the world, as to both playing abilities and building quality strings.

It is pretty outstanding to have that level of supervision.

But really, the play is dominated by the six pros on the field, as the majority of the plays are made by those six players.

That being said, sometimes that amateur sponsor does make the difference between winning and losing, not only in his construction of the team, but in actual contributions to the game. Maybe he has a good back shot, maybe he scores or defends a key goal, rides an opponent well or is more effective at proper play, bringing his team fewer costly fouls.

Open (30- to 40-goal) Open polo is the pinnacle of our sport.

The most famous such tournament is the Argentine Open. Here is where the most talented players in the world are mounted

on horses that have being bred for generations for this very level of play; where 8-, 9- and 10-goalers fill every position on the team; where there is no fooling anyone else or taking advantage of a lessexperienced amateur. These are the best of the best; this is polo in its purest form.

This is a level where hitting the ball out of the air is almost as easy for them as it is hitting it off the ground, sometimes easier; a level where players are not only anticipating nearly everything, they are able to immediately react to changing circumstances at a flat-out run.

At this level, if you see a No. 1 racing downfield with the ball 30 to 40 yards in front of him at a slight angle to his right, he doesn’t even pause for the ball. He already knows his No. 2 is racing to that same ball some yards behind, and his own duty at that moment is to neutralize the opposite back, or else better position himself for the upcoming pass. The flow of play to this polo is what the rest of us can only dream about.

When most of us watch this level, we are motivated to do one of two things: start practicing more hours of each day, or hang up our mallets.

You rarely see arena polo at this level.

I was fortunate to be a part of the 20- and 30-goal arena polo in Los Angeles in the ‘80s and ‘90s. It can be comparable to the Open level of play outdoors. The players are all professionals and are well versed in the movement of the game, possessing all the skill needed to perform well. The new Gladiator program is starting to present its own version of incredible displays of arena ability. If that program continues to grow, the prospects for open-caliber arena polo is virtually a guarantee.

I wish you all safe and effective flow in the greatest game on our planet.

Tom Goodspeed is a renowned polo instructor, coach and horse trainer. He achieved a 5-goal handicap outdoors and 9 in the arena. He can be reached at polotom@usapolo.com.

POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N 13

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BY HEATHER SMITH THOMAS

SCRATCH MY ITCH Skin issues can be caused by allergies to insects, the environment, food or medications

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n allergy is a condition in which the body reacts adversely to a certain substance, called an allergen. Allergic reactions in horses can be triggered by many things, depending on the individual horse’s sensitivities. Insect allergies (reactions to bites or stings) are common, but horses may also become sensitive to other allergens in the environment or to substances in feed, medication, or injections. There are many kinds of hypersensitivity reactions.

Insect Allergies Rosanna Marsella, Professor of Veterinary Dermatology, University of Florida (Gainesville), says the most common allergy in horses is hypersensitivity to the bites of tiny insects called Culicoides. The resultant itchy condition is often called sweet itch or Queensland itch. “Depending on where you live, it could be just a seasonal problem, or almost year-round,” says Marsella.

There are dozens of different species of Culicoides and some of them feed in different areas of the body.

Depending on the kind of Culicoides in your region, you may see lesions in different locations on your horse, but they are Culicoides hypersensitivity all itchy.

14 POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N

A reaction to insect hypersensitivity

“The typical sign is an itchy rump, tail and mane, and sometimes the chest. The horse may have lesions on the ventral abdomen, chest or legs.

“This condition is diagnosed by clinical signs, in conjunction with a skin test to confirm the diagnosis.

Unfortunately we don’t have a good remedy for this problem. Researchers have tried to create an allergy vaccine to help reduce the hypersensitivity, but the success rate was disappointing. I think it would be worth doing repeat studies and extending the length of the treatment.

But at this point in time there is no evidence in the literature to suggest that an allergy vaccine will help horses with insect allergies.”

This leaves a horse owner having to do all kinds of insect control, plus repellents and some modifications in the lifestyle of the horse to protect it from insect bites.

“This can be challenging, but the only thing that may really help these animals.

If you have horses out at pasture, you can stable them for the night, from dusk to

dawn, and use fine mesh screen to keep these insects from coming into the barn,” says Marsella.

Having tried that herself, in her own barn, she says you also need an excellent ventilation system. “If you close up the barn to protect the horse, it may become very hot inside the barn. You need very strong fans to allow enough air circulation in the barn, particularly if you have horses that also have COPD or some other issue. An alternative, if you have an open barn or pole barn is just to use a strong fan. The tiny insects are not able to fly in a breeze. If you have good fans and apply repellent, this will significantly cut down on your horse’s insect exposure,” she explains.

If your horses are close to water— ponds or lakes—there will be more insects.

It may be helpful to move the horse to a drier area. “Culicoides won’t travel a long distance, so sometimes a change in location may help,” she says.

Fly repellents may help keep these flies from biting, and there are a variety of products advertised as repellents. “In reality, most of them are insecticides, however, and not repellents. If a horse has allergies, it’s not enough to kill the insect after it has bitten the horse. You need to prevent the bite. The studies that have been done on repellent activity have been done on mosquitoes, not on Culicoides.

So there is still some question as to which products are most effective to protect your horse. What many veterinarians recommend is a product with permethrin; it’s the best choice for a repellent. But in order to be a repellent, it has to be at least 2 percent permethrin.

When you look at all the products available, the ones that do have permethrin have a lower percentage and

NANO’S POLO MALLETS therefore won’t work as repellents.”

Even if you find something that works, you usually have to apply it more often than the label recommends (especially in hot weather), to be effective, since sweat will wash it off.

Marsella says that a repellent must be applied at least once a day.

Repellent products she’s seen good response with include Fly Pel, which is a veterinary product that requires a prescription. “Or, you can substitute TriTec 14 but it has to be applied daily.

Here in Florida is probably the most challenging place for insects. There may be other regions where you can get away with less frequent application. But if your horse has a lot of insect exposure, you need to reapply a repellent daily. Endure and Zonk-it are other products that seem to work. Some products are water soluble and readily washed off, while others tend to stick to the hair coat better. Endure tends to stay on better and you may get away with less applications, but the downside is that it also collects dirt when the horse sweats or rolls. There may be a layer of dirt on the hair coat,” she explains.

Some people have tried garlic as a repellent, but there is no scientific evidence that it works. “We don’t recommend it. Things we recommend to decrease the itching include topical steroids. We try to avoid the use of systemic steroids as much as possible, because of the risk of laminitis. Longterm use of steroids can also hinder the immune system. So we end up using topicals like Genesis Spray (a triamcinolene spray), or a hydrocortisone leave-on conditioner that you can apply to selected areas of the body to make the horse more comfortable,” says Marsella.

Some horses may respond to antihistamines. “Hydroxizine is an antihistamine that is frequently prescribed. Treatment includes many

These hives were caused by environmental allergens.

approaches—trying to cut down the insect exposure, decreasing the itch (because the more the horse traumatizes himself the more inflammation there is), and so on. You have to look at all these different aspects, to combat this most common and frustrating allergy,” she says.

The other important factor is to treat any secondary infection that may result from the insect bites and itching. “The itchy horses traumatize themselves and frequently develop secondary bacterial infections. Depending on severity, the treatment may require systemic antibiotics or just a topical therapy if it’s mild. There are many topical antibacterial products like benzoylperoxide shampoo or chorhexidine shampoo but if the infection is extensive the horse will need oral antibiotics. Most of the time we use trimethoprim sulfa as the treatment of choice,” she says.

Environmental Allergens “Environmental allergies are the second most common problem in horses, which includes allergies to pollens, trees, grasses, weeds, or molds. These can cause atopic dermatitis, which is similar to eczema in people. The first things that blossom in the spring are the trees. If the horse’s allergies become worse each year, you might consider having a dermatologist create a specific vaccine for your horse,” she says. Usually the problem is triggered by pollen, etc. in

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can also have allergies to sheep wool or the lanolin in wool, and any wool blankets or pads may cause problems.

Lanolin is also present in some topical sprays and shampoos. Some of the horses that have wool allergies are allergic to the lanolin in topical products.

There are also some respiratory allergies, a subgroup of problems within the broader Allergens can be absorbed through the skin as well as category of COPD. taken in through the respiratory or digestive tract.

Some of the reactions in COPD your immediate geographic region, but horses are induced by environmental sometimes the offending material can allergens, and these problems can run in travel hundreds of miles with a storm. families of horses.

Some horses exhibit skin problems “In horses it’s common to have atopic after coming into contact with various allergy and a Culicoides hypersensitivity allergens. These can be absorbed through in the same individual, and you have to the skin as well as taken in through the address them both. If the problem is nonrespiratory system or digestive tract, and seasonal, you can also try food trials—to there is a definite heritable quality to see if it’s a food allergy. If the horse’s some allergies. Unlike insect allergies, problem is seasonal, most likely you are which can develop at any age, dealing with environmental allergy and environmental allergies or atopy tend to we end up doing a skin test. Some people be inherited. Within one to five years of do serology but we prefer the skin test,” being exposed to what they tend to be says Marsella. allergic to, the horse will start to show This will identify the allergens the signs. Exceptions might be a horse that horse reacts to, and those can be included when moved to a different environment in a specific allergy vaccine for that may develop an allergy. particular horse. “Other treatments we Usually the horse must be exposed at use for those horses, trying to avoid least once, then develops a steroids, include topical therapy. One hypersensitivity reaction with subsequent product I prescribe quite a bit is topical exposure. This is similar to poison ivy tacrolimus (Protopic is the brand name). reactions in people. In horses, common This is a human ointment for atopic offenders are shampoos or sprays. Some eczema, and is well tolerated by both horses have a reaction to fly spray. Horses humans and horses. It’s not cheap, but it 16 POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N

goes a long ways. You can use it for spot treatment on areas that are itchy, such as on horses that rub their face and traumatize the skin above their eyes or on the muzzle, ears or legs. If you don’t want to use a spray, you can use this ointment once a day. It decreases the inflammation and itching, and the effect is quite rapid,” she says. This product requires a prescription, and you have to go to a pharmacy to get it.

Food Allergies These are not common in horses, but can be an easy diagnosis to make. “If you have a non-seasonal allergy, and a horse with uticaria (hives) this is often a sign of food allergy. And if a horse has severe pruritus we will also do a food trial. This involves figuring out the horse’s diet—all the hay and grain and all the different supplements the horse has had in the past—and feeding something completely different. This can be challenging. It depends on the nutritional requirements of the horse, and how much exposure the horse has had,” says Marsella.

All the feeds and supplements should be discontinued, and the horse fed something different. The most common offenders are legumes such as alfalfa, and sometimes soybeans. “These are things that tend to be rich in protein. It’s unlikely that timothy or coastal hay

Itchy hives outside of allergy season may be a sign of a food allergy.

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This skin problem was caused by a reaction to a drug.

would be a problem, but unfortunately the only way to find out is by process of elimination. This can be frustrating, but the single most important thing in the management of all allergies is compliance and communication. The client needs to be willing and understanding, and the veterinarian needs to communicate with the client and help him/her through the difficult times with the horse,” she says.

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Drug & Vaccination Reactions Occasionally horses have allergic reactions to drugs. These reactions can be mild, or life-threatening. In many instances, a horse that’s had an allergic reaction to a certain vaccine or drug in the past may have a more severe reaction the next time. An allergic reaction always requires a second or third exposure; the initial encounter merely sensitizes the horse. A second or third exposure to a foreign protein in the body can produce a serious reaction. Always discuss any kind of reaction with your veterinarian. It may be just a local swelling, hives over the body, or in some situations may quickly become a serious situation in which the horse has difficulty breathing and goes into shock.

Anaphylactic reactions are the most severe type of allergic response and can happen with any drug or vaccine the horse has become hypersensitive to. This type of reaction is usually quite sudden. Blood pressure drops dramatically and the respiratory system is compromised, due to internal swelling and restriction of the (continued on page 64) POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N 17

POLO SCENE N E W S

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SUNSET POLO

Event raises $240,000 for Brooke USA

POLO PLAYER NIC ROLDAN enlisted the help of his polo-playing friends to compete in his 3rd annual Sunset Polo &

Three teams, including Brooke USA (Antonio Aguerre, Poroto Cambiaso, Justin Daniels, Nico Pieres), Tito’s Handmade Vodka (Matt Bellissimo, Grant Ganzi, Kris Kampsen, Nic Roldan) and Provident Jewelry (Anthony Calle, Henry Porter, Martin Pepa, Brandon Phillips) played a round-robin match at Mark and Katherine Bellissimo’s Wanderer’s Club in Wellington, Florida, on March 23. Over 1,000 people dressed in white attended the event, enjoying a traditional Argentine Asado around the club’s pool while the teams battled, finishing just as the sun was setting. A pair of miniature horses wearing specially-made saddle pads with ‘donation pockets’ made their way through the crowds.

Guests bid on a variety of silent auction items including artwork, vacations and jewelry. Later, Zoo Miami’s Goodwill Ambassador Ron Magill emceed a live auction with some spirited bidding on one-of-a-kind items such as the players’ jerseys, beautiful equestrian jewelry; trips to Napa, California, Aspen, Colorado, and the World Equestrian Games in Tryon, North Carolina; and a luxury cruise.

Antonio Aguerre and his In the match, Provident Jewelry defeated Brooke USA 4-2 before tying Best Playing Pony Taquara Tito’s Handmade Vodka, 1-1. Brooke USA downed Tito’s Vodka, 2-1.

Provident Jewelry was declared the winner with five gross goals. Justin Daniels, high-scorer of the evening, was named MVP and Taquara, piloted by 10-year-old Antonio Aguerre, was named Best Playing Pony.

Once the auction and official program were over, guest danced the night away to music by DJ Adam Lipson.

“Everything turned out great. A lot of people came out to support the cause and we were able to raise a great deal for Brooke USA,” said Roldan.

“It was fun to get the next generation involved on the polo field. We had a really nice group of players. The work that Brooke USA funds around the world is really important, and it is really nice to promote it and help them out. We are very happy and we have a lot of people to thank.”

EMMA MILLER

STEPHANIE RADLOFF

ENRIQUE URDANETA PHOTOGRAPHY

White Party, a charity match to raise money for Brooke USA, which tirelessly works to significantly improve the welfare of working horses, donkeys and mules and the people they serve throughout Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America by raising funds and responsibly directing them to the areas of greatest need.

Alan and Anne Gerwig with mini horses

18 POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N

Guests, dressed in white, gathered at the Wanderers Club to watch polo and raise money for the world’s working horses, donkeys and mules.

FUN-FOR-ALL

Five tailgates recognized at Gay Polo League event

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HE 9TH ANNUAL LAND ROVER Palm Beach International Sugar Erskine) defeated RSM (Bruce Schreiber, Mark Bennett, Gay Polo Tournament came to a fabulous end April 7 at Phil Tremo, Nacho Badiola), 4-3, to claim the Founders Cup. International Polo Club Palm Beach in Wellington, Florida, Later in the day, the feature match pitted Seminole Casino with five tailgates crowned for their creative achievements.

Coconut Creek (Stacie Simpkins, Gus Larrosa, Chip McKenney, The panel of tailgate judges, led by Yolanda Sheppard, market sales manager of Celebrity Cruises, was faced with a tough decision with a multitude of expansive and spirited themed tailgates, many of which combined costumes, props and menus to produce intricate experiences.

Ultimately, five of the most impressive tailgates were awarded a coveted tailgate award presented by Celebrity Cruises, the sponsor of the 2018 GPL Tailgate Competition.

Kevin Clark’s “Blush and Bashful” tailgate was named Best In Show.

Kevin Clark’s “Blush and Bashful” tailgate was named Best in Show; Tim Minerd’s “In The Navy” took Best Spirit; Brad Matt Coppola) against Cedar Crest Stables (Michael Sahakian, Ken Behnke’s “Polo Safari” won Best Tailgate Single Space; Mayer, Tiffany Busch, Joey Casey) for The Senator Cup. The teams Wellington Hospitality’s “Little House on the Prairie” was Best battled to a 1-1 tie at the half and 3-3 to end regulation time.

Tailgate Multiple Spaces; and Seminole Casino Coconut Creek Coppola scored the golden goal in sudden death overtime to give won Best Corporate Tailgate. The tailgate competition was held in Seminole Casino Coconut Creek the win. conjunction with the finals of the Founders Cup and the Senator Chip McKenney’s Pitucca was named The Tackeria Best Cup polo matches. Professional players Sugar Erskine, Nacho Playing Pony and Gus Larrosa was awarded the MVP Disco Mallet Badiola, Matt Coppola, Joey Casey and Tiffany Busch generously Perpetual Trophy. donated their time to quarterback the four GPL teams.

After preliminary games leading up to Saturday’s festivities, Goshen Hill (Jed Pearsall, Daniel Bain, Teddy Rekai-Nuttall,

Seminole Casino Coconut Creek won the Best Corporate Tailgate.

Seminole Casino Coconut Creek’s Matt Coppola, Gus Larrosa, Chip McKenney and Stacie Simpkins won the feature Senator’s Cup match.

POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N 19

LOCATION, LOCATION

Club finds new permanent home

WHAT ARE THE TIES that bind your club? Usually, those

be there for a long time, a facility owned by Geiler’s children and grandchildren that encourages parents to participate ties are shared beliefs or other factors that link people with their children and extended family or friends. together and create common ground for people and horses The OC club has been to stay together for a in six locations for the variety of positive and past 30 years. Geiler long-termed reasons. credits the formation of Maybe those ties the club to Judith Baker, include planting an oak Kim Kelly and Mark tree to commemorate the Cruise when it was in more permanent roots of Anaheim Stadium, near the Orange County Polo Anaheim, California.

Club that has been That location closed and around for about 30 years it moved to Huntington or more at various lessBeach, where the club than-permanent locales. was called Playa Grande According to Denny Polo Club. It remained at Geiler, who also happens Denny Geiler, center, and club members toast the new location. that location for 15 years to be a sustaining member before polo was eliminated to focus on equestrian horse of the Orange County Polo Club, a Governor-at-Large of the shows.

United States Polo Association, and a founding member of From there, the club went to El Toro, a U.S. Marine base the board of directors of the Polo Development, LLC: “The equestrian center before it was sold to a real estate oak tree was planted in a very prominent place right behind developer. The club next spent a year at the San Diego Polo the clubhouse and locker room. It is 30 feet tall and must be Club, while club die-hards were building a facility in Coto De 30 years old and the tree is an example of what we are doing Caza, another location in the Orange County area. The here. The oak tree is big and solid and signifies what we want property was owned by a nonprofit corporation that to do at the polo center and that it will last for many indicated there was no chance a real estate developer could generations.” take over. Unluckily for the club, potential lawsuits forced Geiler considers the OC polo club a family center that will the club to move yet again. Geiler did not despair, finding the current location in Silverado Canyon, about a half hour from Newport Beach, near Santa Ana, Tustin, Irvine, and Orange Park Acres.

The new site included an equestrian center in need of a little bit of loving care and new owners, such as the Geiler family, seeking a more permanent home for their family equestrian activities.

The current rendition of the once peripatetic OC polo club was able to maintain ties to many former polo members, all the while promoting the location for new members.

Geiler credits Heather Perkins, the club’s manager, with maintaining those ties that bind. The permanent location allows Perkins to bind new members to a great place to ride, play polo and socialize with people who enjoy horses.

Perkins began her career at one of the iterations of the polo club as a teenager, hot-walking and exercising horses, and persevered to become the current USPA certified polo instructor. Geiler said, “Heather is doing a great job running our club that includes two lighted arenas; a 2000-square-foot clubhouse, with a 1200-square-foot locker room elevated over one of the arenas; a jumbo (30 x 40) score board screen that doubles as a place to watch livestreamed events; and, stabling for 70 horses.” Geiler describes Heather as the go-to In December, club members toured the new clubhouse.

20 POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N

TERRIFIC TWO

Future player celebrates birthday

PARKER’S POLO MINUTE

BY PARKER SCOTT

A

YOUNG YAHYA, son of polo player Rabii Benadada from Rabat, Morocco, is celebrating his second birthday this month. Happy Birthday to this budding new polo player!

Did you just miss a shot?

Make a bad play? Have a bad play made against you?

Don’t waste your time and energy throwing your head back, cursing, etc.

The faster you can get your head right, the better player and teammate you will be.

SanDiegoPolo@hotmail.com

person for so much of what happens at the club, including three certified guides.

Geiler indicated the club markets and promotes itself scheduling games and social events, and managing the stables and an additional five staff members. She is even responsible through word of mouth. The club holds Friday night polo events that include to water and maintain social activities and the arena. food trucks. These The urban setting neighborly gatherings allows for locals to keep help bring a wide horses in their assortment to watch backyards, but the club polo and to feel operation allows people comfortable with the to stable at the club, horses and the sport. play polo or just ride There a is a genuine and enjoy their horses. feeling of being Horses boarded at the welcomed to the club club are all under club and with all those management, and that, curious spectators, Geiler is convinced, is there are some that the best way to provide want to find out about the best, most horse riding and polo consistent care for all The club’s new permanent facility allows for social activities held in conjunction with polo events. Geiler believes this social element is necessary to sustain the club. playing. the horses on site.

Geiler is convinced A pay-as-you-go system is based on the number of horses a person has at the the long-term sustainability of the OC club, like other clubs, club. In addition, the club is located next to a 40,000-acre is dependent on a strong social element—a place where young cattle ranch that was donated to Orange County and is people can start an early relationship with creating ties that managed by a conservatory. Club members can pleasure ride can bind them to horses and the sport, and where people of on the cattle ranch accompanied by one of the club staff’s all ages can spend an enjoyable time together. u

POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N 21

Healthy horses Team USPA members attend educational clinics The United States Polo Association established Team USPA in 2009 to grow and sustain the sport of polo by identifying talented young American players and providing opportunities to grow their abilities.

Dr. Stephanie Massey Colburn

Dr. Stephanie Massey Colburn and her husband Ben share a passion for polo, horses and the veterinary profession.

With the high cost of veterinary care often at the forefront of players’ minds, she was eager to give back to the Team USPA program by creating an open relationship between Team USPA players and the Palm Beach Equine Clinic with the help of Dr. Swerdlin and Dr. Wollenman.

Team USPA members attended two lectures focused on polo-specific injuries and were led through a leg dissection to better visualize the different structures often seen only on X-rays and ultrasounds. After a successful first year partnering with Team USPA and Palm Beach Equine, Colburn hopes to continue to facilitate an open line of 22 POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N

communication between young players and local veterinarians while offering valuable information on the maintenance and care of professional polo ponies.

Having started riding at an early age riding jumpers and dressage horses, it was actually her father who found out about polo through a co-worker. With his daughters already riding, Stephanie’s father wanted to join in on the fun and quickly fell in love with the adrenaline and horses of polo. It became the family sport, with both Stephanie and her sister going on to play for the Las Colinas Interscholastic Team. She continued her arena polo pursuits at Texas A&M, making a name for herself as one of the top women’s players in the country.

After being elected to Team USPA in

2012, Stephanie was invited to go to Sheridan, Wyoming. Having ridden and played polo in Texas the majority of her life, this was the first time Stephanie had the opportunity to travel to train with some of the top players in the country, including three members of the 2012 Team USPA class. They were a close-knit group who helped each other with tasks such as horse care and going to the polo club to stick and ball.

It was in Sheridan where she was first introduced to the legendary polo veterinarian Dr. Paul Wollenman.

Stephanie said, “I gained valuable experience from Paul that summer and experienced high-quality equine medicine for the first time in my life. I also found out about this clinic he had in

Members of Team USPA attend an educational clinic at Palm Beach Equine Clinic in Wellington, Florida this past winter season.

Dr. Paul Wollenman leads participants through a leg dissection to help them better understand the different structures.

Wellington, Florida. I wanted to go visit the clinic simply because I loved this facet of veterinary medicine, Paul’s polo clients and the quality of medicine performed.

After visiting the clinic later that year, I was hooked. I had never experienced such a place before; such high-level equine athletes, professional horse people, and an amazing equine hospital. Palm Beach Equine Clinic became the gold standard to which I compared every other equine clinic I visited thereafter.”

Stephanie is tremendously thankful for the opportunity to have met Wollenman that summer.

The road to becoming a veterinarian is daunting. With requirements similar to becoming a human doctor, the amount of schooling is grueling. After receiving a bachelor’s degree, it is then onto vet school for four more years.

Stephanie has always been passionate about animals. Interestingly enough, her

first dream was to become a dolphin trainer, but she realized early on that the most logical career to work with animals would be becoming a vet. You can see her light up when she talks about the connection between horse and rider in the sport of polo.

Studying to become a vet allowed her to continue to work closely with horses.

The diversity in the daily work day was also a plus as she constantly had new cases brought to her to help solve. She admits though, the road to becoming a vet has been tough.

“My husband has been a wonderful supporter and helped maintain my sanity throughout vet school. I am lucky that my husband was not only a veterinary school classmate of mine, but also my best friend, so we were able to work together and help each other through veterinary school. The horses and polo were our outlet throughout vet school,” she said. “We

would go riding and stick and balling multiple times a week to take our minds off the stresses of veterinary school. My family has also been incredibly supportive of my career path as a veterinarian and I have had an amazing group of friends,” she said.

After finishing vet school last May, Stephanie made it priority to apply for an internship at Palm Beach Equine. With a stellar vet school record, and having built a great connection with Wollenman, she made her dream a reality, accepting an internship at the clinic.

She hit the ground running, soaking up as much she could. Wellington is considered by many to be the horse capital of the United States during the winter months, so Stephanie had her hands full. She gained exposure to working with some of the top veterinarians in the world while also working with some of the top equine athletes from dressage to jumping to polo.

Organizing and teaching the educational clinics with Wollenman to Team USPA members brought Stephanie full circle .

It was six years ago that she was one of the Team USPA members learning from Wollenman at a summer clinic in Wyoming. Humble and appreciative of what Team USPA has done for her, she says she hopes to be involved with future presentations that can help Team USPA members succeed, improve our equine athletes and ultimately better our sport.

She recently finished up her internship and has accepted a new position nearby. Stephanie is now enjoying getting back to riding and playing some polo. As if she isn’t busy enough, she is currently a rated umpire, is pursuing completing her certification within the CPI program, is serving on the I/I Equine Welfare Committee, and the I/I Scholarship Committee. With an unparalleled work ethic, passion for her work, and appreciation for her opportunities, Stephanie is sure to have a great veterinary career ahead.

She left our meeting with some final words of wisdom: “Surround yourself with positive people and make time for yourself.”

POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N 23

Rebound Maryland regains National Interscholastic title

BY AMY FRASER • PHOTOS BY MIKE RYAN

O

n Sunday, April 15, Maryland Polo Club defeated Central Coast Polo Club 26-4 to claim the 2018 USPA Girls’ National Interscholastic Championship title at the Virginia Polo Center in Charlottesville, Virginia. It was an impressive victory for the Maryland team as it recaptured the title it won in 2016, garnering a second national championship for each player on the team.

Maryland, the 2017 runner-up, headed into the tournament with a strong record as the No. 1 seed. In the first semifinal of the tournament, Maryland faced Central Regional winner Hillside Farm Polo Club from Richfield, Wisconsin, in its first national appearance under Coach Margie Paur. Maryland’s Catie Stueck began the game with a two-pointer, setting the tone for the rest of the game as Maryland rode away with a 28-5 win.

The second semifinal match pitted Western Regional Champion Central Coast Polo Club, coached by Megan Judge, against Northeastern Regional Champion Cornell Polo Club with Coach Olivia Barton. Freida Witmer of Cornell began the game in a similar fashion to the first semifinal, scoring an early twopointer, but Central Coast Polo Club was quick to gain control of the game and advanced to the final with a score of 15-7.

Saturday, April 14, the teams were treated to a USPA Player Performance Clinic taught by Team USPA member and intercollegiate/interscholastic alumnus Connor Deal, followed by a consolation between Hillside and Cornell with Hillside coming out on top.

Maryland’s Maddie Grant began the final match with a Penalty 2 conversion, which was followed closely by a field goal 24 POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N

Sparkles, owned by Virginia Polo Inc., was named Best Playing Pony of the Girls’ National Interscholastic Championships. Best Playing String went to Maryland Polo Club.

from Stueck. Central Coast Polo Club put its first goal on the board with a penalty shot from Taylor Olcott. Maryland scored three more to end the first, leading 5-1.

Horses were provided by the Virginia Polo Center and Maryland Polo Club, and due to the split string format, Maryland rode their horses in the second and fourth chukkers. The three Grant sisters entered the arena in Chukker 2, each contributing a field goal, while shutting out Central Coast Polo Club to end the half 12-1.

Stueck came out hot in the third chukker with three unanswered goals.

Cool and calm Petra Teixeira added a field goal to bring Central Coast Polo Club’s tally to two, but Maddie Grant answered with three to end the third 20-2 in favor of Maryland.

The fast play continued into the fourth and final chukker as Maddie Grant showcased her incredible skill, knocking shots out of the air and into the goal. An undeterred Central Coast Polo Club kept fighting as Cassidy Wood converted a Penalty 3, followed by a field goal from teammate Teixeira to finish out the chukker. Maddie Grant contributed 13 goals on the day to

MARYLAND POLO CLUB Maddie Grant Abbie Grant Sophie Grant Catie Stueck CENTRAL COAST POLO CLUB Taylor Olcott Petra Teixeira Cassidy Wood HILLSIDE POLO CLUB Samantha Oswald Emma Sbragia Sydney Weise Taylor Nackers Gabrielle De Gail

Maryland’s Maddie Grant takes the ball with CCPC’s Petra Teixeira in hot pursuit.

CORNELL Aliah Debiian Jasmine Umrigar Freida Witmer

cement Maryland’s decisive 26-4 win.

The win is Maryland’s fourth title in five years. Wells reflected on her team this season. “My girls were pretty fantastic today! They are one of the strongest girls’ teams I’ve ever had the opportunity to coach. They are pretty special and all contributed to the win.

They rode the horses really well and worked together as a team. I’m extremely proud of them.”

This year, Coach Kelly Wells captured both the Open National Interscholastic Championship and Girls’ National Interscholastic Championship with two Maryland Polo Club teams. In 1998, Wells also coached the Garrison Forest School team to the girls’ national title and went on to win the open national, proving that her winning strategy has remained consistent. At the time, the winners of girls’ nationals where invited to play at the open regional.

Jane Bowles, niece of Dan and Julie Calhoun, presented the trophy.

Tournament All-Stars were awarded to Maryland’s Maddie Grant and Sophie Grant, Hillside’s Emma Sbragia and Central Coast Polo Club’s Cassidy Wood.

The Sportsmanship Award was presented to Hillside’s Sydney Weise.

Best Playing String went to Maryland Polo Club and Best Playing Pony honors were presented to Sparkles, owned by Virginia Polo Inc.

Maryland’s Maddie Grant and Sophie Grant, Hillside’s Emma Sbragia and CCPC’s Cassidy Wood were All-Stars and Hillside’s Sydney Weise was best sport.

Maryland coach Kelly Wells with Abbie Grant, Maddie Grant, Catie Stueck and Sophie Grant after their Girls’ National Interscholastic win.

POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N 25

Wielding a whistle Umpire program continues to evolve and improve

By Gwen Rizzo

T

he USPA’s professional umpire program, which began in the early 1990s, started out with one paid umpire. Today, the program includes 24 professional umpires, six auxiliary umpires and a growing number of certified umpires

In the late 1960s, USPA Chairman Norty Knox appointed John T. Oxley chairman of the Umpire Committee. In that capacity, Oxley developed a proposal for a professional umpire program, however Oxley’s idea died on the vine. Players continued to take turns umpiring games.

Meanwhile, Carlton Beal and George Alexander worked on getting an umpire program going. In 1992, a matching grant to

the Polo Training Foundation from the Oxley Foundation helped get the program off the ground. Initially, Steve Lane was hired as Head Umpire Instructor.

In the first few years more umpires were hired. By 1995, former 8-goaler Benny Gutierrez became Chief Umpire, a full time position, and experienced players were hired, such as Roy Barry, Red Armour, Tom Hughes, Paul Withers and Paul Rizzo.

Umpires, LLC. Executive Director Charles Muldoon and consultant Bob Delaney

26 POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N

Gutierrez oversaw the program, umpired and trained umpires. At the time Gutierrez explained there were good people willing to umpire but there was not enough funding to give them enough work. The program was still funded entirely by the PTF contribution and club user fees.

When the program first began, thenUSPA Chairman Stephen Orthwein explained its purpose was to stop

disciplinary problems on the field; improve quality and consistency in umpiring; and to get more people involved in training pro umpires.

Now, 26 years after it began, the program has grown tremendously. It is now run by a full time staff and has 26 professional umpires in addition to over 330 certified umpires. It is no longer funded by the PTF, instead the Umpires, LLC is funded by the USPA through proceeds from its apparel licensing. A small amount still comes from club user fees.

Former 6-goal player Charlies Muldoon is executive director of the Umpires, LLC. The program now benefits from plenty of new technology and professional consulting.

Professional umpires meet regularly and utilize Dartfish technology to enhance their game review and training, as well as improve their consistency across all levels of polo.

The use of drone footage has also been a helpful training tool.

Muldoon explained that umpires can utilize the Dartfish technology to look back at games they umpired. He said in one week this winter, there were 3,600 views of matches by the 26 umpires.

“They will watch one play five times. They are trying to get it right and learn from their mistakes,” he said.

Bob Delaney advises the Umpires, LLC on such things as uniforms, analytics, evaluations, replay, life skills and much more. Delaney refereed in the NBA from 1987-2011 before working as the NBA’s vice president for Referee Development and Performance until stepping down late last year.

When Delaney first began advising the umpires, his first suggestion was to make sure umpires’ uniforms were the same.

“They were wearing different pants and boots. They were not uniformed, and outward appearance will create a pride that impacts inward feelings,” he explained.

“When individuals have a good look, their pride becomes contagious for the group. We can see that now. The uniforms and professional pride has risen to new heights.

Little things are big when creating something we want to be part of.”

Umpires get on-field coaching from Muldoon and Steve Lane. Delaney works with the umpires to create teamwork and trust. “I have seen improvement in the team

Professional umpires now wear GoPro cameras and communicate via radios.

concept amongst umpires. I also see a professional look and life skills that bring them to another level,” Delaney says.

Muldoon says, “Bob has really taught the officials why and how to be self confident in their job and teamwork. He’s really

emphasized the fact they are not two individual umpires on the field and a third man and an IRO guy. They need to work as a team both on and off the field. It really shows at all levels.”

Muldoon said the use of radios between the team has also helped improve communication. “If you listen to the communication between the umpires it is incredible. They talk about the plays as they happen and after they happen,” he says.

“They make sure they get it right and both guys are seeing it the same way. They can help each other out. They talk about positioning, which is so important.

“If you look at drone footage, you can see where the umpires are actually standing when they make a call. They are close to the play. One umpire is on one side, one is behind. When they see a play, one umpire might ask the other [who has a better angle] if there is too small of a gap or if it looks dangerous. If the other umpire says yes, they blow the whistle. If it’s no, they let the play go.”

Delaney teaches the umpires techniques to navigate outbursts from players, reminding them it is not personal and comes with the will to win.

POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N 27

28 POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N

Delaney helps umpires understand positive reinforcement is paramount to success.

Education center at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

“We all learn in different ways and providing education that is understood by each team member is vital for success,” Delaney explained. “Learning should take place in the same manner as proper eating and digestion—small bites allowing for nutritious absorption.” Rose, author of “The End of Average: How we succeed in a World that Values Sameness,” underlines the societal need for change to our education and evaluation approach.

Delaney explains, “While a commercial airline may rate pilots 1-100, they still trust a lower-rated pilot with the responsibilities of flying a plane and transporting people.

There is a great deal of training and development for umpires, and taking an approach to fire the bottom 10-20 percent as a formula is not the best decision.”

Delaney says if an official is not responding to the on-going training, and unable to perform officiating duties or if they lack professionalism, causing off-thefield problems, then they should be let go, however missing a call or having a bad game or two is not just cause to get rid of them.

He explains, “I am not sure how or why perfection has become a standard for sports officials. Excellence is the goal while good enough is not acceptable. Replay has changed public perception because fans see a replay and find it difficult to understand how the officials missed the call. The reality is only certain triggers allow for replay use by rule and unless there is a highresolution screen available to officials for those plays they can review, they are not seeing what fans see on a 48-inch or larger higher definition screen. All factors that are being addressed. Improvement, development and growth is on-going.”

According to Delaney, unattainable goals lead to frustration, and perfection is an unattainable goal. “There cannot be an expectation of perfection. There is a standard for excellence and at times, very good may be what takes place. There needs to be a realization and acceptance of that reality by all participants.”

Delaney uses what he calls “edutainment” to create learning and discussion environments. “It may be a song from the play Hamilton, a TED message or a personal story to create dialogue with the umpires to flesh out alternatives for

SHELLEY HEATLEY

The umpires’ position also shows how effective they are at keeping up with the play. This is a far cry from when the players used to have to umpire and would be walking on one end of the field while the play was 150 yards or more away from them. The professional umpires recently requested a boot camp be created to help them stay fit, so they have the stamina to keep up with the play.

Muldoon explained the because of the quick line changes or misses off the cane or a horse can make positioning difficult.

“They will get in position to see a play and three quick things happen and they are totally out of position. It is not their fault.

Sometimes there are two or three people that are now between them and the ball change so they miss it,” he says. “In other sports, there are other officials on the field. They have jumbotrons, they have a guy who is on the field, walks over to a camera to see instant replay. He can explain what he saw. [In polo], the umpires don’t even get to have a conversation about it until after the game.”

Delaney developed a Performance Enhancement Program, which he has used to help the University of Alabama, Florida State and Army West Point football teams, the Baltimore Ravens, NFL and NBA referees, USA Lacrosse and many others. He is now using it in polo.

Delaney explained the program. “I work from the mindset we do not have to be sick to get better. The PEP 360 degree life skill training helps individuals increase capacities for leadership, teamwork, trust, communication, mental conditioning, mental rehearsal, ethics and resiliency, resulting in an improved team.

“There are three teams competing in every sports competition—the two competing and the officiating team.

Strength training, nutrition awareness and high levels of coaching have caused today’s athletes to perform at the highest level. I am taking life skill training to sports officials for the same reason.”

He believes life skills identified can be learned and sharpened causing higher levels of personal and professional growth. The result, he says, is a broader level of experience for officiating sport events.

Delaney has partnered with Todd Rose, director of the Mind, Brain and

Professional umpires George Olivas, Fergus Gould, Julian Appleby and Hector Galindo receive awards at the U.S. Open final from USPA CEO Bob Puetz and Umpires, LLC’s Charles Muldoon.

resolving situations during a game,” he says.

Communication is the foundation of any relationship and an umpire’s ability to communicate during a game is important.

Delaney says umpires must model proper authority behavior. In one session, he used three video clips to underline that message with the umpires. The first clip was from “Goodfellas,” with Ray Liotta and Joe Pesci cursing at each other during the classic “You think I’m funny” exchange; the second was Jack Nicholson on the witness stand in “A Few Good Men” when he loses his temper and shouts out that he did order the Code Red; and the last video was an animation of a plane taking off from LaGuardia Airport showing it hitting a flock of birds with actual transmissions of Capt. Sullenberger speaking with his copilot and the tower.

Delaney then asked the umpires how they wanted to “land” the games they officiate.

Proper authority behavior and Sullenberger’s training, composure and leadership created the positive outcome.

Delaney said, “I never equate what Capt.

Sully did or the military does on a daily basis to preserve our freedoms to what umpires do on a field, but we can learn from those who demonstrate outstanding life skills to improve officiating.”

Delaney helps umpires understand positive reinforcement is paramount to success. He asks the umpires to review game video and find what they did correctly before looking at negatives. His theory is sports officials live in a negative world and hear from fans, players, coaches, owners and at times from their supervisors when they are wrong, however the truth is they are correct far more than incorrect. Delaney asks them to consider why they got the call correct and how can they repeat those actions before looking at why they missed a call and how they can adjust to improve the next time.

Analytics prove the higher correct call percentage, and Delaney used the example of 90 percent correct calls for discussion at a recent umpire session. “If umpires pursue the 10 percent of misses and do not also learn from the 90 percent of correct calls, they will lose some of that 90 percent,” he said.

Though most sports organizations think they are unique, there are competitive constants with every sport. Allowing athleticism and a level playing field for

competition is the reason for having officials involved. Delaney uses this formula: potential minus distractions equals performance. “The more we can work on limiting distractions, the better performance,” Delaney explains. “Another is FACE — focus, awareness, concentration, experience. Bring your FACE to every game, every play. This type of concise selftalk helps officials.”

The umpires also receive on-going training and regularly discuss decorum and demeanor to help diffuse situations.

“Umpires should use techniques to calm waters, not put fuel on the fire when emotions are part of sports,” Delaney said.

He teaches internal controls and how to navigate outbursts. “It is not personal, it is the will to win that causes reactions,” he says. “Allowing heat-of-the-moment reactions is part of an umpire’s responsibility to maintain control, just as it is when the reaction becomes disrespectful.”

One aspect of umpiring some might not understand is umpires have the authority to not call a foul in certain situations. “A non-call is something that could actually be a small foul by the book but it doesn’t affect the play, so the umpires let it go. Let’s say a player shades a little bit but the opponent is still able to get the pass off to a teammate and they keep running down the field. As long as it isn’t too dangerous, they are not going to call it. Anything that impedes forward momentum they will call,” explained Muldoon.

Muldoon says Delaney has created a much more professional atmosphere among the umpires in the last three years. “There is always room for improvement, but we are scratching the surface of excellence. We have to stay on top of how the players are playing. Every generation is different, but we have to maintain excellence. The difference between umpiring today and 15 years ago is night and day.”

The Umpires, LLC is also investing in certifying more umpires for lower levels of the sport. They recently began offering an umpire boot camp so people interested in umpiring can learn the ropes.

Delaney says, “When a sport invests in officiating, the level of play improves and that grows the sport.”

On a cool, rainy afternoon in England, Texas Polo’s Vinnie Meyer and 10-goaler Facundo Pieres celebrate Facundo’s third British Gold Cup victory, all while riding in Texas Polo Luxe Edition saddles

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No Sure Bet

Underdog DRF stops powerhouse Valiente

By Gwen Rizzo

I

DAVID LOMINSKA/POLOGRAPHICS

f polo was a betting game, a lot of people would have lost some money at the April 22 final of the U.S. Open Polo Championship at International Polo Club Palm Beach in Wellington, Florida.

Ten-goaler Hilario Ulloa holds off Valiente’s 10-goaler Adolfo Cambiaso while keeping his eye on the ball in the final of the U.S. Open Championship.

A scrappy Daily Racing Form-DRF Bets team was taking on Valiente, which had taken the 2017 Triple Crown. But this year, Valiente had a new line-up.

32 POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N

Patron Bob Jornayvaz enlisted 10-goal Facundo Pieres, considered to be the world’s No. 2 player, to join the world’s No. 1 player, 10-goal Adolfo Cambiaso,

longtime rivals, in the middle of the team. A talented, disciplined 21-year-old 4-goaler, Tommy Beresford, rounded out the line-up.

SHELLEY HEATLEY

With this powerhouse team mounted on large numbers of the highest-quality horses, the general perception was it was unbeatable, a point punctuated by its victories in the first three tournaments in the 26-goal series: the C.V. Whitney Cup, the Butler Handicap and the USPA Gold Cup. It was no surprise when Valiente won its first two games of the U.S. Open, putting it in first place in its bracket and advancing it to the semifinals.

Jared Zenni’s The Daily Racing FormDRF Bets topped the other bracket. DRF took a different route getting to the Open.

Most high-goal teams plan for years before making a run at the Open and even with the best preparations, it takes years before they are successful, if ever.

This was the first time Zenni was competing in the U.S. Open, something that was decided on just six months before. “We kind of started talking about it a little bit during the summer … we were like, if we are going to be serious about it maybe we’ve got to start looking for a few horses. … So, maybe in October we really became serious and I found a few horses we could bring up, Agustin [Obregon] found a few horses to bring up as well,” explained Zenni.

Zenni (5-goals) had been playing with 10-goal Hilario Ulloa in Argentina, and has played quite a bit with 5-goal Obregon so they would need another player to round out a 26-goal team. “We realized we need a 6-goaler, preferably someone who plays in front so me and Hilario absolutely wouldn’t change the way we’ve been playing the whole season,” said Zenni. Obregon’s cousin Mariano Obregon fit the bill so he joined the team.

At 22, Zenni has been riding as long as he can remember. His grandfather was involved with horses and his dad also plays, while his two sisters both jump.

Zenni played his first game at about 6 years old. Horses are what drew him to polo. “Basically the connection you have with the horse is pretty crazy. You are running down the field at about 35 miles per hour, trying to hit a little ball on a half-ton animal, connecting and moving simultaneously together. It’s pretty cool,” he said.

After DRF’s Hilario Ulloa was hit in the face with a polo ball, he had difficulty seeing as blood was dripping into his eyes. The ball hit his goggles, which saved his eye but cut his face.

Zenni said he has tried just about every traditional sport—football, baseball, tennis, golf--but after getting burnt out on basketball, he focused on polo.

A senior at the University of Miami, Zenni is studying marketing and finance.

He admits that his parents insisted he get an education, and since he was able to continue to play polo at the same time, he figured why not. While others were thinking of nothing but polo, Zenni was studying for final exams as the Open was underway.

Early in the 26-goal series, DRF fell to Valiente 13-10 in its first game of the C.V. Whitney Cup, but won the consolation, 11-9, over Grand Champions. It also suffered defeat in the opening game of the Butler Handicap, again taking the consolation from Grand Champions, 1610. It got off to a good start in the Gold Cup, winning its first two outings, but fell to Flexjet 10-9 in its third game. It faced Flexjet in the semifinal, suffering another 10-9 defeat.

“For us, it took us a little longer to get into a rhythm. We came into the U.S. Open not even playing our best polo. We started playing our best the last three

games,” Zenni said.

It can be tricky getting horses ready for a long season since you don’t want them peaking too early, nor too late.

Daily Racing Form’s horses, which had played the other tournaments as well, were just peaking as the Open was starting while other team’s horses were beginning to tire out. Zenni explained, “Our goal was to have the horses in good shape by the time the Open came around so I guess we were able to do that.” He had also saved three horses to fortify his string as the Open got underway.

DRF downed Colorado, finalist in the first two 26-goals, 13-11, in its first match of the Open. Next, it faced Flexjet, which had beaten it the last two times they played each other. In a foul-riddled game, DRF took a 10-6 advantage at the half and went on to win convincingly, 14-11.

Leading its division, it went directly to the semifinal, where it met U.S. Polo Assn. By then, DRF was working like a well-oiled machine, shooting out to a 6-0 lead after 14 minutes. It led 8-1 at the half and eventually won 11-8.

“Our goal the whole time was to at least make the final,” said Zenni. “Once POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N 33

DAVID LOMINSKA/POLOGRAPHICS

Steve Orthwein and David Cummings congratulate Jared Zenni after he was named MVP.

DAVID LOMINSKA/POLOGRAPHICS

we won the semifinal, I was able to wrap my head around it a little more. … we started saying we played our best three matches of polo, but [now] we need to play our best six chukkers of polo.”

Meanwhile, Valiente hadn’t lost a game in the 26-goal, enjoying a 12-game winning streak, and was a game away from winning the Triple Crown. Zenni admits that a few days before the final he was having his doubts but by game day he knew that if his team played well, the horses played well and everything was in line, they had a good shot to win.

Forecasters were calling for rain, with as

Mariano Obregon was unstoppable on Best Playing Pony Sally. The 8-year-old American Thoroughbred was trained by Cesar Jimenez.

high as a 90 percent chance, for the final.

Still, DRF was preparing for the big day. All season Zenni has eaten sushi the 34 POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N

night before his games and he didn’t want to change that even when people told him it probably wasn’t the best choice. The day of the final, despite weather reports,

he knew the club would be hesitant to call off the game so he kept his game-day routine.

By mid-morning the clouds were

chukker, we are going to feel each other out, see what they are going to bring us, how we are going to play. They want to see what we are going to do so we don’t want show all our cards too early, too soon,” said Zenni.

Facundo Pieres wasted no time in putting Valiente on the board early in the first chukker on a run with his slick bay mare Corcha. Ulloa found the goal for DRF but Pieres added another goal before the chukker ended. Zenni said the speed of Pieres’ horses caught him off guard. “The first two chukkers I was like, OK, maybe I need to give them a little

extra space.”

Each team was awarded an open-goal penalty in the second, both of which were converted, and Ulloa tallied from the field to knot the score at 3-all. DRF kept up the pressure, with Zenni doing an incredible job at back and the Obregons sticking to the two 10-goalers. After Facundo had one or two breakaways, the team plan was adjusted slightly. Zenni and team coach Julio Arellano agreed that someone always needed to be back and the other three needed to be in the mix, fighting.

Meanwhile, Ulloa kept the ball moving

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rolling in and by noon passing showers were dumping rain throughout the area.

At the scheduled 3 p.m. game time, players were stick and balling under dark clouds and organizers were keeping an eye on the radar. The game was held up while another soaking storm rolled through. By 3:45 the sky was clearing and the players were introduced. Ulloa wore a yellow dishwashing glove on his left hand for the first chukker to prevent the reins from slipping.

Up against a strong Valiente team, DRF used the same strategy they’ve had all season. Mariano and Agustin would

Jared Zenni said his team’s horses peaked at just the right part of the season. He was careful not to get them too tired in the first half of the final.

Here he is shown on 8-year-old Gete Garrocha, who he played in the fourth period. She is from Tanoira’s breed in Argentina.

split the first two guys and if no one was coming to Mariano, Zenni and Agustin would split the field in half, Zenni going left and Agustin going right. “The first

more because his horses were faster than I thought they would be,” he said. “That guy, he’s been gold. He’s quicker mentally than me so I needed to give him

offensively off his 10-year-old grey mare, Future Lituania, and split the uprights with back-to-back goals for the 5-3 advantage. Cambiaso scored his first goal POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N 35

tired and was just thinking about getting to the fifth and sixth chukker with fresh horses,” he explained. “I didn’t want to go to the bottom of my horses at the end of the first half. We knew the game would be won in the fifth and sixth chukker and I needed them to be fresh. That was one of my main goals.”

Just 40 seconds into the fifth, Ulloa took a hard-hit backshot to the face. He jumped off his horse and writhed on the ground. In a show of good sportsmanship, Cambiaso jumped off to see if he was OK. Ulloa’s eye goggles took a direct hit, cutting his face. Fortunately,

Soon after, the tough-as-nails Ulloa passed to Agustin Obregon who fought off both 10-goalers to find the mark with a difficult nearside neck for DRF. Out of the throw-in, Beresford sent a pinpoint backshot to Pieres who ran to goal but a minute later Zenni shot in one of his own. Each time Valiente managed to make any headway, Daily Racing Form had the answer. Tommy Beresford, who had been working hard at defense the entire game, put in his first goal and Pieres sunk a Penalty 2, but soon after Mariano Obregon responded with a Penalty 3 conversion to again lead, 9-8.

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to cut the deficit to one ending the first half, 5-4.

Threatening rain denied spectators the traditional halftime champagne divot stomp. Arellano quickly reminded the players to stick to the game plan, stay disciplined, keep talking to each other and not to rush as the players got right back up to start the fourth. Ulloa put DRF back up by two but Cambiaso brought Valiente back within one. DRF had been persistent, dominating the throw-ins and driving to goal, but with 14 minutes left to play, the crowd wondered if it could keep its momentum.

DRF’s Jared Zenni, right, tries to keep the ball away from Valiente’s Tommy Beresford, who worked hard at defense the whole game.

Zenni said while he usually remembers a lot of the plays, this game was a blur. He remembers some but not much of it. “All I know is I was really 36 POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N

his eye was protected. Paramedics applied a butterfly bandage and within a few minutes he had remounted and was ready to play.

In the final chukker, Obregon made two runs on his lightening fast bay mare, Sally, but was unlucky with his last shots to goal. Hilario, who had blood running

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down his cheek and admitted he couldn’t see very well, took the ball but was hooked. Zenni was following behind him and found the uprights to increase the spread to two with just over 4 minutes on the clock.

Valiente struggled to free itself from the relentless DRF defense. The close marking eventually led to a Penalty 2 conversion, which Pieres capitalized on, bringing Valiente back within one, 10-9, as time was ticking away. With 2:08 on the clock, Beresford jumped on a pass from Cambiaso and drove to goal, but Mariano Obregon covered him closely, causing him to hit wide. Another drive by Valiente was turned back by DRF but with seconds remaining Pieres took the ball at midfield, ran to about 80 yards out and shot a Hail Mary.

Zenni said at that point he didn’t want to get his hopes up. “I’ve seen so many games, like two years ago, I think it was, when Cambiaso was down by three with a minute left and won it, something crazy, so I wanted to stay focused,” said Zenni.

“If you lose your focus for a second, you’ve already lost.”

Zenni was watching the clock and hoping the ball rolled out. “I knew there was probably around 40 seconds to go … all I wanted was for it to go out. I was like, OK, if it goes out and there is some time, I’ll take a big loop and then hit it as hard as I can so the ball can’t come back,” he said. Pieres had cut it too much and it went wide left.

Using the international rules, if the teams were not tied, the game would end at the 7-minute mark. Seconds later the horn sounded, declaring Daily Racing Form the winner. Zenni shook hands with the Valiente team before jumping off his horse to celebrate with his teammates, tears running down his cheek as emotions got the best of him. “I was filled with joy. All I know is it was pure excitement, pure joy. It was pretty surreal,” said Zenni. The team’s fans went wild as the teammates, family members and grooms embraced in celebration.

Zenni was named MVP and Mariano Obregon’s Sally, an 8-year-old Argentine mare, was Best Playing Pony. Obregon said he purchased the mare, an American

Daily Racing Form-DRF Bets’ Jared Zenni, Hilario Ulloa, Mariano Obregon and Agustin Obregon, with Jim Zenni, center.

Thoroughbred trained by Cesar Jimenez, from Marty Cregg. “She is very complete.

She has a lot of speed and is very light in the mouth,” said Obregon.

“Getting MVP with such great players on the field in the final of the U.S. Open was a dream come true. If someone had told me at the beginning of the season …

I feel like we played really well and anyone could have been named MVP. I mean Hilario played amazing. He got hit with the ball and kept on playing,” said Zenni. “Agustin was working hard for the team and Mariano was also working super hard, pushing the team. Anyone could have gotten it.”

Even the teammates seemed stunned they had actually won the match, Ulloa telling USPA Network’s Dale Schwetz at the conclusion of the match it was unbelievable. Mariano Obregon told Schwetz, “It’s a miracle. I can’t believe

it.” Agustin added, “It’s amazing. I don’t know what I’m feeling, [there is] too much emotion.”

After some time to ponder it Mariano Obregon wrote, “To win the Open is amazing. It is a dream come true. I still can’t believe it and to beat an incredible team ... I think we were successful because we played as a team and were organized.”

While it was the first U.S. Open win for Zenni and the Obregons, it was a third title for Ulloa, who won it in 2010 with Crab Orchard and 2014 with Alegria.

With the 26-goal series being lowered to 22 goals in 2019, Zenni has not thought about what he will do next year.

His focus now is on the classification tournament for the Argentine Open, which he and Agustin Obregon will compete in this fall.

POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N 37

Magic Mic Tony Coppola has called the game for 40 years

By Gwen Rizzo

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In the 1970s, in addition to playing, Tony Coppola would umpire polo matches on occasion. At the same time he was starting his tack business. It was then he decided he might not make or keep as many friends umpiring as he would announcing. “I felt when I started the tack business, I

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was better off being an announcer and calling somebody by the wrong name then make the wrong call with the whistle,” he explained.

Coppola would announce a bit at Gulfstream Polo Club in Lake Worth, Florida and then he started announcing weekday games at nearby

Palm Beach Polo. He went to Texas with Steve Gose in 1979, the year Gose’s Retama Polo Club was hosting the Open. Gose mentioned they needed an announcer and asked Coppola if he would do it.

“Well, the first year I didn’t do the finals. It was Tommy Gose along with

RICHARD GRAULICH /LILA PHOTOS

hen it comes to U.S. Opens, one thing is for sure: Tony Coppola will have a microphone in hand, calling it like he sees it, just as he has for the past 40 years.

a guy named Joe McGee, who had done it at Oak Brook for many years, but I did all the preliminary games,” Coppola said.

“So, in real figures, I’ve done 40 Opens over 39 years and did 38 finals.”

Over that time, Coppola has gotten a front-row seat to some of the best polo the U.S. has seen. “In the late ‘70s and early ‘80s, we had the Hipwoods and Dorignacs. That was when our players were really at their peak. Joe [Barry] and Tommy [Wayman] and Red [Armour] were all 9 goals. Tommy went to 10 and Joe and Red should have but they didn’t,” he said.

Coppola has announced the games in many states as the Open moved around.

“From [Retama] we went to California for a year then to Kentucky for four then back to California,” he explained. “I enjoyed everyone of them really, all for different reasons. When I was in Long Island [for the Open in 1994 and 1995], I got to go back home. We played the finals at Bethpage State Park and that is where I played my first outdoor game so that was kind of significant. Another fact is Bethpage State Park was the site of the U.S. Open of polo and also the site of the U.S. Open of golf, so it is kind of special there.”

Coppola also has seen the game evolve over the years. “I’ve seen a lot of great players, Tanoira, all these guys, and I saw the change in polo. We had more higherrated amateurs playing and the games are different,” he said. At one point, the Open was 22 goals before it was raised to 26. “The reason they raised it was they were trying to keep a couple of teams together. Retama was kind of a powerhouse team and they wanted to keep them together. That was one of the reasons and people were willing to go for higher goal. It was significant because all of a sudden, outside of Argentina, we had the highest continuos polo of that rating.

“Like now, my personal opinion is we should have only dropped the Open to 24 and gone to a 20- to 24-goal with a handicap, kind of the way we used to play in the 1980s. We’d go either Open or the handicap, which is what they do in Argentina,” Coppola said. “Then make the handicap something special. Even now you talk to guys that played when we

Announcing Opens has taken Coppola to places like Texas, Kentucky, California and New York.

had the handicap Open and they say, ‘Hey, well we only had this team, and we won the handicap.’ They are proud of that. ... So, teams can stay together. If you have a team thats 22 goals in a 20- to 24-goal, and they go up to 23 goals, they can still play another year.”

This year, Facundo Pieres and Adolfo Cambiaso joined forces. Like them, Coppola has seen his share of dynamic duos. “Joe [Barry] and Memo [Gracida] were a good combination. Tommy [Wayman] and Red [Armour] were a good combination. Ruben Gracida and Fortunato Gomez had their share of wins. And the Opens were competitive, which they have been the last few years.

You had Facundo against Adolfo in the finals. I don’t think any one of those finals was ever more than a goal difference,” Coppola said.

Coppola said another duo he remembers as real competitors was Antonio Herrera and Stuart McKenzie that won the Open together in Retama in 1981. They played with Geoffrey Kent and Joel Baker. And Memo and Carlos Gracida pretty much dominated the U.S. Open with whatever teams they were on.

“Memo was a dominate guy no matter where or who he played with. He was dominant in Texas, then he went to California, then Kentucky, then back to California,” Coppola explained. “For

years people would say [he’s only dominant] because White Birch is not playing. Then he went to Long Island and we had 12 or 13 teams, White Birch was there, and he [beat them] with Aspen in ‘94 and Outback in ‘95. You always looked up to whatever Memo was going to do.”

According to Coppola there was a different approach to the Open back then. “There were maybe three or four years when the Best Playing Pony of the Open wasn’t even on the grounds to get the blanket put on it because the team got beat. We used to keep track [of the ponies] through the whole Open. The original Hartman trophy was suppose to be for the Best Playing Pony of the Open tournament. Now we give it to the best playing pony in the final.”

Being in the announcer’s booth has allowed Coppola to witness some of the best equine athletes the sport has seen.

“There were some great horses: Alabama for Joe {Barry]; Memo had Mr. Polo. Seth Herndon had Electric Charge that he eventually sold to Peter Brant.

“There were some really super ponies.

The guys would double them in the final.

It wasn’t uncommon for somebody to play 14 horses during the course of the Open and get down to the last game and play four or five, max. ... The original way we judged ponies was if a horse didn’t finish a chukker, you threw its score out and if a horse came back in a second chukker, you improved their score. Now, very few horses would have been judged,” he said.

When Coppola first picked up the microphone, he said Tommy Wayman’s horses were the ones to watch at that time. “Tommy had the best horses in the late 1970s, early ‘80s, then Memo started getting mounted pretty well. Bart Evans had a couple of horses, Chicaboom and Chinate that won Best Playing Ponies, and Bart wasn’t even in the finals [when Chicaboom won it for the first time, in 1982].

Even though Coppola has seen at least 40 Open finals, this year’s final stands out. “Not only was it a great game, but people thought they could win, but you really never expected the outcome. But they did and they played super,” said Coppola.

POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N 39

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Ten-goaler leads La Dolfina Brava in 0- to 40-goal Republic Cup

Members of Chapaleufú Escorihuela Melicurá (in black) and La Dolfina Brava (in pink) after the final of the Republic Cup: Andrés Lariguet, Guillermo Terrera, Agustin Marcos, Alberto Garzarón, David Stirling, Santiago Goñi, Bautista Arrastúa and Iván Lariguet

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he República Argentine Cup is one of the most attractive tournaments on the planet as it allows the participation of teams rated from 0 to 40 goals, which means that lower handicapped players can share the field, competitively, with higher-rated stars. In fact, for many 10-goalers, it is a very important appointment in the annual calendar if obligations in Palm Beach allow it. For example, Hilario Ulloa played for Venado Tuerto in the 2017 edition.

It had been a long time since two reigning Palermo champions took part in this tournament, but as it happened this season, David Stirling and Pablo Mac Donough, members of the multichampion La Dolfina team, were part of two of the dozen quartets (from 14 to 27 goals) that challenged the title of this traditional trophy, played for the first time in 1929.

The qualifying sessions began on

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Thursday, April 5, at the Alfredo Lalor complex that the Argentine Polo Association has in Pilar, 35 miles north of Buenos Aires. After three dates—and 18 matches—the semifinal conestants for the three trophies in play were established.

On Saturday, April 14, the finalists for the main trophy were determined.

La Irenita changed its initial line up (Matías Mac Donough left his place to Joaquín Sánchez Herrero, who joined Federico Panzillo, Facundo Fernández Llorente and Pablo Mac Donough) to face La Dolfina Brava (Agustín Marcos, Guillermo Terrera, David Stirling and Bautista Arrastúa). In the other semifinal, the undefeated Chapaleufú Escorihuela Melicurá (Alberto Garzarón, Iván Lariguet, Santiago Goñi and Andrés Lariguet) crossed with Trenque Lauquen Minuto 7 (Tomás James, Juan Jauretche, Juan Agustín García Grossi and Lucas James) which had two wins, a tie and a loss, another peculiarity of the República Cup.

In the first duel, among the partners in La Dolfina, the triumph was for the quartet, led by the Uruguayan Stirling, that not only recovered the three goals conceded by the difference in the handicap, but also outscored La Irenita on the court 14-6 to win by a wide score of 14-9.

“Pelón killed us,” acknowledged Mac Donough with a smile. In the other semifinal, Chapaleufú (with three of the members who won the 2016 Argentine Interior Handicap Championship trophy) stretched the six goals received by handicap difference and resisted until completing the six regulation chukkers 10-10. But, the tie-breaker was in favor of the Pampeans, in the extra period, with a golden goal coming from Iván, the youngest of the Lariguet brothers.

Monday, April 16, was the closing day in Palermo. On Field 2, the two subsidiary trophies were defined. (continued on page 42)

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For the Canada Cup, reserved for the third place in each zone, La Violeta (Benjamín Gadea, Lucas Criado, Felipe Vercellino and Tomás Uriburu) took advantage of the eight goals received from Don Alejandro (Juan Martín Zavaleta, Jorge Monsegou, Alberto Heguy and Mariano Uranga) and despite the difference they scored two more goals than their rival on the field to win by a comfortable 21-11.

It was a different story for the La Nación Cup, disputed by the runners-up in each bracket.

Tekel Malal (Santiago Tanoira, Javier Guerrero, Santiago Chavanne and Francisco de Narváez) recovered the two goals they had given at the start to San Francisco de Asís (Tomás Leguizamón, Santiago Loza, Tomás La Dolfina Brava Agustín Marcos Guillermo Terrera David Stirling Bautista Arrastúa

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La Dolfina Brava’s 10-goal David Stirling prevents a back shot from Chapa’s Santiago Goñi in the final of the Republic Cup. Sterling scored 10 goals in the afternoon.

Fernández Llorente and Martín Podestá) and were three up when entering the last chukker. But San Francisco de Asís reacted and managed to equalize, taking the match to sudden

death. Javier Guerrero scored the golden goal that caused the celebration of Tekel Malal. (continued on page 61)

La Violeta Benjamín Gadea Lucas Criado Felipe Vercellino Tomás Uriburu

18 3 7 6 2

La Quebrada Román Iriarte Facundo Obregón Juan Martín Obregón Gerónimo Obregón

18 3 6 6 3

Chapaleufú Escorihuela Melicurá 16 Alberto Garzarón 3 Iván Lariguet 5 Santiago Goñi 3 Andrés Lariguet 5

Don Alejandro Juan Martín Zavaleta Jorge Monsegou Alberto Heguy Mariano Uranga

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Coronel Suárez Santiago Harriott Marcos Harriott Manuel Plaza de Ayala Juan José Brané

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Tekel Malal Santiago Tanoira Javier Guerrero Santiago Chavanne Francisco de Narváez

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Trenque Lauquen Minuto 7 Tomás James Juan Jauretche Juan Agustín García Grossi Lucas James

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Jockey Club Rosario Juan Vigo Bautista Micheletti Luis Dellarossa Mariano Raigal

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San Francisco de Asís Tomás Leguizamón Santiago Loza Tomás Fernández Llorente Martín Podestá

22 3 6 7 6

La Irenita Federico Panzillo Matías Mac Donough Alt: Joaquín Sánchez Herrero Facundo Fernández Llorente Pablo Mac Donough

27/22 2 8 3 7 10

Valle Grande Catamarca Minera Mario Luis Guardo Tomás Garbarini Islas Octavio Olmedo Guerra Felipe Kelly

14 1 5 4 4

42 POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N

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POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N 43

POLO REPORT DISPATCHES FROM THE WORLD OF POLO FLORIDA

WINDSOR POLO WINS 6-GOAL SPRING FLING

Windsor Polo’s Trevor Niznik takes the ball along the boards while being challenged by Clearwater’s Cesar Rangel in the 6-goal Spring Fling.

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indsor Polo’s Frank Evans, Max Secunda, Trevor Niznik and Hayden Walsh defeated Clearwater’s Finn Secunda, Cesar Rangel, Gonzalo Teves and Chip Campbell, 8-5, to take the 6-goal Spring Fling at Port Mayaca Polo Club in Okeechobee, Florida, on April 14.

The match was the last game of the season. Max Secunda was named MVP. Windsor also took the title in the 6-goal Shady Lady Invitational on March 31.

Four teams filled the roster in that

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event, but it was Windsor’s Evans, Max Secunda, Juan Monteverde and Finn Secunda that took the top prize after downing Field One’s Stacie Simpkins, Mike Egan, Pelon Escapite and an unnamed player, 6-2. Max Secunda was the MVP and Pelon Escapite’s Havana was Best Playing Pony.

In the consolation, Speedwell defeated Horseware 7-4. To get to the final, Windsor edged Horseware (Tom MacGuiness, Tim Kyne, Hugo Lloret, TBA) , 7-4, and Field One got the best of

Speedwell (Nicole Watson, Jennifer Williams, Agustin Mahoum, Marcos Onetto).

Max Secunda also led Shamrock (John Walsh, Hayden Walsh, Secunda, Trevor Niznik) to victory over Horseware (Tom MacGuinness, Tim Kyne, Hugo Lloret, Cesar Rangel) in the 6-goal Sanchez Memorial Cup. Horseware led by one goal at the half, but Shamrock’s Trevor Niznik made two key plays in the third chukker, including passing the ball to teammate Hayden Walsh to tie the

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Steve Orthwein, center, presents trophies to winners Windsor Polo’s Trevor Niznik, MVP Max Secunda, Hayden Walsh and Frank Evans and runners-up Clearwater’s Finn Secunda, Cesar Rangel, Gonzalo Teves and Chip Campbell after the Spring Fling final at Port Mayaca.

Windsor Polo’s Juan Monteverde, Frank Evans, Finn Secunda and MVP Max Secunda won the 6-goal Shady Lady Invitational.

score. Niznik then took the ball out of the line-up and headed to goal to put Shamrock ahead for the first time.

Horseware’s Hugo Lloret leveled the score before the chukker ended. Lloret added another quick goal to put Horseware back on top but Secunda capitalized on a penalty shot, then scored on a run to goal to give Shamrock the 5-4 win. Niznik was MVP and Lloret’s Tramposa was Best Playing Pony.

To get to the final, Horseware defeated PMPC (Tenzin Tognini, Justin Daniels, TBA, TBA), 7-4½, and Shamrock defeated La Company Polo (Mario de Mendoza, Cipi Echezarreta, Tomas Panelo, Renato Rider), 9-5½.

MCLIN BURNSED ACES 12-GOAL, TWO 8-GOALS

McLin Burnsed had a successful spring

Shamrock’s Max Secunda, MVP Trevor Niznik, John Walsh and Hayden Walsh won the Sanchez Memorial at Port Mayaca Polo.

season at The Villages Polo Club, taking the title in the UnitedHealthcare 12-goal and a pair of 8-goal tournaments.

The 12-goal, played on March 25, pitted McLin Burnsed’s Tim Cheromka, Dennys Santana, Alejandro Alvarez and Pelon Escapite against UnitedHealthcare’s Jim Parr, Alan Martinez, Chip Campbell and Gonzalo Teves.

Campbell got the scoring started with a lone goal in the first period.

Escapite put McLin Burnsed on the board in the second, adding to a 2-goal handicap. Alvarez and Santana also found the uprights, putting McLin Burnsed comfortably ahead 5-1.

Campbell and Teves closed the gap to 53 before Escapite, MVP of the match, added his second to give McLin Burnsed a 6-3 lead at the half.

UnitedHealthcare briefly came within one goal after tallies by

Martinez and Teves, but Alvarez scored to increase the lead to two. Santana and Alvarez added goals in the fifth but Martinez and Campbell matched them to stay in the game. Martinez scored the only goal of the sixth to bring UnitedHealthcare within one, but McLin Burnsed held on for the 9-8 victory.

A week later, Kris Kampsen led Fross & Fross to victory. The half-ton Thoroughbred falling on top of him didn’t feel nearly as good as the victory.

It was an eventful Easter Sunday for Kampsen, who tallied five goals and took a scary spill off his horse, all while leading Fross & Fross to an 11-9 win over The Villages Insurance in The Villages Charter School 12-Goal Cup finale at The Villages Polo Club.

Kampsen was flung from his ride early in the fifth chukker of play and tumbled beneath his horse, before remounting and continuing to pace a

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McLin Burnsed’s Pelon Escapite, Alejandro Alvarez, Dennys Santana and Tim Cheromka won the UnitedHealthcare 12 Goal.

dominant second half of action for Fross & Fross en route to the win.

“It’s never good to fall, but I seem to do it a lot,” a sore, but smiling Kampsen said after the match. “I definitely feel a lot better now than I did when it happened, that’s for sure.

That wasn’t a lot of fun—not as fun as winning.”

With 5:31 to play in the fifth chukker, Kampsen’s horse collided with the ride of The Villages Insurance’s Chip Campbell, causing Kampsen to lose his balance and be thrown from his saddle.

After remaining down for several minutes and being attended to by onsite medical staff, Kampsen hopped back onto his pony and subsequently smoked the ensuing 60-yard penalty shot through the goalposts—earning a roar from the crowd.

After the first two chukkers of action featured three ties and four lead changes, it was Kampsen who started a run of six consecutive goals to put Fross & Fross in control.

With his team down 6-4 midway through the third chukker, Kampsen turned his mallet into a golf putter and meticulously dribbled a shot over the line to start the scoring stretch, before teammate Pelon Escapite tied the match at 6-6 just before the halftime horn.

Kampsen would score the fourth chukker’s lone goals to put Fross &

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Fross & Fross’ Pelon Escapite, Alejandro Alvarez, Trevor Baldwin and Kris Kampsen won The Villages Charter School 12 Goal.

Fross up 8-6 entering the fifth, before his penalty shot strike after his fall put his unit up 9-6 with just over five minutes to play in the period.

Alejandro Alvarez streaked down the field on the ensuing throw-in for the sixth-straight marker for Fross & Fross, who led 10-6 late in the fifth chukker.

The Villages Insurance tallied three of the final four goals late in the match, but the comeback effort was all for naught.

The club’s 8-goal series began the following week with the Citizen’s First Wealth Advisors 8-goal Cup. The championship match between Citizens First and Arden’s Jewelers ended in a 12-12 tie, with Citizens First claiming the weekend tournament title via total goal aggregate (38-31) for the tiebreaker.

Three teams played a round-robin match. In the first round, Citizens First outscored McLin Burnsed, 8-2, to automatically advance into the final.

Guerreno scored four times in the opener, while teammate Alan Martinez tallied three scores of his own.

With a berth in the final on the line, Arden’s Jewelers outscored McLin Burnsed 5-4 in the day’s second round.

Francisco Bilbao tallied three goals and directly assisted on another in the semifinal victory.

The championship match between Citizens First and Arden’s Jewelers

started even at 6-6, carrying over the results from Friday’s preliminary tilt.

Arden’s Jewelers took an 8-7 lead through one chukker of play before the two squads each scored twice in the second frame to set up a back-and-forth final chukker of action.

Guerreno slapped his sixth goal of the day, and second of the final match, to tie the finale at 10 goals apiece before Martinez converted on a penalty shot attempt to give Citizens First an 11-10 advantage.

Bilbao responded with a penaltyshot strike of his own to tie the match at 11-11 once again, before a pinpoint pass from Martinez to Cullen Howe gave Citizens First yet another one-goal lead at 12-11 with 2:37 remaining.

Arden’s Jewelers’ Nick Johnson sliced a neckshot through the pipes with 35 seconds to play for the fifth tie of the match, but it was all for naught as Citizens First was awarded the victory by virtue of total goals scored over the weekend.

McLin Burnsed beat the weather and City Fire in mid-April to take its first 8 goal. With inclement weather rapidly approaching, it was McLin Burnsed who stormed to victory.

Francisco Bilbao and Nick Johnson each recorded hat tricks, as McLin Burnsed scored a 7-5 victory over City Fire in the Arden’s Jewelers 8-Goal Cup championship match.

The duo combined to tally five first-

P O L O

Citizens First’s Cullen Howe, Jim Parr, Alfredo Guerreno and Alan Martinez won the Citizen’s First Wealth Advisor 8 Goal.

half goals en route to the win, before a line of severe storms halted the contest prior to the start of the sixth and final chukker.

“The wind was crazy and the rain felt like hailstones in your back,” Johnson said. “The worst is the horses hate the wind, and it got crazy windy there at the end. (The wind) made it tough.”

Bilbao had his footprints—or his pony’s horseshoes—all over the first half of action, scoring once and leading an offensive rush for another goal by teammate Paige McCabe, to put McLin Burnsed up 2-1 after the first period.

Bilbao opened the second chukker with a penalty-shot tally, before Johnson settled a loose ball down for a goal to give McLin Burnsed a 4-1 lead midway through the frame.

Back-to-back scoring strikes from Charly Quincoces within a minute of each other brought City Fire back to within 4-3 through two periods of play.

Bilbao opened the third chukker with his third goal of the first half only to be quickly responded by Quincoces’ own hat trick as McLin Burnsed held onto a 6-4 lead at the break.

Johnson finished a spectacular feed from Bilbao in stride early in the fourth chukker to record a hat trick for himself, followed by Quincoces’ fourth goal of the day, serving as a response late in the fifth chukker to trim McLin Burnsed’s advantage down to 7-5.

R E P O R T

McLin Burnsed’s Nick Johnson, Frankie Bilbao, Paige McCabe and Sue Doyle won the Arden’s Fine Jewelers 8 Goal.

It was then that the skies opened up overhead, as torrential rainfall and gusty winds impacted the grounds, forcing the cancellation of the final period of play.

McLin Burnsed carried its momentum into the next 8 goal, taking the Properties of The Villages 8-Goal Cup finale.

McLin Burnsed outscored Citizens First 5-2 over the final three chukkers of play, en route to a 10-6 victory in the weekend tournament’s championship match.

Luis Saracco and Josh Shelton each tallied four goals in the win, as McLin Burnsed scored the first four goals coming out of the divot-stomping halftime intermission.

The second-half dominance for McLin Burnsed didn’t come from a lack of trying by Citizens First, which narrowly missed wide on a handful of attempts and rang three separate shots off the goalposts over the final three chukkers of play.

The first half was full of back-andforth action, as the two teams alternated goals and tied for the lead on four separate occasions.

A goal from Francisco Llosa—named Most Valuable Player of the match— with less than 40 seconds remaining in the first half, sent McLin Burnsed to the halftime pavilions with a 5-4 advantage.

That tally would start a run of five

unanswered goals for the purple-clad McLin Burnsed squad, including the play of the day made by Saracco to put his team up 6-4 midway through the fourth chukker.

The No. 3 player hooked the mallet of Citizens First’s Nick Johnson near midfield, before turning his pony, Moonshine—named the day’s Best Playing Pony—on a dime to swipe possession and rumble 150 yards for the goal.

Shelton followed that up with a backshot through the pipes early in the fifth chukker to double McLin Burnsed’s lead to 8-4, before yet another goal from Saracco capped the impressive run and helped seal the victory.

The 8-goal series ended with The Villages Health 8-Goal Cup. Galaxy’s Charly Quincoces put his second penalty shot of sudden-death overtime through the pipes, clinching a 12-11 victory over Fross & Fross.

Quincoces had his first penalty attempt blocked by Fross & Fross’ Francisco Bilbao in the first minute of overtime, before drawing another penalty just minutes later to right his previous wrong, cashing in on the game-winning attempt for his eighth goal on the day.

On the opening throw-in of the overtime period, Galaxy Home Solutions’ Francisco Llosa collected the loose ball and raced towards the south

POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N 47

P O L O

R E P O R T

McLin Burnsed’s Teresa Mull, Josh Shelton, Luis Saracco and Frankie Llosa won the Properties of The Villages 8-Goal Cup.

end of the field, drawing a right-of-way infraction and earning a penalty shot.

As Quincoces stepped up and made contact on the 30-yard shot, Bilbao streaked in laterally at the goal line and deflected the ball out of midair to derail the potential game-winning attempt.

“It’s one of those things that you just have to be in the right spot at the right moment,” Bilbao said. “It was coming fast and I put my mallet up, but I didn’t know if I was going to stop it or not. I just aimed at it and got lucky.”

However, just three minutes later, another Fross & Fross right-of-way infraction placed the second penalty shot of overtime for Galaxy just 20 feet from the goalmouth.

This time, Quincoces made sure to send the attempt high over the defending traffic and through the pipes for the sudden victory.

After entering halftime all tied at five, a Quincoces’ penalty shot in the early moments of the fifth chukker gave Galaxy Home Solutions an 8-6 advantage.

A run of four straight goals for Fross & Fross seized the lead early in the sixth and final chukker, before back-toback goals late by Quincoces sent the weekend finale to overtime.

“I was very happy with how we played, even though we lost,” Bilbao said. “That happens in polo games, that’s the nature of it, you can lose it

48 POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N

Galaxy Home Solutions’ Teresa Mull, Josh Shelton, Charly Quincoces and Francisco Llosa won The Villages Health 8 Goal.

just like that. But I’m happy that they won because they’re a great team, and they deserved it today.”

—Cody Hills

VALIENTE VICTORIOUS

IN 20-GOAL STERLING CUP

On a perfect March day at Valiente Farm, history was made in the muchanticipated final of the prestigious Sterling Cup, hosted by Grand Champions Polo Club in Wellington, Florida.

For the first time, the world’s No. 1ranked polo player, Adolfo Cambiaso, 42, and two of his children, 15-year-old Mia and 12-year-old Poroto, won their first-ever high-goal tournament together.

Valiente (Poroto Cambiaso, 1, Mia Cambiaso, 1, Magoo Laprida, 8, Adolfo Cambiaso, 10) knocked off one of the pre-tournament favorites Audi (Marc Ganzi, 2, Henry Porter, 2, Nic Roldan, 8, Nico Pieres, 8), 10-4, in the 20-goal championship tournament.

“It was great fun,” Adolfo Cambiaso said. “It was amazing. It was a good thing they played well and played safe.

It’s always the dream of a father to play with your kids as long as they enjoy it and have fun.

“I am just living in this moment. We have never played together anywhere like this in a competitive tournament. I

don’t know how good they are going to be, but at least today we had fun and enjoyed it and that’s the main thing.”

Mia Cambiaso was named the game’s Most Valuable Player and Adolfo Cambiaso was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player.

Valiente benefited from balanced scoring. Adolfo Cambiaso and Laprida, making his Valiente team debut in the Sterling Cup, each had three goals. Mia and Poroto Cambiaso each scored two goals. Roldan led Audi with three goals, including two penalty conversions, and Pieres added one goal.

“This was really fun playing with my father and brother and an honor to be MVP,” said Mia Cambiaso, after winning her second MVP award in a U.S. tournament. “I do enjoy polo and I like horses. I have been playing a long time, since I was a baby.”

Like his son, Adolfo Cambiaso, then rated 1-goal, won his first 20-goal tournament at age 12 with his father, Adolfo Sr. playing with La Martina in the Eduardo Heguy Cup in Argentina.

“It was the same for me, I was 12,” Adolfo Cambiaso said. “I played with Rodrigo Rueda, my father and my brother. It was fun and that was my father’s dream and now this is my dream.”

Valiente never let Audi into the choppy game. Valiente led 1-0 and 3-1 in the first two chukkers. After a scoreless third chukker, Valiente led 4-

R E P O R T

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P O L O

Valiente’s Adolfo Cambiaso, Poroto Cambiaso, Mia Cambiaso and Magoo Laprida won the 20-goal Sterling Cup at Grand Champions.

1 at halftime.

Valiente outscored Audi, 4-2, in the fourth and fifth chukkers for an 8-3 lead going into the final chukker. Audi, plagued with penalties, missed scoring opportunities and unforced errors, could never find its rhythm.

The Cambiaso family also swept all three polo pony honors.

The American Polo Horse Association Best Registered Horse of the Game was Bionica, played by Mia Cambiaso and owned by J5 Equestrian.

The horse’s groom received $100 from APHA executive director Tiana Smicklas.

The APHA was created in 2006 by the legendary Polo Hall of Famer Sunny Hale to recognize polo ponies in America and encourages events that showcase them and the hard-working dedication of grooms.

The Grand Champions Polo Club Best Playing Pony for the game was Dolfina El Boeing, a stallion played by Adolfo Cambiaso.

The Grand Champions Polo Club Best Playing Pony for the tournament was Julieta, played by Poroto Cambiaso.

Grand Champions also hosted a women’s weekly league throughout the season, with Dawn Jones’ San Saba taking the March finale. San Saba (Jones, Catherine Roze, Alyson Poor, Clarissa Echezarreta) shut out CrossFit El Cid (Malia Bryan, Slaney O’Hanlon,

Dawn Jones was Moda MVP and her mare, Chici, was Masai of Palm Beach Best Playing Pony in the women’s March finale.

Alina Carta, Cecilia Cochran), 6-0.

San Saba also won the Sunset Hale Memorial Tournament the previous month. Jones was the Moda MVP after scoring all six of her team’s goals.

Chici, Jone’s 10-year-old mare was Masai of Palm Beach Best Playing Pony.

In a battle between 16-goal teams, San Saba jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the opening chukker, forcing CrossFit El Cid to play catch-up for the remainder of the game. CrossFit El Cid had its chances but missed scoring opportunities including penalty shots that proved costly.

The month closed out with the final of the John T. Oxley Memorial Cup, an overtime thriller between Palm Beach Polo/Palm Beach Equine and Travieso.

The two-week, six-team 20-goal tournament far exceeded expectations with a marathon game where both teams had more than their fair share of chances to win in regulation and overtime.

Palm Beach Polo/Palm Beach Equine (Henry Porter, 2, Santino Magrini, 3, Gringo Colombres, 7, Magoo Laprida, 8) outlasted Travieso (Teo Calle, 1, Tony Calle, 3, Sebastian Merlos, 9, Tomas Garcia del Rio, 7) with a hard-fought 8-7 overtime victory.

Eight-goaler Magoo Laprida was named Most Valuable Player. Laprida led Palm Beach Polo/Palm Beach

Equine scoring with four goals, including the game-winner with less than a minute left in overtime.

The game was close from the opening chukker with the lead changing hands 11 times. Travieso led 1-0 and 2-1 after the first two chukkers.

The third chukker was a defensive battle with neither team able to score.

In the second half, Palm Beach Polo/Palm Beach Equine outscored Travieso, 2-1, to tie the game at 3-3 after four. Travieso came back with a 32 fifth chukker to take a 6-5 lead.

The sixth chukker looked more like a prizefight with both teams coming up with big counter punches. With 2:54 left, Porter scored a great goal after Magrini came up with the ball defending Merlos to tie the game at 6-6.

Laprida then won the throw-in and scored on a great back shot to take a 76 lead with 2:10 left. A minute later, Merlos converted a 30-yard penalty to tie the game, 7-7. Del Rio had an opportunity to put his team in the lead with 1:05 left but missed a Penalty 4, sending the game into overtime.

After the game’s third player injury timeout, Colombres, Porter and Laprida all had scoring opportunities.

After Tony Calle missed a neck shot with 3:05 left and then stole the ball from Laprida, Merlos appeared to score what looked to be the winning goal and fans started folding their lawn chairs.

POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N 49

R E P O R T

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P O L O

PB Polo/PBEC’s Henry Porter, Santino Magrini, Gringo Colombres and Magoo Laprida won the John T. Oxley Memorial Cup.

But it was his mallet head that flew through the goal posts and the ball sailed wide left. The score remained 77 prompting announcer Jan-Erik Franck to ask, can somebody order pizzas?

Teo Calle came up with his fourth goal stop of the game but it wasn't enough as Laprida managed to work his way through a crowd to score the game-winner in an emotionallydraining finish.

“We had seven chances to win this game and we missed goal after goal, we made stupid fouls and I missed penalties,” said Colombres, who had two goals, both penalty conversions.

“We were trying to score so many times.”

Del Rio’s Marino was named APHA Best Registered Horse of the Game.

The Grand Champions Polo Club Best Playing Pony was Chamara, played by Henry Porter.

The action continued into April with Skaneateles capturing the Top Pony 12-Goal title. Skaneateles (Marty Cregg, 0, Costi Caset, 5, Mariano Obregon, 6, Cesar Jimenez, 1) knocked off Patagones (Joaquin Avendano, 1, Robi Bilbao, 4, Benjamin Avendano, 2, Santi Wulff, 5), with a thrilling 10-9 victory.

Obregon scored the winning goal with four seconds remaining with a Penalty 3 conversion. Obregon finished with a game-high six goals and was

50 POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N

Skaneateles’ Cesar Jimenez, MVP Mariano Obregon, Costi Caset and Marty Cregg won the Top Pony 12-Goal at Grand Champions.

selected Most Valuable Player. Caset added four goals. For Patagones, Wulff had a team-high five goals, Benjamin Avendano had three and Bilbao added one goal.

In the hotly-contested game, that featured 16 fouls in the first half alone, Skaneateles jumped out to a 3-1 lead in the first chukker with Caset scoring all three goals, including one that banked off the goal post.

Patagones regained its momentum in the second chukker outscoring Skaneateles, 2-1, to trail, 4-3. In a defensive battle in the third chukker, Patagones shut out Skaneateles to go into halftime tied, 4-4.

Patagones outscored Skaneateles, 21, in the fourth and fifth chukkers and took the lead for the first time early in the fourth chukker, 5-4. Patagones led 6-4 in the fourth and 8-5 in the fifth chukker. Patagones was down a player late in the fifth chukker when Bilbao was assessed his second yellow flag of the game. Bilbao returned with 6:11 left in the final chukker.

Skaneateles kicked it into high gear in the sixth chukker behind Obregon, outscoring Patagones, 4-1.

Beverly Equestrian, led by MVP Carlucho Arellano, won the Top Pony 12-Goal Handicap title with an 11-9 victory over Valiente that featured siblings Mia and Poroto Cambiaso.

Also on April 3, Grand Champions/ CrossFit El Cid earned the Limited

Edition 8-Goal title. The team rallied for two goals in the final chukker to capture the title.

CrossFit El Cid (Gerardo Pantin, -1, Cecelia Cochran, 1, Jason Wates, 3, Carlitos Gracida, 4), tied 10-10 with Patagones (Joaquin Avendano, 1, Santi Avendano, 1, Benjamin Avendano, 2, Robi Bilbao, 4) going into the sixth chukker, knocked off the previously undefeated team for a thrilling 12-10 victory on its own field.

Patagones finished the series with a 4-1 record and Grand Champions/ CrossFit El Cid finished at 3-1.

Gracida, son of legendary Hall of Famer Carlos Gracida, was named Most Valuable Player. Gracida scored a gamehigh eight goals including back-to-back goals to clinch the win. Wates added three goals. The team also received a goal on handicap.

Benjamin Avendano led Patagones with five goals, Bilbao had three and Santi Avendano added one. The team also had one pony goal.

Gracida broke the tie with 3:01 left in the game with a 30-yard penalty conversion for an 11-10 lead, the first time Grand Champions/CrossFit El Cid had the lead for the entire game.

Gracida added an insurance goal at the 1:10 mark with an incredible back shot.

Tramontana, a 6-year-old mare owned by Gracida, was the game’s Best Playing Pony. Serena, a 5-year-old mare, played by Santi Avendano, was

R E P O R T

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P O L O

Team Kampsen’s Mia Cambiaso, Poroto Cambiaso, Keko Magrini and Nick Manifold were Halo Polo Trophy 6-goal champions.

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GCPC/CrossFit El Cid’s Gerardo Pantin, Cecelia Cochran, Carlitos Gracida and Jason Wates won the Limited Edition 8-Goal.

the tournament’s Best Playing Pony.

In 6-goal action, Team Kampsen (Mia Cambiaso, Poroto Cambiaso, Keko Magrini, Nick Manifold) defeated Shamrock (Kylie Sheehan, Hayden Walsh, Trevor Niznik, Max Secunda), 11-1, to win the Halo Polo Trophy. Mia Cambiaso, 16, was MVP and her mare, Loretta, was Best Playing Pony.

The club’s winter season concluded with one of the most exciting finishes in club history when Palm Beach Illustrated won the coveted $100,000 World Cup presented by Audi.

The defending champion and underdog going into the championship final won its second consecutive title with a thrilling 10-9 victory over Grand Champions in front of a packed house and ESPN Latin American television worldwide audience.

“What just happened? Peco Polledo asked in a state of disbelief in the winning team’s tent. “It was so close.

The other team played so amazing. We did it. I am so happy.”

Palm Beach Illustrated (Carlitos Gracida, 4, Juan Monteverde, 5, Peco Polledo, 6, Tommy Collingwood, 5) won the 12-team, winner-take-all tournament in the final minute of regulation time over Grand Champions

Palm Beach Illustrated’s Carlitos Gracida, Juan Monteverde, Peco Polledo and Tommy Collingwood won the $100,000 World Cup.

(Grant Ganzi, 2, Juancito Bollini, 4, Juan Martin Nero, 10, Alejandro Novillo Astrada, 9).

With the game tied 9-9 with 1:10 left, Gracida, son of legendary Hall of Famer and former 10-goaler Carlos Gracida, slipped past a defender and crushed a neck shot through the air dead center through the goal posts.

“I was thinking this is a top horse and I knew I had a chance to pass him, that’s one of our best horses and I know she’s really fast so I just had to commit and go for it,” Gracida said.

“I have never played with Juan or Peco but they are awesome and Tommy is great,” Gracida said. “They know I get heated up. It’s good though they understand that I need that. The goal was just one piece of this game, it was

everybody.”

In the closing seconds, Monteverde came up with a clutch defensive back shot to stall a last-minute goal attempt by Grand Champions.

“I still don't know what happened, what an amazing game,” Monteverde said. “The only good back shot I hit all day was that one. I am very happy for the team. This is a great team.”

Tommy Collingwood, 26, the only returning player off last year’s MVP. Collingwood was outstanding at back with his blocked goals, steals, booming passes and back shots to teammates.

“It was unbelievable,” said an emotional Collingwood. “This team was so much fun, so much everything.

The guys were awesome. This tournament was a lot of heart, sweat and now tears ... happy tears.

“This game means a lot,” Collingwood said. “I had a really tough season and this just means everything to me. To just be on the same field as Juan Martin Nero and those guys is a privilege. And to beat him, this is a game that we will never forget.”

Playing only its fourth game together as a team, the 20-goal Palm Beach Illustrated team started the game with a four-goal lead over 24-goal Grand Champions and stayed in the lead until the sixth chukker when

POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N 51

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R E P O R T

JIM BREMNER/JFBPHOTOS.COM

P O L O

The Buffalos’ Ross Adam, Riley Jordan, MVP Felipe Sordelli and Tim Rudy won the Lions Cup final and $6,000.

Grand Champions mounted a rally behind its 10-goaler.

“At 9-9 they started slowing down the game a lot,” Collingwood said.

“Nobody got crazy. We were going back to the throw-in and Carlitos turns around and screams at me, ‘let’s go, we got this.’ He won the throw-in, started taking it, had a crazy bounce, he saw the goal and hit an amazing neck shot down the middle of the goal. That just sealed the deal for us.”

The fast-paced game was physical from the opening chukker with Palm Beach Illustrated marking the man closely while building on its lead. Palm Beach Illustrated led 4-1 after the first chukker and 7-2 after the second. With Ganzi and Bollini creating space, Nero and Novillo Astrada went to work trying to close the gap in the third, outscoring them 3-1 to trail 8-5 at halftime.

After a scoreless defensive battle in the fourth chukker, the teams tied 1-1 in the fifth with Palm Beach Illustrated still leading, 9-6.

In an impressive comeback, Grand Champions rallied behind Nero’s three unanswered points to tie the game at 99 and give them new life until Gracida’s heroics.

Chaja, played by Ganzi and owned

by Santa Rita Polo Farm, was selected the American Polo Horse Association Best Registered Horse of the Game.

Orangina, played by Novillo Astrada and owned by Santa Rita Polo Farm,

52 POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N

La Herradura’s Santi Torres, Carlos Hernandez, Catlin Dix and Meghan Gracida won the 8-goal Champions Cup.

was the club’s Best Playing Pony of the tournament.

Mica, played by Nero in the sixth chukker, was the club’s Best Playing Pony of the game.

“We made this team in less than a week, a week before the entries were due,” Collingwood said. “(Palm Beach Illustrated Publisher) Terry Duffy came up and said we can put the team in, get some friends, play and call these guys up right away. They said yes, let’s do it.

We just focused and said let’s go and win it.”

—Sharon Robb CALIFORNIA

THE BUFFALOS CONQUER

VANCOUVER IN LIONS CUP The Buffalos doubled up Vancouver/ Mother Chukkers, 6-3, to take the 4goal Lions Cup title, Rich Roenisch bronzes and a check for $6,000. The season-ending tournament final was held at Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, on April 1.

Vancouver/ Mother Chukkers (Sukey Forres, Jay Garnett, Robert Payne, Nicolas Maciel) got out front in the opening minutes with a goal by Robert Payne. The Buffalos (Riley Jordan, Felipe Sordelli, Tim Rudy, Ross Adam) responded with a Penalty 2 from Rudy and a field goal from Sordelli to

take the 2-1 lead. Jordan widened the spread with a lone goal in the second.

Payne wrapped open-goal penalty shots around a field goal from Sordelli in the third and Rudy sunk another Penalty 2 to give The Buffalos a 5-3 lead.

Rudy shot through one more in the last chukker for good measure, ensuring The Buffalos the victory.

Sordelli was named MVP and Payne’s Renatta, a sleek brown mare, was Best Playing Pony.

Vancouver didn’t go home emptyhanded, taking the $2,000 runner-up prize money and shiny silver trophies.

The same day, La Herradura got the best of Evergreen, 14-10, to win the Champions Cup, Rich Roenisch bronzes and a check for $45,000.

La Herradura had 6-goal Santa Torres filling in for former 10-goal Memo Gracida after he suffered an injury in a fall two days before. Gracida participated from the sidelines, serving as team coach. Torres joined Gracida’s wife Meghan Gracida, Catlin Dix and Carlos Hernandez. They took on Evergreen’s Tom Sprung, Juan Jo Gonzalez, Carlitos Galindo and Shane Rice. Both teams had made it to the final with 3-0 records.

Evergreen struck first with a Penalty 2 conversion off the mallet of Rice, but La Herradura answered back with a goal by Hernandez and two from Torres for a 3-1 lead. La Herradura made costly mistakes, giving Galindo

P O L O

Rocking P’s Grayson Price, Joe Bob Lequerica, Bridget Price and Daniella Price won the Centennial Cup in Houston, Texas.

two open goal penalties, which he converted in the second, while La Herradura was held to a goal from Hernandez. Torres tallied early in the third, but a Penalty 2 and a field goal from Rice knotted the score at 5-all.

Gonzalez scored his first goal to put Evergreen ahead 6-5 at the half.

La Herradura came back to the second half with guns ablazing.

Hernandez ran to goal, then capitalized on a Penalty 2 to take the lead.

Evergreen missed a Penalty 4 scoring opportunity but Torres found the uprights to take the 8-6 lead.

Hernandez and Torres traded goals with Galindo and Rice in the fifth for La Herradura to maintain its two-goal lead into the final chukker.

Meghan Gracida opened the sixth by scoring her first goal after La Herradura won the throw-in but Rice answered back shortly after with a pair of goals including a Penalty 4. Torres turned up the heat, finding the mark between Rice’s two goals, then adding two more, including a Penalty 2 to ensure the victory.

Evergreen, led by six goals from Shane Rice, settled for silver trophies and a check for $15,000.

Torres was high scorer in the winning effort with eight goals. La Herradura’s Carlos Hernandez, who scored five goals, was MVP and Shane Rice’s Midget, a pretty chestnut mare, took Best Playing Pony honors.

R E P O R T

L.A. Waters Quarter Horses’ Madison Outhier puts the pressure on Rocking P’s Bridget Price in the final of the Centennial Cup.

SOUTHWEST

ROCKING P SHINES IN CENTENNIAL CUP

Over a cold weekend in Houston, Texas, the USPA Centennial Cup Texas Youth Outdoor Spring Challenge had five teams participating in exciting games hosted by Pecan Acres Polo Club, Rocking P Polo Ranch and Horsegate Ranch over the weekend of April 6-8. Players came all the way from San Antonio and Dallas to compete along with local Houston-area participants.

Clark Mayer, a 16-year-old sophomore from Dallas, Texas, said “I am looking forward to this tournament because it brings an interscholastic-like aspect to an outdoor tournament, offering true regional winners the ability to go to a national championship.”

Semi-final games started on Friday at Horsegate Ranch, resulting in two riveting shoot-outs between four of the teams. A round robin started the tournament off with the first round between L.A. Waters Quarter Horses, (Clark Mayer, Maxwell Bueck, Madison Outhier, Christian Fridge) and Horsegate Ranch (Anson Moore, Lance Stefanakis, Joanie Jackson, Cara Kennedy). A tough two chukkers were played, ending in a 1-1 tie. Horsegate

remained up to play the next two chukkers against Vintage Polo Ponies (Chino Payan, Grace Mudra, Will Mudra, Lily Lequerica). Horsegate edged Vintage 2-1 before Vintage took on L.A. Waters. That round also ended 2-1, this time in favor of L.A. Waters. A shoot out was held between Horsegate’s Anson Moore and L.A. Waters’ Clark Mayer with Mayer sinking the penalty shot, putting his team into the final.

The second game consisted of Rocking P Polo (Grayson Price, Daniella Price, Bridget Price, Joe Bob Lequerica) versus Pecan Acres Polo (Joe Mac Stimmel, Quique Garcia, Charlie Fridge, Grace Parker). After a full-out, hard-fighting four chukkers, the game ended in a 3-3 tie. A shoot out between Stimmel and Grayson Price went to two rounds before Grayson Price outshot Stimmel to put Rocking P in the final against L.A. Waters.

Horsegate graciously held a barbecue on its facilities with a crawfish boil and freshly-made gourmet pizzas after the Friday games.

Sunday’s consolations and the championship final game were played on Farish Field at the Houston Polo Club in Houston. The round-robin consolation had Pecan Acres outscoring Horsegate 3-2 in Round 1.

Round 2 ended with Horsegate and Vintage Polo Ponies tied 2-2. Vintage then went on to play a tough two chukkers against Pecan Acres, which

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Pud Nieto, center, presents trophies to Marine Corps’ Kyle Brown, Fabian Vela, Cuatro Tolson and Lalo Ramirez in Texas.

resulted in another tied game ending at 2-2. Pecan Acres Polo topped the consolation with its net-goal advantage over Vintage and Horsegate.

The championship match started with Rocking P’s Grayson Price scoring back-to-back goals. L.A. Waters’ Mayer responded with a goal for his team and another in the second chukker, tying the score at 2-2. Solid defense kept the teams from scoring in the third. Mayer broke the tied in the fourth with a goal for L.A. Waters. Grayson Price pulled through in the end by tying the game with a penalty shot and then followed up with another field goal to give Rocking P Polo the title in an exciting finish.

The trophy ceremony was held in front of almost 250 spectators on the side of the field. Awards were provided and presented by tournament organizers from Rocking P Polo, Carl and Kelly Price, as well as Kristy Outhier with L.A. Waters Quarter Horses, who provided MVP and Best Playing Pony awards.

Umpires and club officials selected Grayson Price for MVP. Best Playing Pony was presented by Kristy Outhier to Madison Outhier’s brown gelding, Copenhagen. Madison said, “He stays close to the ground, which makes it easier to keep track of the ball and [he] is able to execute quick turns even while running full out in a play.”

All in all, it ended up being a great tournament with Grace Parker saying,

54 POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N

Navy’s Philipp Kampshoff holds off three opponents while digging the ball out of the grass.

“I enjoyed this tournament because I was able to play competitive outdoor polo with friends on the big Sunday field, and the trophies were awesome.”

MARINE CORPS TOPS GEN. PATTON TOURNEY The Central Texas Polo Association, a consortium of three USPA Southwest circuit clubs, hosted a USPA SW Circuit Gen. George S. Patton Jr. tournament April 7-8.

For the five teams playing on Saturday, the 40-degree temperature (and with wind chill temperatures down to 35 degrees) made it an unusual April weekend.

The five teams represented the Army (Morgan Tennant, Keller Henderson, Javier Insua, John Greening), Marine Corps (Kyle Brown, Fabian Vela, Cuatro Tolson, Lalo Ramirez), Navy (Taylor Morris, Sylvia Kampshoff, Nico Onganio, Philipp Kampshoff), Air Force (Cody Goetz, Luis Herrera, Pud Nieto, Javier Maldanado) and Coast Guard (Patrick MaCleod, Alex Matta/Ursula Pari, Gal Shweiki, Jack Crea).

The first match of the day saw Army play Coast Guard. Army dominated the first chukker with a pair of goals from Insua and one from Greening while holding Coast Guard scoreless. Matta put Coast Guard on the board in the

second, and Crea added another.

Greening responded with his second of the match, giving Army the 4-2 lead.

The third chukker was a repeat of the second with Matta scoring two and Army’s Insua scoring one. The final chukker was all Army as Insua scored the last two goals of the match leading to the final score 6-4 in favor of Army.

A round robin between the three remaining teams began as winds picked up and temperatures continued to drop.

Marine Corps and Air Force played the opening round. The Marine Corps started quickly with Tolson scoring a goal from the field and then Ramirez converting a Penalty 3 to close the chukker 2-0. Air Force tied the score in the second, however a costly foul gave Marine Corps a Penalty 2, which Ramirez sunk for the 3-2 win.

Navy dominated Air Force in the next round with Philipp Kampshoff scoring back-to-back goals in the first chukker while the team held Air Force scoreless. The next chukker was very similar as Philipp scored his third and Onganio scored one for the Navy win.

The final round between Marine Corps and Navy was probably the most exciting polo of the tournament. Each team had a win so the winner would advance to the final. Navy began with a half-goal handicap advantage, meaning no tie was possible.

Vela started the scoring for Marine Corps but Philipp responded for Navy.

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Umpires Karl Hilberg and Robin Sanchez with JD Polo’s Taylor Morris, Morgan Tennant, Javier Insua and John Greening

Onganio added another to give Navy the 2-1 advantage. Tolson knotted the score in the second. The next 13 minutes were a defensive battle. With about a minute left, Ramirez hit the mark giving Marine Corps a 3-2 lead. Philipp Kampshoff won the throw-in and headed to goal with seconds on the clock. A marine fouled Kampshoff just as the horn sounded. The umpires added five seconds to the clock and gave Kampshoff a spot hit from about 80 yards. The Hail Mary missed the mark, giving Marine Corps the win.

The wind died down for Sunday’s championship match between Army and Marine Corps. While it was cooler than normal for April, the sun was out and it was a great day for polo.

In the consolation round robin, Air Force beat Navy 3-2, Navy beat Coast Guard 4-1 and Coast Guard beat Air Force 3-1.

The championship match started at noon. Henderson opened the scoring for Army but Marine Corp’s Tolson and Ramirez answered to take a 2-1 lead. In a close second chukker, Greening traded goals with Ramirez, closing the half 3-2.

Marines took control in the third, combining for four goals. Henderson added one to keep Army in the match.

With great defense, neither team was able to reach the goal in the fourth, giving Marine Corps the USPA SW circuit Gen. George S. Patton Jr. tournament win.

JD Polo’s Javier Insua tries to outrun Alex Matta under the watchful eye of umpire Robin Sanchez in Amateur Cup action.

Morgan Tennant was Most Valuable Player and Lalo Ramirez played the Best Playing Pony owned by Fabian Vela.

Tournament sponsors were South Padre Island Polo Club and Pud Nieto.

Thanks to the supporters (Two Wishes Ranch Polo and Event Center, Ariel Rodriguez, Robin Sanchez, Karl Hilberg, Molly Brunet, Holly Wood and Javier Insua) for ensuring a great event.

Later in the month, three teams met at the Central Texas Polo Association’s ATX polo facility to play a round robin over two days for the Amateur Cup title.

The first round pitted JD Polo (Morgan Tennant, Taylor Morris, Javier Insua, John Greening) and Texas Military (Kyle Brown, Luis Herrera, Cody Goetz, Lalo Ramirez).

Goetz struck first, putting Texas Military on the board with goal from the field. The teams battled back and forth before Insua sunk a Penalty 6 to tie the score. Goetz put Texas Military back on top with a Penalty 3 conversion but Insua responded again. Closing out the game Brown scored two to give Texas Military the win.

In Round 2, JD Polo played San Antonio (Patrick MaCleod, Alex Matta/Ursula Pari, Gal Shweiki, Jack Crea). JD Polo came out hot with Insua scoring two and Greening a third while strong defensive play by Morris and Tennant held San Antonio scoreless in the first. In the second, Insua sandwiched goals around one from

Crea to give JD Polo a 5-1 advantage.

Shweiki and MaCleod fought back but JD took the 6-3 win.

The final round had Texas Military take on San Antonio. Texas Military shot out front with a Penalty 3 and a field goal from Ramirez and a tally from Goetz. Crea put San Antonio on the board in the second, but Ramirez and Herrera each added one to end the match 5-1 in favor of Texas Military.

On the second day, JD Polo faced Texas Military in round one. In a close first chukker, JD Polo’s Insua scored once from the field and then converted a Penalty 4, however Herrera responded with a pair of goals, including a beautiful neck shot. Insua scored early in the second but it was quickly matched by Ramirez. Insua shot back, giving JD Polo a 4-3 lead.

With time running out Ramirez had a break away to goal, but time ran out.

JD Polo faced San Antonio, but would need to win by at least five to take the title. San Antonio acted as the spoiler, holding JD Polo to a 6-2 win, a goal shy.

With the win/loss records and net goals tied between JD Polo and Texas Military, the winner was determined by gross goals. JD Polo won the tournament by a 17-15 gross goal margin.

Kyle Brown was named MVP and Jack Crea’s Rubia was Best Playing Pony. Again, thanks to supporters

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P O L O

R E P O R T

Spiders from Mars’ Calyste Hanks, Cinderella von Falkenhausen, Robin Sanchez and Tami Thomsen won the Woman’s Challenge.

Robin Sanchez, Karl Hilberg, Carlos Loreto and Javier Insua, who ensured we had a great weekend of polo.

SPIDERS CAPTURE WOMAN’S CHALLENGE “There’s not a legal way to have more fun than playing polo! We had a perfect start to the Dallas Polo Club’s field season with a great group of riders from Dallas, Houston and Australia competing in our first USPA women’s tournament,” said longtime DPC player, Tami Thomsen. “Our team was lead by Robin Sanchez, who traded in her umpire jersey for a player’s jersey,” Thomsen’s Spiders from Mars team was victorious.

The two teams competing in the season-opening Southwest Circuit Women’s Challenge were Team GAJE (Gemma Allman, Allison Bowker, Julia Forney, Eloria Snyder) and Spiders From Mars (Calyste Hanks, Tami Thomsen, Cinderella Von Falkenhausen, Robin Sanchez).

Gemma Allman said, “The women’s tournament was such a great event.

Local and interstate players came together for a fun, competitive match.

As always, the post-match carne asada had every goal sound more impressive, every foul more outrageous, and every ride-off more amazing. Dallas Polo Club

56 POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N

Mangorace’s Gary Magness, Domingo Aldaco, Benito Hernandez and Nico Millan won the Chinese New Year Tournament.

provides such a supportive environment for developing players as well as highgrade polo. Most importantly, it is always a fun, social environment to learn, improve and play your best.”

Redding, played by Julia Florey and owned by Dr. Allison Nelson, was named Best Playing Pony and Robin Sanchez was named MVP. “We plan on making this an annual event at Dallas Polo Club,” said Bil Walton, “A fun, competitive event for women players.”

INTERNATIONAL

MANGORACE WINNER IN COSTA CAREYES RESORT

Mangorace came away the winner of the 8th annual Chinese New Year Tournament, earning the handcrafted trophies. It was held at the Costa Careyes resort in Careyes, Mexico, February 17-18.

Players from Portugal, Italy, Mexico, USA and France came to this year’s Year of the Dog tournament.

Four teams played off on Saturday to determine the finalists for the Sunday game. Teams were Cabinet Connection (Will Falk, Chris Falk, Raul Ramirez, David Buller), Careyes/Lafayette (Giorgio Brignone, Robert Hinaman, Jesus Solorzano, Manuel Rios), Mangorace (Gary Magness, Benito

Hernandez, Nico Millan, Domingo Aldaco) and Agua Alta/Quinto Sol (Hans Giebeler, Alberico Ardissone, Manuel Matos, Luis Perez).

Cabinet Connection beat Careyes 52½ and Mangorace overwhelmed Agua Alta/Quinto Sol 9-4 to advance to the final.

In the final, teams had their game faces on as Hernandez put Mangorace on the board early in the first. Every chukker was fast and furious and Mangorace held a 5-2 lead at halftime.

Cabinet Connection dominated the third with Will Falk coming alive and scoring three goals to tie the match.

Hernandez retaliated and Magness converted a penalty shot to put Mangorace ahead but with just seconds left, Will Falk tied the score.

A shootout was needed to determine a winner. Each player took a free shot from the 40-yard line. The Cabinet Connection players sunk three out of four, while Mangorace scored four of four for the win.

The following month, the club hosted its 19th annual Agua Alta tournament with six teams playing off from March 24-31.

The tournament was founded by Italian polo player Alberto Ardissone in 2000. Playing great polo with his friends from all over the world in the best beach setting was the idea. Tradition has followed through the years with the help of Giorgio Brignone, who now runs the

P O L O event. It is the most famous and prestigious tournament in Mexico.

During the week many social activities were scheduled, including opening night at Alberto and Kari Ardissone’s villa Agua Alta.

Team shirts made especially for this tournament were presented by Tucane, a popular and upscale clothes line.

In addition, Playa Rosa Beach restaurant and Punto Como, two of the six restaurants at the resort, had events at their venue and the new El Careyes Club and Residences hosted a cocktail evening. La Patrona Polo Club showcased their club one night at the larger-than-life screening in the Plaza de los Caballeros.

Players from England, Portugal, USA, Italy, Argentina and Mexico came to win the coveted Agua Alta tournament.

A first this year was a lady polo player in the final. Rebecca Foltz from Seattle, Washington, who just started playing six months ago, was on the Careyes.net team. Sebastian Dawnay (son of the late Major Hugh Dawnay, a polo professor

Giorgio Brignone and Alberto Ardissone congratulate Fortaleza’s Guillermo Jimenez, Pancho Aguilar, Vale Aguilar and Erick Cornejo in Costa Careyes.

extraordinaire) was on the roster of the Switzerland team along with Cedric Schweri, the Swiss player returning after three years. Dawnay had not played here for several years and it was special for him as his father’s ashes are scattered on the No. 1 field. Guillermo Steta, president of the Mexican Polo Federation played for Steta/Mexico.

Play was continuous throughout the week with only Monday and Thursday as days of rest. After 90 chukkers of play under the watchful eyes of USPA certified umpires Chad Kraml and Marcos Bignoli, the finalists were decided. Fortaleza (Valerio Aguilar,

Fortaleza’s Pancho Aguilar stops the mallet of Careyes.net’s Miguel Gomez de Parada in the final of the 19th Annual Agua Alta tournament in Costa Careyes, Mexico.

R E P O R T Pancho Aguilar, Erick Cornejo and Guillermo Jimenez) faced Careyes.net (Rebecca Foltz, Roberto Gonzalez Gracida, Miguel Gomez de Parada, Juan Galan), both with a won-loss record of 4-1.

The final day started off with the consolation for fifth and sixth place. La Patrona Polo Club (Tomas Elliot, Ladis Garcia, Alexis Echeverria, Milo Ardissone) fell to Agua Alta/Quinto Sol (Manuel Matos, Alberico Ardissone, Raul Ramirez, Diego Gonzalez), 9-5.

The consolation for third and fourth place had Steta/Mexico (Guillermo Steta, Erik Barba, Andres Gonzalez, Benito Hernandez) tying Switzerland (Chris Falk, Will Falk, Cedric Schweri, Sebastian Dawnay). After every chukker ended in a tie, a shootout was needed to determine a winner. Switzerland took the 9-8 win.

For the final, all the players came out on their best horses, ready to go.

Fortaleza jumped out to a 3-0 lead and kept on pounding. At halftime the score was 7-3. The Careyes.net team came to life in the fourth with two quick goals. but couldn’t make up the deficit. The match ended with Fortaleza holding the 8-5 advantage.

Best Playing Pony was Nacha, a 4year-old mare owned by Gomez de Parada. Professional MVP went to Sebastian Dawnay, who scored the most goals, and MVP patrons were both Jimenez and Cornejo who played outstanding throughout the week but were spot on for the final.

After 10 days of polo at the Careyes Polo Club teams will now travel north three hours on the scenic drive to the new La Patrona Polo Club, in the state of Naygarit, north of Puerto Vallarta, in the village of San Pancho. The event will be called The Pacific Circuit. It is expected to be a great experience on one of the most beautiful coastlines on the u Pacific Ocean.

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(continued from page 7) a rule on January 1, 2019.

Over the course of the summer, the committee will be considering these issues and others on its agenda that were not discussed at the meeting, to decide if it will propose rule modifications to the board of governors at the USPA fall meeting for implementation in 2019. The committee welcomes feedback from members on these and any other rules-related issues.

Safety Chairman Thor Norregaard has reached out to nine helmet manufacturers to make them aware of the incentives to create a NOCSAE helmet in order to meet the requirement that all players must wear a helmet that passes NOCSAE standards by June 1, 2020. Casablanca and Charles Owen have been in contact, but so far, no helmets pass the NOCSAE standard. NOCSAE employed a third party approval Safety Equipment Institute that collect helmets and sends them to the testing location. The committee agreed to cover the cost of creating and maintaining a helmet that passes the NOCSAE polo standard. Casablanca has designed a new helmet that is not yet for sale in the U.S., but the committee feels it will pass the NOCSAE standard and will be working on it in the near future.

Tournament The board approved the committee’s awarding of 2019 sanctioned and national tournaments for 2019. A full list can be found on uspolo.org.

Women’s Polo The committee is supporting the creation of a women’s player database and global calendar. The committee also thanked Houston Polo Club for years of dedicated hosting of the U.S. Open Women’s Polo Championship, but noted that it is healthy to move tournaments around the country.

For 2019, the tournament will be played 58 POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N

Steve Orthwein and Ginny Orthwein accept the Hugo Delmar Jr. Sportsmanship Trophy for Stephen A. Orthwein from USPA Chairman Chip Campbell and CEO Bob Puetz.

in South Florida with semifinals at Port Mayaca Polo Club in Okeechobee, Florida, and the final at IPC. The committee also shared an update on the 18-goal Women’s World Cup set to take place this fall at the Denver Polo Club in Sedalia, Colorado.

USPA Marketing, LLC The communications department presented its progress from January through April of 2018. The USPA Polo Network saw tremendous growth in viewership through 98 games of the winter season. There were 649,290 more unique viewers than 2017 and the average viewership per game increased by 1084 percent at 7,237 per game. The highest viewed game was the semifinals of the USPA Gold Cup between Tonkawa and Valiente with 17,284 unique viewers.

In an effort to bring awareness to topics surrounding USPA tournaments and in an effort to support the polo industry, the department wrote special interest stories during the Florida high-goal season. The articles highlighted top horses, players, grooms, veterinarians and player training regimens. The positive feedback from players, members and fans was astounding and the department will continue to highlight similar stories in other top tournaments around the country.

Additionally, the department teamed up with USPA Global Licensing Inc. in April 2017 to increase traffic to uspolo.org with an aggressive search engine optimization campaign. The on-going campaign optimizes the site’s on-page and off-page pres-

ence to allow uspolo.org to rank higher for top keywords used in search engines.

January through April of this year saw an increase of 320,000 unique visitors to the site, over 40,000 more unique visits to the video page and an increase of 130,000 new visitors.

USPA Polo Development, LLC The USPA Polo Development, LLC comprises three departments and encompasses Club and Membership Development, I/I Polo, Team USPA, and Junior Polo Committees of the USPA and their associated programs.

The Club Development Department has been coordinating and promoting cooperative efforts among regional clubs to share resources and promote the sport of polo, such as the Chicago Polo Association. Additionally, after an in-depth review process, the Polo Development Initiative awarded $662,000 in grassroots support to over 90 clubs and schools. Finally, the Certified Polo Instructor Program broke into triple digits with 102 total certified instructors.

In the I/I Department, the season saw great success with a 107 teams participating, which was a 10 percent increase. Additionally, the I/I program sent a victorious team to England to participate in the International Intercollegiate Challenge Match, pitting collegiate players from the U.S. against their counterparts in the United Kingdom. Three of the four players who represented the USA were first-generation players introduced to the sport through an I/I program.

ALEX PACHECO

lifestyle brand. The apparel is sold in 150 countries and growing. There are currently 995 monogram stores, and projected growth is about 1300 stores.

The board approved George Dill to serve another three-year term (2019-2021) on the USPA Global Licensing board.

USPA’s Lindsay Dolan, left, and Women’s Committee Chairman Erica Gandomcar-Sachs, right, presents Cindy Halle with the Woman of the Year award.

In the Player Development Department, it was announced that the 2018 National Youth Tournament Series season will entail 30-plus qualifiers. The championships are returning to Columbine Polo Club (Littleton, Colorado) over Labor Day Weekend and will feature an all-female East vs. West Invitational this year (a result of 43 percent of NYTS participants being female). Finally, the player development group collaborated with the International Committee to form the Copa de las Naciones teams.

USPA Umpires, LLC Umpires, LLC reported that with 23 professional umpires they serviced 10 winter clubs in California and Florida and one foreign club in the Philippines. To date, the yearly total game count of professionally umpired games is 860. During this winter season, umpire meetings were held weekly. Non-Florida umpires watched via GoToMeeting. Call and non-call footage were reviewed and rule procedures were the main topics of discussion.

Umpires reviewed plays using the Dartfish app at home. Additionally, all umpires wore a GoPro camera while officiating.

During the high-goal games, an instant replay official was added to the officiating crew in the livestream studio for team challenges.

The first 2018 Boot Camp was held at the Empire and Eldorado Polo Clubs in Indio, California. Six certified umpires participated in a four-day intensive umpiring clinic with Head Umpire Instructor

Steve Lane. Umpires, LLC provided accommodations, meals and ground transportation.

With a budget of $250,000, Head I/I Umpire instructor Bradley Biddle organized all the umpiring for a combined total of 111 preliminary, regional and national games for the I/I Program.

Umpire reimbursement for clubs is available under the UMP Program. Clubs can apply for partial reimbursement when using certified umpires for their club events. Forms are available online USPA clubs hosting national or circuit events 8-goals or under are eligible to receive one free umpire (travel, accommodations and salary), based on availability as part of the PUMP/8 program. Clubs must request an umpire within two weeks of the event and pay a $500 fee. To date, 13 PUMP/8 tournaments have been played.

Umpires, LLC contracted with former NBA Vice President of Referee Development Bob Delaney. He will provide Performance Enhancement Program training for umpires. This will provide development in areas of leadership, teamwork, communication, professionalism, resiliency and mental conditioning.

USPA Global Licensing, LLC USPA Global Licensing, LLC CEO Michael Prince reported that the authentic connection to the sport of polo is proving successful in selling the U.S. Polo Assn. brand. A hard shift to digital media is planned for the company that will emphasize U.S. Polo Assn. as a global

American International Polo Foundation The American International Polo Foundation is working with Polo Development, LLC and Joel Baker to develop a national team concept, and has agreed to undertake the process of beginning to fund specific tournaments. The foundation has hit the ground running with the Westchester Cup and is raising funds to provide players with horses for the tournament.

USPA Awards Presented at the Polo Party Awards Ceremony Woman of the Year: Cindy Halle Russ Sheldon Award for Outstanding Contribution to Arena Polo: Tom Goodspeed Tom Hughes Umpire Award: Britt Baker Clint Nangle Equine Welfare Award: Robin Sanchez Hugo Delmar Jr. Sportsmanship Trophy: Stephen A. Orthwein General S. George Patton Jr. Award: Steve Walsh (2018) and Allen Hoe (2017) 2018 Polo Training Foundation Florida Season Awardees Most Improved Young Player: Cipriano Echezarreta Young Player Sportsmanship Award: Justin Eckbo Daniels Most Improved Junior Player: Ava Rose Hinkson Most Improved Junior Player: Finn Secunda Junior Sportsmanship Award: Giuliana Battista Junior Sportsmanship Award: Jack Whitman POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N 59

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MAY 3-JUNE 24 Pro-Pool League Santa Barbara, Carpinteria, CA M AY 15 - J U N E 10 Tommy Hitchcock Memorial (10-12) New Bridge, Aiken, SC M AY 2 7 - J U N E 10 Western Challenge (12-16) Houston, Houston, TX M A Y 31 - A U G U S T 2 5 Rincon League Pro-Am (6-8) Santa Barbara, Carpinteria, CA J U N E 1 - 10 Del Mar Cup (2) San Diego Surf, Del Mar, CA Vic Graber Cup (12) Santa Barbara, Carpinteria, CA White Pants Open (4-8) Mashomack, Pine Plains, NY

JUNE 2 4th Russ Sheldon Memorial Poway, Poway, CA

The Poway Polo Club and the Sheldon family are hosting the 4th Annual Russ Sheldon Memorial Polo Tournament, beginning at 10 a.m. at the Poway Polo Club.

In keeping with the Poway tradition, everyone can count on having fun. Prizes will be awarded for Best Decorated Helmet, Best Neck Shot, Best Defensive Play, Best Long Shot, Best Goal and Best Use of Electrical Tape.

Russ would surely be proud!

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JUNE 2 Victory Cup Prestonwood, Oak Point, TX USA vs. Poland Newport, Newport, RI USPA Arena Women’s Challenge (2) Seneca, Poolesville, MD 11th Veuve Clicquot Polo Classic Liberty State Park, Jersey City, NJ JUNE 2-3 USPA Sportsmanship Cup (0-2) New Orleans, Folsom, LA

Newport Cup, Newport, Newport, RI BritFest Maryland, Jarrettsville, MD Hartland Polo Classic Detroit, Howell, MI J U N E 9 - 10 Intra Club Matches (0-2) New Orleans, Folsom, LA J U N E 10 Horses & Horsepower Happening Farmington, Farmington, CT

Arena Women’s Challenge (0-3) Seneca, Poolesville, MD

Spring Finale Midland, Midland, TX

6-goal Tournament Atlanta, Atlanta, GA

CG Rice Cup Myopia, South Hamilton, MA

J U N E 2 - J U L Y 14 Summer League (4) Southampton, Water Mill, NY JUNE 3 3rd USPA Military Tournament Midland, Midland, TX Joseph Poor/Stan Bradford Cup Myopia, South Hamilton, MA

Morgan Stanley Cup Play Polo, Westerville, OH J U N E 3 - 15 Congressional Cup (6-8) Willow Bend, Little Elm, TX J U N E 3 - 17 Monty Waterbury (12-16) Greenwich, Greenwich, CT J U N E 5 - 15 National Arena Challenge Cup Commonwealth, Paris, KY J U N E 8 - 10 NYTS Houston, Houston, TX J U N E 8 - J U LY 2 2 Independence Cup (8) Southampton, Water Mill, NY JUNE 9 Belmont Stakes Cup Prestonwood, Oak Point, TX

60 POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N

JUNE

Mack & Madelyn Jason Memorial Menlo Circus, Atherton, CA Arena Rules and Strategy Clinic Mountain View, Charles Town, WV Great Lakes League Detroit, Howell, MI Chicago Polo Day Oak Brook, Oak Brook, IL J U N E 1 3 - 17 Centennial Cup Acoaxet, Tiverton, RI Players Cup (0-4) Honululu, Waimanalo, HI J U N E 14 - 2 4 Daniel Samaniego Memorial Cup (2) San Diego Surf, Del Mar, CA J U N E 15 USPA Players Cup (0-4) St. Louis, Defiance, MO J U N E 1 5 - 17 Arena WCT Maryland, Jarrettsville, MD J U N E 15 - 2 4 USPA Intra-Circuit Santa Barbara, Carpinteria, CA J U N E 15 - J U LY 1 USPA Officers Cup (8) Mashomack, Pine Plains, NY

(continued from page 42) J U N E 16 USA vs. Scotland Newport, Newport, RI

JUNE 23 Patriot Cup Season Finale Prestonwood, Oak Point, TX

Dallas Symphony Honor Guard Cup Prestonwood, Oak Point, TX

Newport vs. Boston Newport, Newport, RI

Father’s Day Tournament Menlo Circus, Atherton, CA

25th Anniversary Celebration Tinicum, Erwinna, PA

Introductory Polo Clinic Detroit, Howell, MI

Mallets & Moonlight Benefit Mohawk Park, Tulsa, OK

J U N E 16 - 17 Fathers Day Matches New Orleans, Folsom, LA

JUNE 23-24 Final Spring Season Matches New Orleans, Folsom, LA

J U N E 17 The Valley Challenge Farmington, Farmington, CT Neil Ayer Cup Myopia, South Hamilton, MA Dennis Lalor Tournament Kingston, Kingston, Jamaica Flowers & Bread Cup Play Polo, Westerville, OH

NYTS Lakeside, Lakeside, CA 4-goal Tournament Atlanta, Atlanta, GA 22nd Annual CD LeBlanc Memorial Will Rogers, Los Angeles, CA JUNE 24 Agassiz Club Cup (0) Myopia, South Hamilton, MA

USPA Mountain View Challenge (0-3) Mountain View, Charles Town, WV

Players Championship Kingston, Kingston, Jamaica

Sam Putnam Memorial Tournament Detroit, Howell, MI

Floyd Roth Memorial Menlo Circus, Atherton, CA

J U N E 21 - 2 4 Patton Cup (4) Maryland, Jarrettsville, MD Polo for Heart Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Drake Challenge Cup Oak Brook, Oak Brook, IL J U N E 2 5 - J U LY 15 Silver Cup (16-20) Greenwich, Greenwich, CT

JUNE 22 Independence Cup (2) St. Louis, Defiance, MO

JUNE 26-28 NYTS Maryland, Jarrettsville, MD

JUNE 22-24 Jimmy Bachman Memorial (2-4) Farmington, Farmington, CT

JUNE 28-30 Youth Arena Summer Tourney Camp Seneca, Poolesville, MD

JUNE 22-25 NYTS Myopia, South Hamilton, MA

J U N E 2 8 - J U LY 8 Pan-American Cup (2) San Diego Surf, Del Mar, CA

J U N E 2 2 - J U LY 1 Women’s Championship (12-14, 16-20) Westchester, Portsmouth, RI

JUNE 30 Independence Cup Newport, Newport, RI

Note: All dates are subject to change. “USPA” refers to tournaments sponsored or sanctioned by the United States Polo Association.

The last show was held in the Cathedral. Chapaleufú Escorihuela Melicurá, looking for its seventh title (the first with this formation) tried to squeeze to the maximum the nine goals conceded by the team of the patron Andrea Ferreira. But Stirling was on fire (10 goals in the afternoon) and managed to equalize the score 11-11 at halftime.

After a fourth chukker without conversions, La Dolfina Brava took a two goal advantage in the fifth (14-12).

It seemed the story was ending, but Andrés Lariguet put Chapaleufú to within one goal and the last seconds of play were high on suspense. The final bell allowed the Cañuelas crew to celebrate a close 14-13 victory.

“I am very happy to have won the Republic for the first time. I was left with the desire after the 2011 final when we lost against La Estrella. It makes me very happy for the effort that Andrea and Adolfito Cambiaso did to put together the organization of La Dolfina Brava, which also had a team win the Women’s Open and now we can do this. It is very good that there are people who bet on the growth of polo,” said the Uruguayan 10-goaler, the first of his valuation to lift the cup since Cambiaso did it in 2009 as leader of La Dolfina Loro Piana.

At the time of the awards, in addition to the trophies for the champions, two mares were honored: Oriental Doctora, owned by Stirling, received the blanket of the Argentine Association of Polo Horse Breeders as the best product, while Clarita, played by Iván Lariguet, received the Jaime Amorín trophy as the best horse in the final.

Finally, the AAP presented a medal to the members of Los Baguales, champion of the trophy in 1968 as a recognition for half a century of their achievement.

There to received the present was Plácido Martínez Sobrado, Alberto Fano, Benjamín Amaya (in the name of his father Eduardo, who lives in the United States) and Eduardo Pondé, who accepted for his late brother Rodolfo.

POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N 61

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BY PETER J RIZZO

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2005 U.S. OPEN

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ver the many years since the inception of the U. S. Open, way back in 1904, the team handicap level has changed from a truly open format (no handicap goals awarded and teams could be as highly rated as 40 goals per team) to upper team handicaps of 22, 24 and most recently, 26 goals per team.

The handicap level has been adjusted mainly to attract more teams. The largest number of teams competing in a U.S. Open was in 2002 when 15 teams filled the rosters of this premier high-goal event hosted by Royal Palm Polo Sports Club in Boca Raton. Gillian Johnston’s Coca Cola team won the title that year, along with Adam Snow, Miguel Novillo Astrada and Tommy Biddle.

In 2004, the U.S. Open was awarded to International Polo Club Palm Beach and the number of teams continued to stay robust. There were 13 teams in 2004, a dozen in 2005 and 13 in 2006. A nearrecord 14 teams played in 2007. Over the past two years, the number of teams at the 26-goal level dwindled to six.

Last year, the USPA board of governors decided to lower the aggregate team handicap from 20-26 goals to 18-20 goals beginning in 2019.

One of the more intriguing U.S. Open events occurred in 2005 when a dozen 26goal teams organized themselves sufficiently to make a run at the U.S. Open.

International Polo Club Palm Beach, then owned by John Goodman, hosted the event. Team entries included Peter Orthwein’s Airstream; Gillian Johnston’s Bendabout; Neil Hirsch’s Black Watch; Scott Devon’s Catamount; John Goodman’s Isla Carroll; Victor Vargas’ La Lechuza; Cami62 POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N

ALEX PACHECO

A year when high-goal polo flourished at the 26-goal level

White Birch’s Nick Manifold, Del Walton, Mariano Aguerre, Lucas Criado, Julio Gracida and Martin Ravina. It was White Birch’s first U.S. Open title, part of its 26-goal season sweep.

lo Bautista’s Las Monjitas; Fred Mannix’s Millarville; John Hall’s Old Pueblo; Bob Daniel’s Pony Express; Skeeter Johnston’s Skeeterville; and Peter Brant’s White Birch.

Two preliminary events, the Hall of Fame Cup and the C.V. Whitney, were Open warm-ups that allowed teams to test certain line-ups and develop the pony strings to peak perfection at just about the right time to go full-out for the Open. For the most part, because of the high cost of fielding professionals and appropriate mounts, team lineups did not change much from one 26-goal event to another.

That is not to say that some of the lowergoal professionals may be changed a bit here and there, especially if those lowergoal players become the focus of handicap reviews and last-minute, team tune-ups.

A good case in point concerned a young player by the name of Martin Ravina.

Before the 26-goal events began, Ravina was a typical 4-goal professional trying to earn enough to feed himself and horses by playing polo, selling horses, grooming and even by transporting loads of horses from Florida to wherever. White Birch hired Ravina as an alternate for team patron Peter Brant. When Brant’s real world, business pursuits did not allow him to play in a game or two of the Open preliminary events, team captain Mariano Aguerre, with the advice of team organizer Nick Manifold, gave Martin a chance. Ravina seemed to blend well with his newfound teammates, who in the past, had been known to be quite the volatile, screechy, mix of talent, dedication and inspiration.

Ravina, riding Peter’s superb ponies, made the most of his opportunity and began to play some really solid, fundamentally exceptional, polo on a really good team.

As the initial playoff games progressed,

ALEX PACHECO

White Birch’s Del Walton evades the hook of Skeeterville’s Julio Arellano. Walton was brought in after Martin Ravina’s handicap was raised from 4 to 6. Arellano was the game’s MVP.

White Birch began embarrassing some pretty well-mounted, well-balanced teams, drawing the scrutiny of the U. S. Open Host Tournament Committee, as well as the USPA Handicap Committee. After three handicap reviews for several young players who were having good seasons, it was decided to raise Ravina’s handicap from 4 to 6.

According to a brand new USPA Rule approved for 2005, White Birch could continue to use Ravina, however, they would have to give the additional handicap goals to lower-rated opponents. If Ravina missed a game, the team would have to return to the event’s 26-goal handicap level. Brant returned for one game but missed the semifinal and final. Del Walton took his place.

The same year, living-legend Memo Gracida, who the year before captured his record 16th U.S. Open title with Goodman’s Isla Carroll team, anchored a strong, well-organized Airstream team of Adam Snow, a young, rising star in Carlucho Arellano and a veteran high-goal team sponsor, Peter Orthwein.

The Pony Express team included 8goaler Pablo Mac Donough, who was raised to 9 in the newly instituted mid-year handicap review and showed why he would even-

tually be raised to 10 in subsequent years.

The Pieres brothers, Facundo and Gonzalito, played for Neal Hirsch’s surprising Black Watch team. They were probably the most impressive tandem of players in terms of raw talent and would soon become two of the world’s most dominant players.

Another pair of talented players who played extremely well together was Lucas Criado and Mariano Aguerre.

There were a surprisingly large number of high-goal American stars who participated on Open teams, including Walton, Mike Azzaro, Jeff Blake, Tommy Biddle, Jeff Hall, Nic Roldan, Julio Arellano, Owen Rinehart and Adam Snow.

Many of the participating players expressed the opinion that better behavior on the field benefited from a stricter enforcement of the USPA’s “Zero Tolerance” policies. Spectators felt the games were a lot more enjoyable to watch in the 2005 high-goal season with the emphasis on less complaining to the officials and more concentration on the playing of the game. The USPA professional umpires were hitting their stride as respected officials and were finally being provided needed tools (rules and polices) to better

officiate the sport.

As in most years, whenever there are a dozen or more high-goal teams, there will be hundreds of extremely athletic and well-trained polo ponies and 2005 was no exception as the horses continued to be the real stars of polo.

After many long years of frustration, White Birch finally won its first U.S. Open title. White Birch [Julio Gracida, Lucas Criado, Mariano Aguerre and Del Walton] went on to defeat a determined Skeeterville team [Skeeter Johnston, Julio Arellano, Owen Rinehart and Lucas Monteverde], 11-10, in overtime.

Julio Gracida, who had perhaps his best year of polo, began his own pursuit of Open victories by recording his first U.S. Open title at 16 years old, a younger age than did his legendary father.

Skeeterville’s Julio Arellano earned the Open’s Most Valuable Player award and his mare, Malia, won the Willis Hartman Best Playing Pony award.

The 2005 U.S. Open truly was a remarkable and well-attended U.S. Open competition, to be remembered as the time when high-goal polo flourished at the 26-goal level.

POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N 63

(continued from page 17)

With a skin test, a large patch is shaved on the neck and 50 to 60 different allergens are injected in tiny amounts using a grid pattern and key to keep track of each allergen. (Inlaid) Positive results.

airways. The horse may collapse and die unless the condition is immediately reversed with appropriate treatment.

If a horse reacts to a vaccine, he may be reacting to the adjuvant in the vaccine—the ingredient that stimulates the horse’s immune system. Some vaccines don’t have an adjuvant and therefore produce less reactions. If you have a horse that is sensitive to vaccinations, talk with your veterinarian and tailor that horse’s vaccine program to his needs—finding vaccines that have no adjuvants.

You may have to stay away from the vaccines that include protection against several diseases at once, if your horse tends to react to these. If your horse reacts to a combination vaccine, you don’t always know which portion is the problem.

Don’t vaccinate your horse the day before competition, in case he does react. Do it far enough ahead so that if he has a problem he will be over it when you need him to feel his best.

Allergy Vaccines In some situations a vaccine can be created to help your horse become less sensitive to certain allergens. To diagnose a specific allergy, most veterinarians prefer the intra-dermal skin test rather than a blood test, 64 POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N

because the skin test is more sensitive.

The veterinarian will usually do a series of readings--at 15 minutes, 30 minutes, 4 to 6 hours, and 24 hours.

Some horses react immediately to some allergens and then don’t show anything else, some have a delayed reaction, and others show a combination.

For the skin test, the horse is sedated.

A large patch is shaved on the neck, and 50 to 60 different allergens (everything from molds, airborne allergens and grasses to insect bites/stings) are injected in tiny amounts, using a grid pattern and a key to indicate where each allergen is injected. Some horses react to grain dust, corn smuts or molds. Some allergens are related to feed.

To ensure an accurate test, its best if the horse is not on steroids or antihistamines (common treatments for allergies) for at least a month prior to the test. These medications could reduce the response and skew the results.

Once the test is evaluated, a vaccine can be created for that horse, using his own immune system to fight the allergy, rather than drugs. It may take 6 months or more for the vaccine to work, though some insect-hypersensitive horses respond within two weeks. If vaccine works, it can be helpful for a horse that is itching/uncomfortable, ripping himself apart rubbing on things.

The desensitization success rate, using a vaccine created for that particular horse, is about 70 to 75 percent, using the skin test to discover which allergens to include in the vaccine. Some horses respond to antihistamine treatments and most will respond to steroids, but it’s not really safe to have horses on steroids long term, so an allergy vaccine may be a better alternative. Allergy shots are also better than treating with steroids or antihistamines, since these would be picked up on drug tests. The vaccine makes the horse more comfortable so it can be in competition, and the owner doesn’t have to worry about being disqualified because of medications.

It’s best to do the test during a time of year the horse is not severely affected and hasn’t been on any drugs. If you test for pollen allergies, insects, etc. in winter, you’ll have several months to get the horse’s immunities built up by summer. Unfortunately, most people bring the horse for testing when he’s at his worst, but winter is the best time to check a summer allergy problem.

More research needed “Unfortunately, the field of equine dermatology is still in its infancy. There is a lot of research that needs to be done, to identify new treatments. Often we are just transferring information we have obtained from other species and applying it to horses,” says Marsella.

We need more research in horses, for the benefit of horses. “If there is enough funding devoted to equine dermatology, this will eventually happen. So far, however, most of the research funding has gone to things that are considered more important, like lameness, but there is tremendous need for more information and identifying new treatments, to make these animals more comfortable. If you live in an area like where we are in Florida, we have allergy season about 11 months of the year. It is always hot and humid, with lots of pollen and bugs, and this becomes a real challenge.”.

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