March 2019 Polo Players' Edition

MARCH 2019

P L AY E R S’ E D I T I O N

USA bests England in Townsend Cup

$5.00 US/$5.50 Canada

CONTENTS

P L AY E R S’ E D I T I O N

M A RC H 201 9

VOL. 22,

FEATURES 26 Polo Magic

NO. 7

DEPARTMENTS 6

by Cindy Halle

32 USA all day!

Association News USPA Bulletin Governor Spotlight

Strangers united through horses and sport

by Gwen Rizzo

12 Instructors Forum

Brits fall in arena showcase events

by Tommy Biddle

14 Usefuls Umpire App

16 Equine Athlete MARCH 2019

18 22 24 38

TION P L AY E R S’ E D I

OUR COVER USA bests England in Townsend Cup

MVP Tommy Biddle hammered four two-point shots in Townsend Cup action.

Photo by David Lominska

$5.00 US/$5.50 Canada

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

Polo Development Intercollegiate/Interscholastic Polo in the Pampas

by Ernesto Rodriguez

40 Polo around the Globe 62 Yesteryears 64 Calendar 46 Polo Report Bush League/FMB Captures Eldorado’s Officers Cup

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

P L AY E R S’ E D I T I O N THE

OFFICIAL MONTHLY PUBLICATION OF THE

UNITED STATES POLO ASSOCIATION

Editor & Publisher

GWEN D. RIZZO

Contributing Editors

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

Editorial Board BOB PUETZ, TONY COPPOLA, TOM BIDDLE, DAWN WEBER, AMI SHINITZKY

Art Director DAVID BEVERAGE Prepress PUBLISHERS PRESS Advertising & Editorial Offices USPA Member Subscription Inquiries (800) 232-8772 OR FAX (888) 341-7410 ldolan@uspolo.org

General Subscription Inquiries 6008 REYNOLDS RD LAKE WORTH, FL 33449 (561) 968-5208, FAX (561) 968-5209 www.poloplayersedition.com

Visit us on the Web at www.poloplayersedition.com

E-mail: info@poloplayersedition.com ©Copyright 2019 by United States Polo Association..

No part of this issue may be reproduced by any mechanical, photographic or electronic process without written permission of the publisher. Paul Brown illustrations are ©2018 and are reprinted by permission of Paul Brown Studios, Inc., P.O. Box 925, Hedgesville, WV 25427. Subscription rates: $45/one year, $78/two years. Other countries (air mail), $78 drawn on U.S. bank/one year, $144 drawn on U.S. bank/two years.

(GST:134989508). Subscription problems call (561) 968-5208.

VOL. 22, No.7 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.

Periodicals postage paid at West Palm Beach, FL and additional mailing offices. (USPS: 079-770).

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Polo Players’ Edition, 6008 Reynolds RD, Lake Worth, FL 33449.

Canada Post: Publications Mail Agreement No. 40612608. Canada Returns to be sent to Imex Global, P.O. Box 25542, London, ON N6C 6B2.

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

U S PA B U L L E T I N

High-Goal Election Results The USPA held an election open to members of the high-goal community on Jan. 10, to select representation for the USPA High-Goal Committee. Votes were accepted to fill the open seats available for highgoal team owners and high-goal professional players, team managers or coaches. Highgoal team owners that competed in USPA 20-goal-or-above events during the course of 2018 were eligible to vote for the high-goal team owner nominees of Grant Ganzi, Annabelle Gundlach and Justin Klentner. High-goal professional players/team managers/coaches that competed in USPA 20-goal-or-above events in 2018 were eligible to vote for the high-goal professional player nominees of Lucas Criado, Rafael Obregon and Chris Stratemann.

After the votes were tallied, it Justin Klentner was announced that Annabelle Gundlach and Justin Klentner would fill the two open positions for high-goal team owners alongside Gillian Johnston. Lucas Criado filled the open position for a high-goal professional players/ team managers/ coaches alongside Jeff Hall and Chris Stratemann was re-elected.

Annabelle Gundlach

Lucas Criado

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

USPA High-Goal Committee • Chairman Maureen Brennan • High-goal team owners Gillian Johnston, Annabelle Gundlach and Justin Klentner • High-goal professional players/ managers/ coaches Jeff Hall, Chris Stratemann and Lucas Criado • Club manager Jimmy Newman • Representative from USPA Umpires, LLC. Britt Baker • Representative from USPA Marketing, LLC. Scott Devon • Representative from USPA Rules Committee Tom Gose Tournament Prize Money The United States Polo Association is now offering a USPA

tournament prize money matching program. Criteria for this program is as follows: • Must be a USPA Active Member Club.

• Must adhere to all USPA Rules.

• USPA Certified or Professional Umpires are required pursuant to USPA 2019 Tournament Conditions and Umpire Guide.

• Funds are available for “USPA Events” as defined in the 2019 USPA Tournament Conditions.

• Circuit funding regulations: – $75,000 maximum funding for circuits with 20 or more clubs.

– $50,000 maximum funding for circuits with 10-19 clubs.

– $25,000 maximum for circuits with 1-9 clubs.

– Preference will be given to tournaments at 12-goal level and below.

– Events above the 12-goal level will be subject to excess funds as available.

– For USPA national and circuit events, the club must provide proof of a minimum of four teams in bracket format.

– For USPA sanctioned events, the club must provide proof of a minimum of six teams in bracket format.

– For single elimination, all tournaments must provide proof of a minimum of eight teams.

– Maximum of $25,000 available per club.

• $12,500 maximum for tournaments with less than six teams.

• $25,000 maximum for tournaments with six or more teams.

– Once application is approved, club will establish an escrow account to use for prize money only. When the USPA has confirmation of the club’s funds deposited into the account, it will transfer the matching funds to be paid out as outlined in the application.

– For the winter and spring club seasons, applications will be accepted immediately. The decision on funding will be made on or before Feb. 15. For summer clubs, applications are due Mar. 15. The decision on funding will be made on or before April 15. For fall clubs, applications are due on July 15.

The decision on funding will be made on or before Aug. 15.

– The USPA will adhere to the set boardapproved budget for the awarding and funding in any given year.

• The USPA will not award more than is budgeted and will not allow roll forwards unless weather is the only factor that may delay a tournament.

U S PA B U L L E T I N

Guidelines for 2019 USPA tournament prize money matching program: • Club should submit an outline for use of funds to carlucho@uspolo.org to be approved by the below committee.

• Arena leagues that create participation from members across clubs/circuits are encouraged to apply for discretionary funds.

Prize Money Committee: • Tournament Committee Chairman Michael Carney • Tournament Committee members Daniel Walker and Stewart Armstrong • Executive Director of Services Carlucho Arellano • Tournament manager: TBD (interim, Lindsey Ebersbach) • Chief Executive Officer Bob Puetz will have final approval of all awards.

New U.S. Polo Assn. Store The new USPA Clubhouse opened Jan. 26, at International Polo Club Palm Beach in Wellington, Florida. This new “consumer and sports experience” store offers merchandise from the USPA’s official licensed brands, U.S. Polo Assn. and Gauntlet of Polo. The store provides a unique experience for the apparel brand to showcase designs that are inspired by the sport of polo and brings a fun interactive experience for consumers, fans, players and members of all ages. The shop will be open every Sunday from 12 p.m. to 7 p.m. ET and select Fridays and Saturdays.

The official event calendar will include interactive experiences such as a selfie station, face and mallet painting, artistic creations, book signings, tutorials on the sport and many more surprises. Whether you want to do some shopping, cool off, watch live polo on the television, grab a water or relax on the store patio, you’ll enjoy the fun and youthful atmosphere of the USPA Clubhouse.

Women’s Polo Championship After eight successful years at the Houston Polo Club in Houston, Texas, the U.S. Open Women’s Polo Championship will be held this month in conjunction with the high-goal season in Florida. Preliminary games will be held at Port Mayaca Polo Club in Okeechobee, Florida, and the final will be held on Saturday, March 23, at International Polo Club Palm Beach in Wellington, Florida.

NYTS Season Opens The USPA is proud to report that the 2018 USPA National Youth Tournament Series season was a suc-

cess. The Central Region (Cipi Echezarreta, Grayson Price, Vaughn Miller Jr., Will Walton), coached by Mason Wroe, won the Cecil Smith Cup for the first time in the history of the tournament last year and the inaugural Girls All-Star Challenge was won by Black (Olivia Uechtritz, Cory Williams, Jenna Tarshis, Lila Bennett), coached by Jim Wright. The 24 players who advanced to the NYTS Championships competed at more than half of the NYTS qualifiers held.

New and exciting changes are in store for 2019!

There a few minor adjustments in rules that will hopefully make qualifiers easier for host clubs and promote safety for players. The USPA will now accept a four-team tournament round-robin format and over girths will be mandatory. For further details and to

see all changes for 2019, please reference the official tournament conditions under the ‘Programs’ page found under the ‘Association’ tab on uspolo.org.

If your club is interested in hosting a NYTS qualifier, please fill out and email the 2019 circuit application found in the tournament conditions packet to either Amanda Snow, asnow@uspolo.org or Hayley Heatley, hheatley@uspolo.org to reserve your tournament date. Tournaments will be awarded on a firstcome, first-served basis and the USPA will continue to work hard to make sure that tournaments do not overlap within the same circuit.

• 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: Stewart 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

U S PA B U L L E T I N

UNITED STATES POLO ASSOCIATION

gram designed to enhance the level of polo that is regularly available to individuals and encourage a thoughtful and creative plan toward helping players improve their playing and/or horsemanship abilities. Youth players born between 1/1/2000 and 1/1/2005 are eligible to apply. Eligibility details and application information are available on uspolo.org.

Intercollegiate/Interscholastic

Texas A&M’s mens’ and womens’ teams took home national titles in 2018. The National Collegiate Championships will be held this year at the Virginia Polo Center in Charlottesville, Virginia, April 1-7.

National Youth Tournament Series Among the mountains and palm trees, four teams of advanced youth players participated in the first National Youth Tournament Series qualifier of the 2019 season at Eldorado Polo Club in Indio, California. Antelope defeated both Bush League (3-2) and Seattle Polo (5-4) by a narrow one-goal margin.

Bayne Bossom, Riley Jordan, Grant Palmer, Ryan Kerley, Hope Kerley, Athena Malin and Ian Schnoebelen were named All-Stars. December, played by Bayne Bossom, was awarded Best Playing Pony.

Team USPA Applications for the 2019 Team USPA program will be accepted until March 31. Players applying to the Team USPA program must demonstrate their commitment to polo and have clear and specific goals related to their career. Selection criteria will include playing ability, horsemanship, improvement potential, attitude and work ethic. Eligibility details and application information are available on the USPA website: uspolo.org.

Young Player Opportunity Grant The USPA’s YPO grant is a reimbursement pro8 POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N

If you are based in the Virginia or Texas area make sure you come out and watch some exciting arena polo at the I/I national championships!

First up, the open and girls’ regional winners will fight for their respective division national title at the ERG Arena in Brookshire, Texas, Mar. 20-24.

The collegiate teams will then go head-to-head at Virginia Polo Center in Charlottesville, Virginia, on April 1-7 for the right to call themselves the National Intercollegiate Champions.

If you are interested in attending, schedules and game times will be posted on the I/I section of uspolo.org. Games will also be livestreamed on uspolo.org.

Intercollegiate Scholarships Are you a current intercollegiate or senior interscholastic player, planning on playing on an intercollegiate polo team? Six $4,000 scholarships are available through the USPA Intercollegiate Scholarship program. Requirements can be found on uspolo.org. Applications will be accepted from April 1 to May 31. Contact Emily Dewey at edewey@uspolo.org for more details.

Varsity Letter Did you compete in this year’s interscholastic regular and tournament season? If so, make sure you check out the Interscholastic Varsity Letter program on uspolo.org. Contact Ali Davidge at adavidge@uspolo.org for more details. Applications deadline is May 15.

U S PA B U L L E T I N

Tony Yahyai Border Circuit Governor ppropriately nicknamed What made you want to become a circuit governor?

“Speedy Yahyai” by his In 2016 Dan Coleman grooms (after the resigned as the Border cartoon mouse Speedy Circuit governor and Gonzales) for his blistering nominated me as a pace both in life and on the candidate to replace him, field, USPA Border Circuit which was approved by the Governor Tony Yahyai chairman. This year, when transitioned completely from we had the election, the vote one end of the polo was almost unanimous and I spectrum to the other, was reelected. adopting the game later in When I started the sport life with lightning speed and of polo 16 years ago, I energetic intensity. thought the game was so Originally from Iran, wonderful that I made it a Yahyai has called San Diego, point to spend the rest of my California, home for the past life trying to promote it in 32 years, working as a the United States and other commercial insurance countries. Now that I’m broker while managing real semi-retired from my career, estate properties across the Tony Yahyai I’m putting my time and own country and internationally. money into traveling to spread polo and get anyone A master of efficiency, Yahyai expertly balances the else who is interested set up with their local club. I many tasks competing for his attention by even invite people to come to my own home in San maintaining a strict schedule between the hours of 5 Diego where I have a half-size arena, seven horses a.m. and often as late as 10 p.m. Motivated by pure and my groom who has been with me since day one. passion for the game, Yahyai is encouraging his wife Becoming a circuit governor was the one and their two sons to take up the sport, as well as ingredient in the recipe, which was needed for me to anyone else who shares his genuine fascination and boundless enthusiasm.

Humorous and animated yet intentional with his time, it is Yahyai’s tireless persistence that has rendered him successful, from sales to martial arts. A true international advocate, he is heavily invested in growing his circuit through the development of affiliate member clubs south of the border, branching into Mexico as founder and club president of his own Club Polo Cabo in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.

From purchasing his first horse to his current string of 32, Yahyai has continued to surround himself with quality support, constantly learning and growing throughout his 16-year journey. Catching up with Yahyai, he recounted the amusing story of his unlikely introduction to polo and his focused efforts to restore the Border Circuit, proving that a determined attitude is never to be underestimated and limitations are only self-imposed.

A

POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N 9

MARIANO LEMUS

USPA Governor-atLarge Scott Walker and Tony Yahyai

U S PA B U L L E T I N

become more effective and proactive at promoting polo, especially in the Border Circuit (Arizona, New Mexico as well as numerous affiliate member clubs in Mexico, Central and South America). Because I own a club in Mexico, I know many of the clubs and players in both Mexico and Central America. For me, it made all the sense in the world to have this position because it enables me to be effective on both sides of the border.”

What is your equestrian background, and how did you become involved in polo?

Tony Yahyai and his wife Cristina

BENTLEY SCOTTSDALE POLO CHAMPIONSHIPS

Tony Yahyai presents trophies to Pacific Northwest Circuit Governor Sheryl Sick, Danielle Travis and Natalie Camacho after they won at the Bentley Scottsdale Polo Championships in Arizona.

Coming from Iran where polo was played over 2,500 years ago, I always read about the history of polo, but I was terrified of horses. I loved them, but I kept a comfortable distance. About 16 years ago, I was passing by San Diego Polo Club in Del Mar, California, which I lived three miles away from, and the announcer was saying they had a polo school.

My wife looked at me and said, “You’re in excellent shape, try it, they say they have a horse that is as comfortable as a sofa!”

Mark Register was my first instructor in the arena and he was the reason I didn’t quit right away. I felt safe on the horse, but the problem started when he gave me the mallet! I’m a severe lefty, but Mark told me I had to play the game with my right hand. I got

off the horse, dropped the mallet and headed to my car to leave when he shouted after me, “Where are you going?! Get back on the horse! We have a professional polo player who is left handed and plays with their right hand no problem.”

Two weeks after starting lessons I bought my first horse and two weeks after that I bought a second horse [and began] riding six days a week in the arena. Graham Bray was the club manager at the time and I heard he was an expert rider so I depended on him to teach me. He took me to the arena and took the stirrups off the saddle. After five minutes of me being all over the place in the saddle he put the stirrups back on and I felt like he gave me a set of legs. In just two weeks he taught me how to ride and nobody could believe the transformation. I went from night to day. Now, at almost 65, people see me on a horse and question if I’m really the same person!

I’m very persistent in life, once I decide I want to do something, I won’t stop until I accomplish it 100 percent and that’s what happened with polo.

How has your college education prepared you to be successful in this role?

I studied electrical engineering and double majored with computer science and mathematics. I started in San Jacinto College in Pasadena, Texas, but then I ended up at Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas. When I was in school everybody was trying to get me into the world of sales, which I hated, and then insurance, which I also hated. Two industries that I despised I ended up working in for my career. I did them both very well, which allowed me to make good sums of money to be able to afford to do other activities like polo. Now I love insurance and sales! I teach everybody to sell and that’s what I’m doing with these clubs, teaching them to be financially independent.

What would people be surprised to learn about you?

Before I started playing polo martial arts was always my favorite hobby. When my son was 7 or 8 years old he insisted that he wanted to learn martial arts, so I went to sign him up at the local taekwondo school. I told them that I liked the sport, but I was too old to do it. The next thing I know, I’m doing martial arts and taekwondo for the next seven years.

I quit when I was a candidate to get my seconddegree black belt. Right now, I have a gym at my home so every morning I get up to be in the gym at 5 a.m. I work out for an hour and a half five days a week doing martial arts and weights.

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

U S PA B U L L E T I N

What is the biggest goal you hope to accomplish for the Border Circuit?

First and foremost, I want everybody to continue to be unified, work together, play together and pool their resources. I’m trying to create a series of tournaments among the clubs and sell that idea to sponsors and brands. This will generate some money that can be split between the clubs to help pay some of their expenses, so they don’t have to rely on the USPA and the Polo Development Initiative program for money.

I’m all about self-sufficiency and independence, so clubs have to be able to take care of themselves financially, and I want to help them be able to do that. I am currently in the process of helping clubs in Mexico and Central America to become affiliate member clubs, and by early 2019 I will have about 16 clubs between the two sides of the border that I’m going to be overseeing.

I also want to get the Border Circuit operating on a high-performance level and to make it a polo destination in the United States. I don’t like to be known as good, I like to be better or best, so I’m always aiming for 100 percent with whatever my objective is and I work very hard to achieve it. I want to show with action how great the Border Circuit is and is going to be!

If you would like to get in contact with Tony

about your club, he can be reached at tyahyai@clubpolocabo.com.

(Yahyai’s affiliation with Club Polo Cabo and Azteca Polo Club within the Border Circuit qualify his eligibility to serve as a circuit governor, even though his residence is outside of circuit boundaries.)

•

Yahyai is founder and club president of Club Polo Cabo in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.

Yahyai is helping clubs in Mexico and Central America become affiliate member clubs.

He expects to have about 16 clubs between the two sides of the border that he will oversee.

POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N 11

INSTRUCTOR’S FORUM

Off the wall Good communication and player rotation helps in the arena

by Tommy Biddle

Some of the most fun polo I’ve ever played has been in the arena. It is a shame that arena polo is sometimes looked at as truck-driver polo. When you get a good group of people that know how to play in the arena, it’s amazing.

An arena is a great place to get people started in polo because the ball is bigger and you have the safety of the walls. It’s competitive but a new player is less likely to be intimidated by the speed and the expanse of an outdoor field. But, an arena can be fun for anyone. It can actually help your outdoor game and is a great training tool for working horses, getting them stopping, turning and lighter on the bit.

This fall in Houston, it was raining so much we ended up playing a lot of practice games in the arena.

My teammates are fun, super guys, but they are serious and want to play so we kept score in these practice games and we had 16-16 games going back and forth. One teammate, who is from Mexico, said it was the most fun he’s had playing polo. When we went back outside and played, he said [playing in the arena] had helped his riding and anticipation. He said now he’s going to build an arena in Mexico.

The more familiar you are with the arena and its rules, the more fun you’ll have. One of the biggest things with the arena is players often rotate positions.

There will be a lot of times when the No. 1 will be playing back and the Back is running through. This is the case in a throw-in if the ball passes through and makes it all the way through the throw-in.

In outdoor polo, the Back may hang out of the throw-in in case the ball comes through, but in the arena it is important that each player stay with their man initially in throw-ins. If the ball gets past the No. 1, I have him curl around and go back on defense. It is just like outdoor polo, if you win more than 50 percent of your throw-ins, you are going to win the majority of the games because you have control of the plays.

In general, if you win the throw-in, your teammates should head to the right wall for a pass.

The wall is your fourth player, it’s your friend. From there, the two-point rule encourages you to shoot to goal. When they brought the two-pointer to the 25yard line versus mid-field, it eliminated a lot of the slowdowns in the corner.

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

In the Townsend Cup, we had to give up a goal and then they scored first so we were down 2-0. Then boom, boom, boom, we got three two-pointers and all of a sudden we were up by four goals. That helped change game strategies quite a bit. It opens up the game and helps with the welfare of the horses. It is better for the horses, better for the players and better for the spectators.

When you hit the ball out of the arena, the opponent gets a free hit from where it was hit out, so that also helps speed up the game and helps keep the surface better longer since you aren’t having the players lining up in the same spot as much. To keep the ball from going over the wall, use more of a flatter swing. Outdoors you want a big arc in your swing, but indoors you don’t want to get underneath the ball. Instead, you want to hit through it so you can still get distance but you can direct the ball better. Using mallets with thicker, stiff canes also help to direct the ball better. They will also hold up better to the hooking you often see in the arena. I’ve always found opponents’ whippier mallets bounce off of mine when they try to hook me.

With penalties, if I am defending a Penalty 4 and I’m facing out of the goal, I always like to have my No. 1 on the right side because if I stop the ball or it bounces where I have the first play, my first instinct is to hit a long ball down the arena. If he’s on the right side, he gets the benefit of having the ball on his right side and the wall there to protect him. The No. 2 is on the left, five yards from the hitter. He is more of a defensive guy.

In some of the higher-goal polo, they made Penalty 4s one-hit. Before that, if you were the guy on the goal you were almost a dead duck because the hitter wouldn’t even try to make the penalty, instead he was hitting to the right. It was a whole different strategy of how you had to mark up with those guys coming into the corner. If the one-hit is not being used, the No. 3 is in the goal and the No. 2 has to be ready to mark the hitter and stay with him if he hits to the right.

With open goals, it is basically the same. Now, with the rule changes, you can have one defender 10 yards from the goal on open-goal penalties. If the hitter misses the goal, he has the first play on the

INSTRUCTOR’S FORUM

going at an angle and you have the room to make the neckshot so you can bounce the ball off the wall and go at a faster speed, changing defense to offense really quickly.

The size of the arena may be a factor in your strategy. Obviously, you are in tighter quarters than outdoors so it helps to know your horses and your teammates. Whenever possible, hit into an open area.

DAVID LOMINSKA/POLOGRAPHICS

ball. But if he hits it really hard and it bounces off the wall, you can jump on it and go or you can take a few seconds to set up the play and decide where you want to hit it. The majority of time you are going to try and hit it down the right side of the arena.

If your team is taking the penalties, one of your teammates will line up on each side of the hitter. The guy on the left side will be the main defensive person.

He has to be ready to go straight back with an opposing player. Plays can change really quick so he has to be really focused on defense and can’t be caught flat-footed. The player on the right of the hitter will also be on defense but he can be a little bit more aggressive. With one-hit penalties, if you miss the hit, you have to be ready to spin around and go on defense.

It is the same thing with continuous play after a goal is scored.

You don’t go to the middle for a throwin. Now, as soon as you score, the last person is now at back. If I’ve gone through and scored, I’ll turn around and come with the hitter while whomever was the last player will take over as Back. It takes good communication between the players, but the main idea is someone always has to be back.

In lower-goal polo it is even more important to consistently man up. Players in better polo can usually read the play quicker so they don’t have to be as tightly staying with an opponent. They can cheat the angles to cut off a player. If the ball happens to go left, they can cut it off that way but they have to have good communication between their teammates because if you switch and commit to another area, the other guy has to pick up your position so you don’t have a loose man between you.

The wall can be used to help redirect the ball. For instance, if you are running down the left side of the arena, let’s say at the 25-yard line, you might have a better chance hitting a neckshot into the wall, bouncing the ball out in front of the goal, making a direct line to the goal, rather than bringing the ball around into the corner on the inside.

It sometimes works on defense as well. You can direct the ball into the wall at an angle, playing off the bounce, rather than making a backshot. The key is knowing the arena. You can bounce a ball almost past midfield in an arena with cement walls, like they have at Empire Polo Club in California, while you may not get the distance you want off wooden arena walls. It can be a really good defensive play if you are

The worst thing you can do is hit the ball into horses, and with the bigger, lighter ball, it is more likely to happen. Hitting open backshots usually get you to an open area quicker, eliminating your chances of getting a bad bounce off a horse. You still have to be careful if you are being marked by an opponent. You want to avoid hitting a tailshot into an opponent that is by the goal. If the ball hits his horse, it might drop right in front of him, giving him an easy shot to goal.

Hit it to a spot where you can clear the goal.

Some times it is better to go forward with the ball rather than taking the chance of backing it, depending on where everyone is positioned. If I’m to the left of the goal and all five other players are to the left of me, I’m going to take the chance and go across the goal because I’ve got an opening.

Be aware of where your teammates are. If you have the ball but get hooked or miss it, you want a teammate to be the next player. Again, always rotate and have one player back. If the ball goes into the corner and everyone is milling around, I’ll hang back and play defense. Talk to one another so you know if you should go up or stay back and who is coming.

Playing in the arena will keep you on your toes.

Gladiator Polo is so fast it wears you out and you feel like you don’t have a chance to breath.

•

Sometimes the Back may run through and the No. 1 may take over as Back.

Players need to rotate positions.

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

USEFULS

Play-by-play Umpire App provides explanation of real fouls

Have you ever been to a polo game and think, boy the umpires really missed that play! Or the umpire blows the foul and you disagree with the call?

If you haven’t read the rule book recently and haven’t kept up with the annual rule changes, you just may be wrong.

Now, that doesn’t mean the umpires can’t make mistakes. Afterall, they are human. Think back to the N.F.C. championship game between the Los Angeles Rams and the New Orleans Saints earlier this year.

With the game tied late in the fourth quarter, a Rams cornerback hit the Saints wide receiver before he could attempt to catch a pass. Most thought pass interference should have been called, but it wasn’t.

Ten days later, N.F.L. Commissioner Roger Goodell admitted the referees made a mistake.

Unfortunately for the umpires, it is only the missed calls that are remembered far and wide. In the N.F.L. there are seven officials on a field during a game.

Polo uses two on-the-field officials for a field nine times the size of a football field. And those officials are riding horses that may or may not be so easy to ride.

Umpires, LLC. has been proactive in improving the umpires by consulting with officials from other professional sports, such as Bob Delaney, an NBA official for 25 years. Delaney helped teach better communication skills and enhanced the umpires’ weekly meetings by more effectively breaking down plays during video sessions. He also introduced technological advances used in other pro sports.

When umpires are on the field, they have a split second to make a decision on a particular play. Still, they often get it right.

Today, umpires regularly review called fouls and non-called fouls through an Umpire App after the games are over. With the help of drone footage, polo 14 POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N

umpires are now able to see plays from many different angles. This app is now available for all USPA members.

The International and USPA Rules libraries on the Polo Umpire App are comprehensive video libraries, allowing players and clubs of all abilities to enhance their understanding of the polo rules and procedures outlined in the USPA rule book. This educational tool provides real life, in-game examples for umpires and players to access the same benchmarks, bringing clarity to rules and procedures.

In association with the USPA Umpires, LLC., video content has been carefully selected using the best footage available from drone and sideline cameras to clearly represent each foul type. Every video selected contains the written rule, an in-depth description of the play and explanation of the resulting foul, non-foul call or procedure.

Furthermore, there are on-screen annotations to further illustrate the play, displaying line of the ball, right of way and correct/incorrect maneuvers.

The USPA Umpires, LLC. have utilized Dartfish technology on the Umpire App to enhance its game review and training as well as improve consistency across all levels of polo. With the integration of the International Rules and increased use of Dartfish technology, a 12.5 percent decrease was seen in the total number of fouls between years for the Florida high-goal season, creating a faster, safer game for all players.

Utilizing the video review via Dartfish technology for instant feedback and training promotes consistency across all umpires and tournaments to ensure players can perform at their best. Members are invited to receive access to this technology to further develop dialogue between players and umpires.

Video clips are from USPA tournament games in Florida, California, Houston and Connecticut. Clubs can request games they’ve filmed are uploaded and reviewed. If interested, simply send a request to: michael.foster@internationalpoloacademy.com.

For free access to the Umpire App, go to uspolo.org, click on ‘Sport’, then scroll down and click on ‘International and USPA Rules Libraries.’ •

Ten-goal Adolfo Cambiaso has been winning in the Texas Polo Luxe Edition Saddle for eight seasons everywhere he plays: Florida, England and Argentina

DALLAS •www.Texaspolo.com • 214 - 720 - 0233

SOUTHAMPTON IS MORE THAN GREAT POLO FISHING SURFING

BEACHES

SHOPPING

DINING NIGHTLIFE

PLUS ... 6 MONTHS OF FAST, FUN, COMPETITIVE POLO FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY 2 to 10 Goals www.southamptonpolo.com • shamptonpolo@yahoo.com • 516.848.1650

SOUTHAMPTON HUNT & POLO CLUB

E Q U I N E AT H L E T E

Biting down Cribbing can be challenging

By Heather Smith Thomas

neck flexion when the rider tries to collect the horse for athletic maneuvers. Some cribbers lose weight because they’d rather crib than eat. Many horses that crib keep cribbing even when turned out to pasture.

Most horsemen who own a cribber try various ways to halt this activity, covering stall surfaces with rounded metal edges that are harder to grab, or use cribbing straps or collars on the horse. The strap is fastened around the throatlatch and adjusted to just enough tightness to cause discomfort when the horse cribs—making it difficult for the horse to tense the muscles that retract the larynx. Some straps are fitted with a piece of metal or stiff leather under the throatlatch, so that when the horse arches his neck to crib, the strap tightens and the point of the metal or stiff leather jabs into him and discourages cribbing.

This is not a long-term solution; horses resume LAURA COTTERMAN/ALAMY STOCK PHOTO

Cribbing straps are used to help discourage cribbing behavior by causing discomfort when the horse cribs.

Cribbing is an annoying and worrisome “habit” that some horses seem to be addicted to, and many horse owners have been frustrated in trying to halt a cribber. Horses kept in confinement and subjected to the stress of performance careers seem to be the ones that most often resort to stereotypic, repetitive behaviors such as cribbing, weaving or stall walking.

Cribbers place their incisor teeth on any handy horizontal surface (fence, manger, stall divider, water trough), arch their neck to open the throat more fully, and draw air into the upper part of the esophagus with a grunting sound and a backward pull of the head.

Horses that have been cribbing for several years show abnormal wear on the upper incisors and develop thicker muscles under the neck. The enlarged neck muscles can interfere with proper

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

E Q U I N E AT H L E T E

cribbing whenever the straps or collars are removed, and may even exhibit more aggressive cribbing for a short period following removal (rebound effect). The cribbing strap may wear hair off the throatlatch, often to the point of creating sores if it is not frequently checked, adjusted and cleaned. Wearing a strap all the time can by risky if it catches on something.

Surgery to remove portions of the muscles on the underside of the neck that are used in cribbing is sometimes done as a last resort to keep a horse from retracting the larynx, along with neurectomy to remove a small portion of the nerve on both sides— the nerves that innervate the largest of these muscles. These “fixes” may be temporary, however, if muscles or nerves regenerate. With the difficulty in halting cribbing activity, equine behaviorists are looking at this “bad habit” in a different light.

Trying to halt a behavior the horse utilizes to relieve stress may be counterproductive.

Carissa Wickens, PhD, PAS, Assistant Professor, Extension Equine Specialist, Department of Animal Sciences, University of Florida has participated in several studies with cribbing horses.

“With stereotypies in general, and cribbing in particular, no matter what people have tried, this is a difficult behavior to effectively stop,” says Wickens.

If a horse has been cribbing for several years, even when you change diet and management (more social contact, more forage in the diet, etc.) the behavior doesn’t completely stop, although the management changes may help reduce the incidence and intensity.

“For horse owners who want to stop this behavior, it requires physical prevention. This may entail use of a cribbing collar or something more invasive and expensive like surgery, but these tactics may not be completely successful and fail to address the underlying causes of the behavior,” she says.

Some horses, even after surgery, are still able to perform at least a partial aspect of cribbing behavior.

“From a welfare standpoint, most of my colleagues and I do not recommend surgery except as a last resort. Even when you implement physical prevention strategies, we recommend management changes. It is extremely important to address the underlying reasons that the horse is cribbing in the first place,” says Wickens.

There is some evidence that cribbing serves as a coping behavior to relieve stress, anxiety or pain. “If it is linked to gastrointestinal irritation or stress, these underlying issues need to be addressed. Trying to let horses be horses, with more turnout time and more social contact may help relieve some of the environmental stress. Keeping forage in front of

them for more of the day can be part of the management change,” she says.

“Even if you have to put a cribbing collar on for part of the day (such as at mealtime so the horse can focus on eating and not cribbing), you may want to also improve the horse’s welfare and overall mental state through various types of enrichment, particularly if the horse is spending time in a stall.

Even if you are physically preventing the cribbing it might be good to give the horse something else to do orally--like playing with a jolly ball or one of the lickit type toys. This might help, especially for the horses that have to be in stalls,” she explains.

“For these horses the best thing you can do is give them a companion, let them have ample forage throughout the day, and try to provide turnout. This helps reduce cribbing behavior but doesn’t always stop it,” she says.

Risk factors, prevention, management There may be a genetic predisposition to cribbing.

Some family lines of horses seem more prone to cribbing if they are in a stressful or unnatural environment. It might seem like foals learn the habit by mimicking their mothers, but in some situations it might be more of a genetic link than learned behavior.

“A few years ago, a young Quarter Horse in the University teaching herd started cribbing as a weanling. It had been many years since our program had a horse that exhibited cribbing behavior. We know that weaning is a time of stress for young horses, even if they don’t appear visually stressed.

They are stressed by separation from mom, and they are fed more grain. The thing that was interesting about this particular gelding is that his sire was a new stallion (new bloodline for us) that we had not bred any mares to before, and the foal’s dam is not a cribber (so the foal had no one to mimic). We can’t completely rule out a genetic component. We think there are some horses that through their lineage are more prone to cribbing just because of the way they handle stress or changes in diet. They may react differently than the horse that does not become a cribber,” says Wickens.

There may be a genetic factor along with environmental stress; genetics may play a role. “That young gelding is currently progressing well with training and is otherwise healthy. In my experience, this is the youngest horse I’ve ever seen start cribbing. He was not managed any differently than the others; he was out at pasture with other (continued on page 58) POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N 17

POLO SCENE

N E W S • NO T E S • T R E N D S • Q U O T E S

ITS HEAD A DRAW Gauntlet of Polo Subhead series gets underway

T

Mark Bellissimo, Chip Campbell, David Cummings, Tony Coppola and Bob Puetz

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

HE UNITED STATES POLO ASSOCIATION kicked off its Gauntlet of Polo series with an exclusive players’ draw party on Feb. 7, at International Polo Club Palm Beach in Wellington, Florida. Players on each of the 16 teams competing in the inaugural Gauntlet of Polo series gathered for the official draw to determine playing order for the first tournament, the C.V. Whitney Cup, which began on Feb. 13.

The Gauntlet series is comprised of three 22-goal tournaments—the C.V. Whitney Cup, the Gold Cup and the U.S. Open Polo Championship. The first two tournaments each have a $125,000 prize for the winner; the Open offers a $250,000 prize to the winner; and if the same team wins all three events, there is an additional $500,000 prize, for a potential total of $1 million in prize money. The C.V. Whitney is played in a knock-out tournament, while the other two events are played in a bracket format.

The C.V. Whitney is the first step to winning the $1 million purse. Losing the first leg puts teams out of contention for the bonus prize so teams at the draw were excited about getting started. Each team was introduced before one of its players drew a number out of a bowl to determine who it would be matched up with in the first game. It was a lively event with the night capped off by a presentation from colorful stilt performers.

USPA CEO Bob Puetz, USPA Chairman Chip Campbell and IPC owner Mark Bellissimo spoke about the significance of the Gauntlet in advance of the draw. At press time, the C.V. Whitney was well on its way with Pilot (Curtis Pilot/Mia Bray, Facundo Pieres, Gonzalito Pieres, Matias Gonzalez), La Indiana (Facundo Obregon, Jeff Hall, Michael Bickford, Tomas Garcia del Rio), Cessna (Chip Campbell, Ezequiel Martinez Ferrarrio, Felipe Marquez, Felipe Viana) and Las Monjitas (Camilo Bautista, Francisco Elizalde, Hilario Ulloa, Matthew Coppola) heading to the semi-finals. The final was due to be played Feb. 24, the same day the USPA Gold Cup is set to begin. All 16 teams are playing in the three events.

All Gauntlet games are being livestreamed on the USPA Polo Network. Go to uspolo.org and click on the Gauntlet of Polo page to view games, player stats, tournaThe official tournament board after teams drew their positions in the event.

By press time, only four teams still had hopes of winning the full $1 million. ment histories and more.

POLO SCENE

WISHHEAD GRANTED Texas event partners Subhead with children’s charity

Nick Hill from MakeA-Wish throws in the ball to start the action at the Texas Arena League matches at Legend’s Horse Ranch in Kaufman, Texas.

T

MURRELLPHOTO.COM

HE TRIANGLE TEXAS ARENA AREA LEAGUE POLO CLUB partnered text this year with Make-A-Wish North text Texas and Make-A-Wish Central and South Texas. Wish kid Nick Hill came out and threw in the first ball to start the matches on January 26-27. For children battling critical illness, as well as their families, Make-A-Wish grants one-of-a-kind wish experiences that restore crucial hope and give kids reasons to keep fighting.

The league is played at three locations across Texas over about six weeks. Winners accumulate points throughout the course of the league towards end-of-season awards. Points are given on a win/tie/loss status, as well as for sportsmanship, MVP and Best Playing Pony. In addition to TAL points, many events also accrue points toward the National Arena Amateur Cup standings. The first event was held at Legend’s Horse Ranch in Kaufman at the end of January (see results page 56). The second event was scheduled for Two Wishes Ranch in Lockhart, Feb. 1617. Legend’s Horse Ranch has an event on Mar. 2-3, while the last event is scheduled for Midland Polo Club in Midland, Mar. 16-17.

Nutrena is the Best Playing Pony awards sponsor; Catena is the Sportsmanship Award sponsor; U.S. Polo Assn. is the MVP award sponsor; Jackrabbit Tack is the High Point Award sponsor and Galvin Agency is the Fan Favorite Award sponsor. You can follow the league on Facebook, Twitter and Instragram or visit texasarenaleague.com to check point standings and more.

PINK AND BLUE Several polo families have recently expanded

TEN-GOAL FACUNDO PIERES and wife Agustina Wernicke welcomed their first child, a girl named Renata on Oct. 14. On Dec. 17, 6-goal Kris Kampsen and wife Ali welcomed their second son, Hayes Edward, who joins 2-year-old brother Rowan.

USPA Director Intercollegiate/Interscholastic Polo Amy Fraser and her polo-playing husband Craig Fraser welcomed their first child, daughter Hazel Jane, on Jan. 25; and Polo Network announcer Toby Wayman and wife Brittany are the proud parents of their secHazel Jane Fraser is daughter to Amy and Craig Fraser.

She was born Jan. 25 and was 5 lbs., 12 oz. ond son, Dallas Knox, born on Feb. 5.

Toby Wayman with son Dallas Knox Wayman.

Dallas, born Feb. 5, is little brother to Jackson.

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

POLO SCENE

GOT HEAD THE SHOT Diana De Rosa’s Polo Power, a photo she captured at International Polo Club Palm Beach in Wellington, Florida.

Front row: Alejandro Novillo Astrada, Nacho Figueras, Nic Roldan, Diego Cavanagh, David Paradice, Juan Martin Nero, Adolfo Cambiaso and Jeronimo del Carril wait to see who they draw to play with in the All Star Challenge.

Photographer honored Subhead for capturing polo action

P

ROFESSIONAL EQUINE photographer Diana de Rosa from Long Island, New York, was presented with the 13th Annual Black and White Spider Awards Nominee title in the sport category at the prestigious Nomination & Winners Photo Show streamed Nov. 10.

The live online gala was attended by over 17,000 photography fans around the globe who logged on to watch the climax of the industry’s most important event for black and white photography. The 13th Annual Jury members included captains of the industry from Penguin Random House, London; Contrasto Galleria, Milan; Young & Rubicam, Lima; Harper’s Bazaar, UK; Victoria Film Festival, Canada; Aeroplastics Contemporary, Brussels; Silvan Faessler Fine Art, Zurich; Time Inc., London; Galerie Hubert Winter, Vienna; Conny Dietzschold Galleries, Cologne; and Fratelli Alinari Photography Museum in Florence who honored Spider Fellows with 692 coveted title awards and 952 nominees in 32 categories.

“It’s an incredible achievement to be selected among the best from the 6,404 entries we received this year,” said Basil O’Brien, the awards Creative Director. “Diana De Rosa’s Polo Power, an exceptional image entered in the sport category, represents black and white photography at its finest, and we’re pleased to present her with the title of Nominee.”

De Rosa is a veteran equestrian journalist, who has traveled the world and has recorded equestrian history for over 35 years. A language major in college, De Rosa went on to run a riding school, then was editor of an equine magazine for 13 years and eventually focused on her writing and photography. She has over 1000 published stories and photos to her credit.

ALL STARS Team owners draw to determine teammates for new league

T

HE WORLD POLO LEAGUE launched its 26-goal season with a draw for the first of four high-goal tournaments at the Valiente Polo Farm in Wellington, Florida, on Feb. 5. The draw was for the All Star Challenge Draw Tournament, which included eight teams. In a first-of-its-kind format, team owners drew out of a hat for a highgoal player to anchor their team. The unique format allowed team owners a chance to play with a player they otherwise would not have played with.

Co-founded by Grand Champions’ Melissa and Marc Ganzi and Valiente’s Bob Jornayvaz, the World Polo League is the only 26goal league in the U.S. Aside from the All Star Challenge Draw (see results page 53), the league will feature the Founders Cup, the Palm Beach Open and the Triple Crown of Polo. Games will be played at Grand Champions and Valiente.

A U.S. National Mixed Doubles Championship, featuring two men and two women, will be held in March as part of the WPL season.

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

POLO SCENE

DANNY’S TACK SHOP

695.

$

00

Also available in Havana Leather

NANO’S POLO MALLETS

American Express, Mastercard & Visa accepted

Marcos Heguy Saddle

She is the past president of the American Horse Publications and is on the Executive Board of the Press Club of Long Island.

A long-time member of The International Alliance of Equestrian Journalists, De Rosa has been one of the few journalists to be credentialed to cover the past eight Olympic Games (including being on assignment for USA Today for the 1992 Olympics). She has also covered or been on staff at every World Equestrian Games, numerous Pan American Games and World Cups.

Besides being a writer and photographer, De Rosa also does PR. Some past and present clients include the Hampton Classic, National and Washington International Horse Shows, USA Equestrian Trust, Healthy Horse Boutique, Running Wild, DreamWorks, the American Hunter-Jumper Foundation and 20th Century Fox. De Rosa is co-organizer of the EQUUS Film Festival, which takes place annually in New York City, with tour stops around the U.S., including the 2017 World Cup in Omaha, Nebraska and the 2018 World Equestrian Games in Tryon, North Carolina. She also spent part of the 2017 winter taking photos at the International Polo Club in Wellington, Florida, which is where she captured this polo power moment.

•

Olathe Boots—$279 Chukker Bridle complete w/bit Gag—$399 Pelham—$359

This suede saddle has a steel-reinforced tree which is lined with latex rubber panels to assure comfort and an excellent fit for both player and horse.

Danny’s Tack Shop also offers a complete line of products for all your polo needs.

70 Clinton Street • Tully, New York 13159 Phone/Fax 315-696-8036 • E-mail: dannypolo@aol.com

IS YOUR RIG CHUKKERED OUT? See Tony Coppola for: • Four Star Aluminum Trailers • Hannover Steel Trailers • New and Used Trucks/Trailers Available at All Times Call Tony:

(561) 793-6422 or 793-2012

CUSTOM MADE MALLETS Professional and Prompt Mallet Repair Service Tipa Wood Heads Wide Selection of Canes We supply cane, grip heads for repair We have light mallets for women

NEW MALLETS IN STOCK OPEN YEAR-AROUND We honor Visa/Mastercard/AMX 3500 Fairlane Farms Road Suite # Wellington, FL 33414 www.polomallets.com info@polomallets.com

(800) 903-NANO (6266) Tel: (561) 793-4911 Fax: (561) 793-4714 POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N 21

P O L O D E V E L O P M E N T, L L C .

Opportunity knocks YPO Grant available to players 14 to 19

By Hayley Heatley

In April 2018, the USPA Junior Polo Committee created a special program called the Young Player Opportunity Grant in order to assist players, ages 1419, seeking a unique opportunity to improve in the sport of polo. Youth players that apply are encouraged to get creative and seek opportunities not readily available to them. Creating a detailed plan with a workable end-goal demonstrates forethought and guides players to develop presentation skills.

Jack Whitman

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

In 2018, the YPO Sub-Committee received a wide variety of requests ranging from clinics and mentorships to overseas tournaments. The YPO Grant program provides support for opportunities that will cultivate, train, develop and educate youth players.

Fast-track to polo success Jack Whitman, age 14, fast-tracked his polo development by applying for a grant to train in Aiken, South Carolina, to become fully immersed in polo. Whitman was encouraged to try polo by his mother, a hunter jumper rider, and was bit by the “polo bug” after his second introduction to the sport about two years ago.

“I began in the arena and after playing the outdoor season, a friend of mine suggested that I go down to Florida to watch the high goal. It was awesome seeing the level of polo and I was really excited to keep playing and improving,” said Whitman. “While I was in Wellington, I balanced homeschooling, something that is very important to me and my family, with my passion for polo. I would get up early to go to the barn to take out sets, brush and ride as many horses as I could. I watched every high-goal game I could and even got the chance to sit in the team tent at a couple of the games.

These players were definitely my idols. One of my favorite players became Jared Zenni (6) who is a Team USPA member. I got to play with him in the PTF and Team USPA coaching chukkers along with Felipe Viana (6) and Costi Caset (5), who I watched play all winter in the high goal as well. When Kylie Sheehan asked me to groom for her at the Daily Racing Form’s pre-U.S. Open final practice, I got to wish the whole team good luck the day before they made the biggest upset in U.S. polo history. This is something I will never forget. I got to go over to Jared after the final and congratulate him on winning and take a picture with him. I thought that maybe if I work hard enough I can be in his shoes one day. I know that he started playing polo in youth

P O L O D E V E L O P M E N T, L L C .

tournaments just like me. When I asked him for advice he told me to try to push myself to take advantage of as many polo opportunities as possible.”

After spending time in Wellington, Whitman and his father embarked on their tour of NYTS qualifiers, carefully scheduling work trips to coincide with tournaments. He played in eight qualifiers in 2018 including, International Polo Club, Aiken, Louisville, South Bay, Bluewater Creek, Maryland, Nashville and Atlanta.

Whitman applied for a YPO Grant to mentor with professional polo horse trainers Kylie Sheehan and Gabriel Crespo in Aiken, South Carolina, during the fall season. His proposal was to help him work towards his short-term goal of qualifying for an NYTS Championship and long-term goals of making Team USPA, winning an intercollegiate championship and eventually representing the United States in the FIP. His experience proved to be a success, attributing his quick progression in skill to playing and practicing on a regular basis with legendary American players Adam Snow, Owen Rinehart and Tiger Kneece.

His attention to developing his skills as a rider are impressive for a 14-year-old. “[Sheehan] taught me a whole new level of riding and horsemanship. She helped me understand the balance of the horse, the mechanics of the canter and halt-canter transitions so I could ask for lead changes effectively and get better acceleration and turns out of a horse when I’m playing. I learned to sit up more to get the horse on her hind end and how to not just ride a horse well but to make it better,” Whitman explained.

A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity Grace Mudra, age 16, of Bellville, Texas, has been playing polo as long as she can remember and has been riding since before she could walk. She recently jumped on an opportunity to travel to Buenos Aires, Argentina to compete in the 2018 Youth Olympic Games as one of five international female participants in the polo showcase. Though Mudra and her family have been involved in polo for many years, she pointed out that trying to grow and find the right opportunities to play has been a challenge.

She feels it is important to see other female players jump in and compete as participation and interest in women’s polo is expanding across the globe. She said, “I love that girls around the world are getting more involved in polo and it is finally becoming a part of the sport people are interested in.”

The showcase game demonstrated the international reach of polo as junior competitors

from Colombia, the United States, Italy, United Arab Emirates, England, Scotland, Australia, Argentina and Chile mounted up for the match at the Campo Argentino de Polo, organized by the Federation of International Polo. In additional to time spent in the saddle, Adolfo Cambiaso and Facundo Pieres opened up their farms for the group of young players to get a glimpse of the inner workings of a high-goal operation and breeding program. Other events included practices, a tour of the Olympic village and several lectures with the YOG participants.

Grace Mudra, Winston Painter, Grayson Price and Grant Palmer at the Youth Olympic Games in Argentina.

“The YOG gave me a different perspective on my everyday polo. To see how players from other countries around the world play and put everything they have into the sport is inspiring,” said Mudra.

Mudra also had the opportunity to play with local Argentine girls, including Juana Criado, daughter of former 9-goaler Lucas Criado. Being in Argentina highlighted the sheer size and popularity of the sport for Mudra. “Being in Argentina was one of the best weeks of my life, hands down! Seeing the level of polo and all of the 10-goal professionals and their amazing horses was incredible. There are so many opportunities to grow your polo here,” she said. • POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N 23

I N T E R C O L L E G I AT E / I N T E R S C H O L A S T I C

Higher Education USA defends International Intercollegiate Challenge Cup title

By Emily Dewey • Photos by David Lominska/Polographics

Demitra Hajimihalis was named MVP after scoring the last three goals for USA to ensure the win.

Eight collegiate athletes traveled to Wellington, Florida, over the weekend of January 26 to compete in the seventh year of the exchange program between the USPA’s Intercollegiate/Interscholastic program and SUPA (Schools and Universities Polo Association) of Britain. It was all part of the International Arena Showcase, featuring a military match and the Townsend Cup. Representing the United States were Fiona McBride-Lumen (California Polytechnic State University), Demitra Hajimihalis (University of Virginia), Liam Lott (Skidmore College) and Christian Aycinena (Texas A&M University). Robyn Evans (Hartpury University), James Glew (Northampton University), Michal Zurawski (University of Nottingham) and Jamie Grayson (Oxford Brookes) crossed the pond for SUPA Britain.

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

The teams met over lunch on Thursday before heading to International Polo Club Palm Beach to practice in its new arena. After three chukkers to get to know the horses provided by Dardo Iglesias, the students opened their practice to allow for two members of the United Kingdom’s military team to practice with them and stretch their legs.

Friday’s schedule was wide open for the players to explore the area, and the collegiate participants took full advantage of the time. With the British team in tow, the I/I team headed to the beach to let their British counterparts enjoy Palm Beach to the fullest.

Later that day, all teams competing in the International Arena Showcase were introduced and mingled at a welcome dinner at IPC’s Mallet Grille.

Game day dawned with pouring rain that eventually receded to cloudy skies before the

I N T E R C O L L E G I AT E / I N T E R S C H O L A S T I C

opening game of the day, the Churchill-Roosevelt Cup, featuring members of the American and United Kingdom’s military. The rain picked up again, just in time for the intercollegiate players to enter the arena. Unphased by the light drizzle, SUPA Britain made a powerful entrance in the first chukker with four unanswered goals off the mallet of Glew.

Although slow to start, USA began to find its footing and continually gained strength with every chukker. Striking first for the USA with an early neckshot to open the second, Lott was met by an onslaught of three consecutive goals fired by powerhouse Grayson. Aycinena, who sat out the first chukker, secured a second goal for his team before the horn sounded, ending the first half with SUPA Britain holding a 7-2 lead.

Returning to the arena after halftime, reenergized and focused, USA played with renewed confidence to dominate the third chukker, winning the majority of the bowl-ins. Within the first 30 seconds of play, Grayson put one between the posts, but Lott retaliated with two of his own as both sides traded goals throughout the chukker.

“I think we were a lot better on defense towards the end of the game and we spread out and started shooting more often,” Lott said. “During halftime, Steve Krueger gave me a rubber kitchen glove and all of a sudden I could hold the reins without them slipping out of my hand in the rain, so that was my turning point!”

Aycinena, a member of Texas A&M’s 2018 USPA National Intercollegiate Championship men’s team, exploded offensively with four goals to his credit, including the first two-pointer of the game. Scoring six goals to SUPA Britain’s three in the third alone, USA quickly made up for lost time, significantly closing the gap to trail by two, 10-8, with one chukker remaining.

On a roll and determined to hang onto the trophy for his country, Lott took advantage of the throw-in and started a series of incredible plays for USA. Tying up the scoreboard 10-all, Aycinena was followed by a beautiful play by teammate Hajimihalis, who took out the man to score her first two-pointer. Sinking yet another goal immediately after, Hajimihalis’ final goal proved enough to cement the 13-11 victory, extending USA’s lead in the series to 5-2.

Responsible for three critical USA goals in the final minutes of play, Hajimihalis was named Most Valuable Player. “At halftime, Christian said, ‘let’s just take a breath,’ and that really sunk in with me,” Hajimihalis said. “I’ve always been more on the

defensive side so I’m slowly starting to be more offensive. Learning all the aspects of the game is just crucial.” Best Playing Pony honors were awarded to Dardo Iglesias’ Cuate, ridden by Lott.

Her first experience representing the U.S. in international competition, Hajimihalis was grateful for the unique opportunities the I/I program has afforded. “All of the players on both teams have a lot of pride for their country. This opportunity has been incredible, the networking we’ve done, the friendships we’ve made and the global aspect of it is a true honor and I’m very proud to be a part of the USPA’s Intercollegiate/Interscholastic program. I owe it to all to my mentors at Garrison Forest School [Owings Mills, Maryland] and Virginia Polo [Charlottesville, Virginia].”

•

USA’s Christian Aycinena, Demitra Hajimihalis, Liam Lott and Fiona McBride-Lumen

USA’s Liam Lott and England’s James Glew battle for possession.

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

Polo magic Strangers united through horses and sport

MANIPUR PHOTOGRAPHY CLUB

By Cindy Halle

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

In late January, a select team of women polo Teams were given their jerseys—sponsored by players from the U.S. represented the USPA and U.S. Polo Assn.—at a press conference attended by the country at two events in India: The 4th four or five TV stations. There was press coverage Manipur Statehood Day Women’s Polo and photos of every match in several local papers, Tournament played in Imphal, Jan. 17-21, and the Before the tournament began, all of the teams Las Polistas International Women’s Polo Cup, took a morning drive to visit the shrine of played in Mumbai on Jan. 25. The U.S. team Marjing, the Polo God of Manipur, whose winged consisted of Megan Carter Judge, Stephanie (nee mount is the mythic ancestor of the Manipuri Massey) Colburn, Carolyn Stimmel, Anna (nee pony, where we left offerings and prayed for a safe Winslow) Palacios and myself. game for players and ponies.

Teams from the USA, Canada, Argentina and All of the teams gathered one night for a Kenya arrived to Manipur after long and tiring screening of the award-winning documentary trips and were all greeted at the airport with “Daughters of the Polo God” by Roopa Barua, banners, welcome committees and gift bags. which chronicles the struggles and successes of In trying to describe and summarize the trip to the local women players and how their success is Manipur I am overwhelmed with linked to the saving of the local a kaleidoscope of colors, sights, pony breed. The film is on tour sounds, tastes and experiences. in the USA at numerous Equus From the moment we arrived at Film Festivals, and has many the airport, the generosity and USPA players in it. warmth of the people of “The film brought clarity to Manipur permeated the week we the dire situation [of] the spent there.

Manipuri pony and the Manipur is an area of India challenges the local polo clubs not as well known to tourists. It face. We quickly learned we were is nestled just west of Myanmar involved in a sensitive movement and east of Bangladesh and is a not just a ladies’ tournament,” The teams were treated to a mainly agrarian state with a noted Stimmel. screening of a polo documentary. busting capital city of Imphal.

During the week of Players were treated like celebrities with local competition teams enjoyed a huge party with a people in the market wanting photos with us. band that played pop classics as well as local Each team was provided with a local music (they did great covers of Eagles and Kee$ha guide/interpreter from Manipur University. Over tunes!) and also took in some local historic sights the week we were there, the U.S. team’s guide, Ria as well as a day trip, lunch and boat ride at Tao, became a friend and cheerleader as she Loktak Lake, the largest freshwater lake in showed us around town, hustled us around to all Northeast India known for its ‘floating islands’ of the events and made sure we were on time. formed by vegetation.

The local women’s market is enormous, selling Players also attended a roundtable discussion, everything from dresses and scarves to kitchen Conservation of the Manipuri Pony, organized by tools, fish, fruits and vegetables and trinkets. the Centre for Manipur Studies of Manipur There we shopped a bit and were introduced to University. Led by faculty members of the Ria’s mother who posed for a photo with us. university, the discussion was attended by

Manipuri tournament supports Manipur ponies and the area’s women players

Stephanie Colburn gets in the swing of things on the small Manipuri ponies.

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

NABARUN PAUL

The U.S. team participated in an arena match at a racetrack on full-size horses. Long enough mallets were in short supply.

CINDY HALLE

The tournament is played to bring awareness to Manipur ponies and women’s polo in India.

representatives of Huntre! Equine, the parent body of Polo Yatra as well as the Manipuri Pony Society, the Manipur Horse Riding and Polo Association, and team members from the American, Canadian, Kenyan and Argentinian contingents.

The ponies used for the tournament were tended to in the barns and at the field by a contingent of teenaged boys whose enthusiasm and pride in their jobs was palpable. Ponies were loaned by local players and clubs and each team switched mounts at halftime. All of the teams had a chance to stick and ball the day before the matches began to get used to their small but sturdy Manipur ponies.

Organizing all of this was a herculean task. With the number of ponies and people, and the fact that the ponies weren’t numbered or otherwise identified to the teams, was a bit tricky to monitor.

Judge reflected, “As a competitive person (and slightly controlling) I try to minimize the things that are out of my control when entering a competition. It was clear from the beginning that I couldn’t control what was happening on the sidelines and had to go in with a positive attitude and play the game with only

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

the expectation of hitting the ball, riding well and communicating with my team. Having never played with Carolyn, Anna or Stephanie before, or not knowing which Manipur pony I was getting on at any time, [I] just had to play polo!

“Similar to I/I, ponies were swapped after two chukkers. And like FIP, one set of rules, IPA, were deemed the tournament rules. They had all of us umpire with no hard copy of the IPA rules, so we went with what we knew. A foul is a foul, right?”

No matter which pony we got on or what rules we were trying to follow, we all appreciated the surefootedness, speed and toughness of these 13- to 14-hand ponies. With their tough unshod feet, local felt bridles with snaffles and sometimes pony mentalities, they were mostly a blast to play. The size made them less intimidating even when they were being naughty and some were surprisingly fast.

To give you a sense of their size, the mallets used were 45 to 47 inches in length! The field is smack dab in the middle of the bustle and noise of Imphal and more than once players stopped playing, confusing the honking and whistles of the traffic outside for an umpire’s whistle.

Opening ceremonies included a parade with all the teams mounted on their ponies, musicians, an army band and dignitaries.

The grandstands covered almost the entire length of the field on one side and the dignitaries were treated to seats of honor right in the middle. Locals filled the stands for every game and took sides rooting for one team or the other, while pedestrians peered through the fence at either end of the field to catch the action from the street.

This is the fourth year that a U.S. team has traveled to Manipur to play and the tournament has grown in teams and level of play each year. This year, the four international teams were joined by a local Manipur team (Laishram Thadoi Chanu, Khungdongbam Habe Devi, Khungdongbam Deventy, Oinam Victoria, RK Neelu, Thoudam Tanna Devi) and a team representing the Indian Polo Association (Monica Saxena, Mriganka Singh, Abigail Slater, Sanya Suhag) with players from the Delhi area. Canada (Hailey van de Burgt, Jenna Tarshis, Catie van Bakel, Jessica Wales, Selina Watt) was a first-time participant and it was fun to get to know some of our friends from up north so much better. Kenya (Rowena Stichbury, Phylippa Gulden, Cheza Millar, Georgina Millar, Hiromi Nzomo) won last year’s tournament and featured a solid team of veterans and young players.

Team USA gained its berth in the final by defeating Canada and IPA in Pool B play, while Argentina (Elina

COURTESY CINDY HALLE

the core value and purpose of the trip was to connect with other players; bring attention to the Manipur pony and help preserve the breed; bring appreciation to this area of India where modern polo started; and help the women polo players in India, especially in Manipur. On all of those counts we were very successful. Although the population in Manipur is relatively small to other areas of India, they have a robust group of lady players who have improved tremendously over the past few years.

Team USA, with help from players from Team Kenya, led a morning clinic for some of the Manipur players, including a chalk talk and one-on-one instruction. In the short time we had to work with the

Opening ceremonies included a parade with all the teams.

Players from USA and Kenya led a morning clinic for some of the Manipur players.

COURTESY CINDY HALLE

Braun, Mora Aldao, Delfina Donovan, Martina Garrahan, Victoria Mihanovich, Catalina Ayerza) bested Kenya and Manipur in Pool A games.

In the final, Argentina defeated USA in a nailbiting penalty shoot-out after the teams tied 6-6. The game went back and forth, goal for goal. Colburn went on the attack in the first half with the first two goals but Argentina countered each time. Ayerza scored three goals, Braun sunk two and Donovan had one. Palacios scored her fourth goal with only a few seconds on the clock to take the game into an overtime shootout. Stimmel was the only U.S. player to connect in the shootout.

The loss was disappointing for the U.S. team, but

POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N 29

MANIPUR PHOTOGRAPHY CLUB

Polo Yatra’s Ed Armstrong presents the Manipur team the Most Improved Team Award.

women, we focused on near-side forehands and back shots as well as how to angle back shots. We also touched on riding for polo, and how to stay balanced in the tack while still guiding your mount.

For Colburn, who had worked with the Manipur team in 2017, their improvement was exponential.

“In just two years, it is incredible to see how this tournament has grown and the level of improvement displayed by the local Manipur women’s team. Two years ago, the Manipur women’s team was beaten quite easily and took last place in the tournament, while this year they were fighting solidly for a place in the final.”

Indeed, Manipur only lost to eventual winner Argentina by two goals and tied last year’s winner, Kenya. Palacios, who had also worked with the local players in 2017, was equally as impressed.

“To me, the importance of the trip to Manipur was validated by the marked improvement in the game of the Manipuri women players. The Manipuri women proved their prowess in the semi-finals, tying Kenya in their second game. They demonstrated strong riding skills, as well as an improved understanding of the game and rules. I was once again amazed by their determination and drive to learn and grow their skill sets. The Manipuri team will surely be tough competition in the years to come.”

Manipur was recognized with the Polo Yatra Award for the Most Improved Team. Tanna Thoudam was chosen Best Manipuri Player and Thangong Arangba of X Polo Club and Kona Thoiba of KM&M Riding School jointly won Best Pony Award.

Stimmel enjoyed the opportunity to teach.

“Participating in the local polo clinic with my

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

teammates with the passion to teach combined with the local ladies’ enthusiasm filled me to the brim with polo satisfaction. To give knowledge and have it appreciated and executed was pure joy for me; to travel half way around the world and participate with other instructors was a highlight of my Imphal adventures. We encountered a language barrier, however with some charades, foot mallets, mounted players and interpreters, we gave to the local lady players drills, exercises and knowledge and awareness of the game.”

The Manipuri players were so appreciative of the time and effort we took and they became our biggest fans and fast friends. Polo connected all of us as well as our interest in the Manipur pony.

Colburn put it this way: “As I reflect on this tournament, it really is about a lot more than just winning and losing. This tournament is about bringing nations together, building friendships bonded through polo, and promoting women not just within the sport of polo; it also focuses on the conservation of a very special pony that needs the limelight of this tournament in order to hopefully preserve its lineage for future generations.”

It was an amazing experience to participate in this tournament and an honor to represent the U.S. I was humbled by the effort and energy the various organizations put in to making this tournament a reality. It is no small task to get teams from around the world to a small city in far eastern India, but we all bonded with our shared love of polo and horses.

Before the U.S. team left for Mumbai they visited the Manipur pony breeding farm just a few minutes from downtown Imphal.

COURTESY CINDY HALLE

For the second part of the trip, we had to say goodbye to Colburn and her husband, Ben, who was a gem of a cheerleader and friend to us all, as they needed to return to the states and get back to being veterinarians. The rest of us (Palacios, Judge, Stimmel and myself, along with our organizers Ed Armstrong and Somi Roy) then flew back to the West Coast of India.

In Mumbai our experience was miles apart both figuratively and literally from Manipur but equally as satisfying and important. We joined forces with Rinaa Shah and young player Ashley Parekh, to play the first-ever women’s polo game in Mumbai.

The Amateur Riders Club and Polo Club is at the Mahalakshmi Race Course, right in the middle of the city. With skyscrapers all around us, we met our new teammates and had a practice in the arena. For this game we split up: Megan and Cindy played with Rinaa on Team India and Anna and Carolyn played with Ashley as Team USA. The local press and photographers were again ubiquitous as the event had been well promoted and was a huge social and sporting event.

The next morning, we practiced while the racetrack workouts went on around us and locals used the track area to walk and exercise. Again, the local polo community took great care of us with dinner at the clubhouse after our first practice, a cocktail reception one night at the St. Regis Hotel (one of the sponsors), and an afternoon at the horseraces.

The exhibition game, Las Polistas International Women’s Polo Cup, was held in conjunction with the launch of a clothing line (Las Polistas) using the casual polo lifestyle as a theme. The clothing line is founded by Ashley’s sister, and the evening event featured celebrities, local politicians, cocktails and fashion models as well as a big after-party.

The biggest change for us players was that instead of being on small Manipur ponies, we were now on mostly Thoroughbred horses, fighting over the lone 54-inch mallet Palacios brought.

What I will remember vividly is the excitement of the grooms watching their mounts play such a fast and physical women’s game and cheering loudly for every good shot and goal. I felt like they were playing right along with us and they were so happy that we appreciated their horses.

The horses were great, the game was fun and competitive and the crowd appreciated the speed and strength with which the women played the game. The game ended in an 8-8 tie, which was left as a draw.

The Edelweiss MVP Award was presented to Palacios

by Rujan Panjwani, executive director of Edelweiss Financial Services.

Palacios thoroughly enjoyed the experience. “I feel extremely lucky to have been part of the first ever allwomen polo game played in the city of Mumbai. With the polo grounds and racetrack located in the center of downtown, playing under the city lights was an experience unlike any other. It was exciting to see the level of enthusiasm from the organizers, as well as spectators and the press. I hope that this enthusiasm will trigger a long history of the involvement of women in polo in Mumbai, she said.

Judge added, “Bombay was a town similar to any big city in the world. And like Buenos Aires, New York, Los Angeles or Houston, you find yourself downtown, inside the noise, traffic and construction but somehow surrounded by horses. With many cultures, ethnicities, languages and socioeconomic backgrounds, working and playing together, what unites us all are the horses.”

What a incredible experience for all of us to play these games with such incredible teammates. They say you really get to know people when you travel with them and we couldn’t have chosen a better group with which to share these unique experiences.

Everyone was open minded and appreciative of new experiences, enthusiastic for adventure, friendly, outgoing and supportive of each other. Thanks to everyone who made this trip possible!

The event was produced by Polo Yatra and organized by the All Manipur Polo Association.

International travel support was extended by Incredible India!, Emma Horne Travel and Manipur Tourism.

•

The American players split up and played with others in an arena at the Mahalakshmi Race Course.

POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N 31

USA’s Zach Grob handles the ball with England’s Mike Zurawski on his hip in the military game.

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

USA all day!

Brits fall in arena showcase events

By Gwen Rizzo • Photos by David Lominska/Polographics

U.S. teams celebrated victories in all three International Arena Showcase events hosted by the U.S. Polo Association on Jan. 26.

The action got underway with the ChurchillRoosevelt Cup, a battle between military players from the U.S. and England. The cup honors President Theodore Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill, both of whom were military officers and avid polo players. The last time the cup was played, the British emerged victorious.

This time around, the Americans were determined the result would be the opposite!

Players and fans woke to heavy rains surrounding the area and a washout seemed all but assured. All polo on the grass was canceled, however the sand and felt arena footing easily handled the water. By game time, intermittent rain blanketed the area scaring off all but die-hard polo fans, who huddled under tents to stay dry.

The U.S. team (Paul Knapp, Zack Grob, Jake Flournoy, Joe Meyer, Mark Gillespie), all former or current military officers, rotated players in and out of the game. England (Michael Zurawski, Capt.

George Walker, Lt. Hiro Suzuki) originally had Royal Army Capt. Michael Amoore, but he was unable to play. Fortunately, Zurawski, one of the intercollegiate players, is a Royal Army Trooper so he was able to step in.

The match was a thriller with the American squad coming out strong in the first chukker, gaining a commanding 8-3 lead. Meyer rotated in for Grob in the second and the British team, led by Lt. Suzuki’s brilliant attacks, began to turn the tide.

The Brits all but stopped the American offense, outscoring USA 2-1, and narrowing the deficit to 95 at the half.

Gillespie, who also coached the team, came in for Flournoy in the third, but the Brits continued to pour on the steam. The team not only tied the score,

but pulled ahead by a goal heading into the final chukker, much to the delight of its fans. The Americans regrouped, putting Grob and Flournoy back in their saddles, and plotted a comeback. The furious action see-sawed back and forth indecisively for the first three minutes. Finally, thanks to excellent teamwork and Flournoy’s hard-charging attacks, the Americans regained the lead and then some to win, 15-12.

Retired Navy Cmdr. Karl Hilberg, cochair of the Armed Forces Committee, presented the trophies.

Flournoy was named MVP and Dardo Iglesias’ Tordo, a grey gelding played by Flournoy and Suzuki, was Best Playing Pony.

Next, college students competed in the International Intercollegiate Challenge Cup, an annual competition between the USPA Intercollegiate/Interscholastic Program and Britain’s Schools & Universities Polo Association.

Now in its seventh year, the competition venue alternates between the U.S. and Britain.

Feeling at home in the light drizzle, Britain (Robyn Evans, Michael Zurawski, James Glew, Jamie Grayson) jumped out front early with four goals by Glew. USA (Fiona McBride-Luman, Demitra Hajimihalis, Christian Aycinena, Liam Lott) got on the board early in the second, thanks to a neck shot

by Lott. Grayson answered for Britain with three in a row. Aycinena, who sat out the first chukker, ended the second chukker with a goal, for a 7-2 Britain halftime lead.

When Grayson started out the third with his fourth goal, it looked like Britain would continue to dominate. But, USA rallied and Lott answered with back-to-back goals. Aycinena turned up the heat, tallying three times, including a two-pointer.

Britain was held to two more, allowing USA to cut the deficit to 10-8 going into the final chukker.

Starting out the last seven minutes, Lott cleared

Townsend Cup highlights International Arena Showcase at International Polo Club Palm Beach.

POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N 33

England’s Ed BannerEve battles USA’s Steve Krueger in the Townsend Cup.

USA’s Paul Knapp gets by England’s Hiro Suzuki in the military match.

the ball from the line-up as Aycinena followed with goals to knot the score, 10-10. Hajimihalis jumped into action, taking the ball off the wall on her nearside before sending a two-pointer into the goal

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

with a single swing. She added a security goal a minute later to ensure the victory, 13-11. This was the fifth win for the U.S. team since the competition began. (See more coverage on page 24).

Organizers prepped the arena, leveling out the footing for the start of the Townsend Cup. The trophy was named for John R. Townsend, a prominent figure in New York society, a longtime horseman and a fan of arena polo, who provided the trophy for the competition. The trophy was first used for the Class A Championship in 1921, before Townsend offered it for an international arena competition between the U.S. and England in 1923.

The trophy also continued to be awarded to the winners of the Class A Championship, which became the Senior Championship in 1934, and was played until 1957. At some point, the trophy now played for replaced the original trophy, which has not been found.

After the initial Townsend Cup competition, it wasn’t played again for 71 years, until 1994. It was played for a third time in 2004 and again in 2008 and 2011. Since then it has been played every other year. In 2013, it was the first and only time England prevailed.

This year, England was made up of 8-goal Jonny Good, 7-goal Sebastian Dawnay and 6-goal Ed

USA’s Mark Gillespie, Joe Meyer, Paul Knapp, Jake Flournoy, Zack Grob and Karl Hilberg

Banner-Eve, coached by 7-goal Adolfo Casabal.

Representing the U.S. was 9-goal Tommy Biddle, 8goal Pelon Escapite and 6-goal Steve Krueger.

The visitors were anxious to bring the trophy back home to British soil, while the U.S. contingent liked their chances competing on their own horses.

In 2011 and 2013 the event was held in Indio, California; the 2015 edition was held in U.K.; and the 2017 match was played in Scottsdale, Arizona, making it necessary for the participants to rent horses. All three U.S. players in this year’s event had horses in Wellington fit and ready to play.

“It is just unfortunate when you travel and have to play horses you don’t know that well,” explained Biddle. “I helped organize the horses for the English team. I mounted one of the English guys myself.

Having our own horses and the other horses we got [for the English players], the quality was a lot better than in the past. Even [the English] said the horses were much better than they have ever been.”

Biddle was as confident with his team was he was with his horses. “Pelon is a scrapper. He can get hooked and come out with the ball. He’s got an amazing ability to be anywhere on a horse and he’s a great teammate because he opens up a lot of holes for me. He’ll get hooked and flip a little back shot to me. And Krueger, it’s the second time we played the Townsend Cup together. The first time we played, I knew he played in college so I was like OK, let’s get him [on the team]. He’s more a straight up-and-down guy in the arena. He’s very good with the stick on short plays but when he goes, he opens up and blasts through.”

The rain continued to fall on and off throughout the game, but that didn’t seem to negatively effect the match. In fact, Biddle thought it made the surface better.

“Down here, with the white sand, you need a lot

of water on it and it held really well. The footing ended up being great that day,” he said.

The players were ready with yellow dish gloves in case the reins got slippery and Krueger ended up using them the entire game.

England began with a two-goal handicap and Good added to it with a Penalty 4 conversion early in the first chukker. Escapite got USA in the game with a two-pointer and Krueger followed with a goal to tie the score 3-3. Banner-Eve gave the edge back

Pelon Escapite’s Ruby was Best Playing Pony.

POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N 35

MVP Tommy Biddle wore a band off his daughter’s helmet in the match.

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

Dan Coleman, Tommy Biddle, Pelon Escapite, Steve Krueger and CEO Bob Puetz

to England at the chukker’s halfway mark. After a courtesy horse change for all players, Biddle slammed in a pair of two-pointers to jump ahead, 74. Krueger added another early in the second, but Good countered with a Penalty 2 conversion.

Krueger got the last word, ending the half with USA ahead 9-5. Biddle dominated the first few minutes of the third chukker, sinking a two-pointer and finding the mark with a Penalty 4. Overall, play started getting a bit sticky. England fought back with Good adding two in a row to cut the deficit to five, 12-7.

England had its work cut out for it but a couple of two-pointers could easily put them right back in the game. Escapite increased the lead early in the fourth and another two-pointer by Biddle made it harder for an English comeback. Good found the goal, but missed on a Penalty 3 opportunity. Ninety seconds later he used a half shot on a Penalty 2, but that too went wide. He made up for it with a twopointer in the final 30 seconds but time ran out and USA had the 15-10 win.

Biddle, who scored eight of his team’s 15 goals, was MVP and Escapite’s Ruby, a 12-year-old chestnut mare he played in portions of the second and fourth chukkers, was Best Playing Pony.

“It was a lot of fun. The arena is so big we were able to run so it was really open. I’m good friends with Steve and Pelon so to be able to play with them was simple. We didn’t have to sit down and have team meetings and go crazy,” explained Biddle. “When we practiced, we talked about what we were going to do and boom, it all worked. Everybody played well. We

all fight and nobody’s going to give up or quit.”

“I’ve played with Tommy a lot, so it was easy, but this was the first time I’ve played with Steve. All of

us tried to do [our] work and nobody wanted any glory, we just wanted to win,” echoed Escapite.

Biddle wore a band off his daughter, Lauren’s polo helmet during the match. Lauren, 22, unexpectedly passed away in October. “I felt like Lauren was with me, so it was a good feeling,” Biddle said.

•

MVP Tommy Biddle with CEO Bob Puetz and Gates Gridley

— Mark Gillespie contributed to this report POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N 37

P O L O I N T H E PA M PA S

Toppling giants La Mancha Amadeus prevails in Cámara de Diputados Cup

By Ernesto Rodriguez • Photos by Sergio Llamera

The Cámara de Diputados Cup, which dates back to 1924, can almost be considered the subsidiary of the Argentine Open. In fact, many of the team names are familiar Argentine Open competitors, names like La Dolfina, La Aguada and Alegría.

This year, with 19 teams signing up to play, the Argentine polo association established that the 12 quartets competing in the 14th Municipalidad de Pilar Cup (tournament champion La Irenita, runner-up La Dolfina II, Alegría Fish Creek, Chapa Uno, La Aguada II, La Ensenada Octavia, La Esquina, La Mariana ONA, La Natívidad 30 Yardas, La Quinta, La Virgencita Betania and Pilará Etiqueta Negra) would be guaranteed spots in the tournament while the other seven teams played off for four remaining spots.

La Mancha’s Genaro Ringa sticks tight to the opposition in the final.

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

La Cañada, Calavera Tequila, La Mancha, Las Monjitas II and San Diego On Tap earned their way into the tournament, completing a pool of 16 teams between 24 and 29 goals. In an unusual twist, last year’s champion, Chapaleufú Biopolo, did not compete and just two of its four players —Diego Araya and Julio Novillo Astrada—played on other teams this year.

The quality of the players was clear. In fact, three players—Bautista Heguy, Juan Ignacio Merlos and Eduardo Novillo Astrada (the current president of the AAP)—have all been champions in Palermo.

The teams were divided into four brackets and faced each other in three rounds, between Tuesday, Nov 20, and Sunday, Dec 2. The 24 matches were held at the Alfredo Lalor Headquarters that the AAP has in Pilar, 35 miles northwest of Buenos Aires.

Bracket A was in the hands of the 25-goal La Irenita (Santiago Loza, Juan Jauretche, Martin Podestá and Jacinto Crotto), which left behind the 29goal LA Esquina, 10-8, in the definition of the bracket to complete three consecutive victories.

Bracket B went to the 24-goal Las Monjitas (Bautista Ortiz de Urbina, Santiago Cernadas, Miguel del Carril and Matias Fernández Llanos), which came from the qualification and went through this phase undefeated despite having the lowest handicap in its bracket.

Pilará Etiqueta Negra (Segundo Bocchino, Juan Agustín García Grossi, Alejandro Muzzio and Matías Torres Zavaleta) benefitted from all of its 28 goals in Bracket C to win its three games and secure a place in the Top 4.

And in the Bracket D, La Mancha Amadeus (Genaro Ringa, Lucas Díaz Alberdi, Martín Aguerre and Bautista Bayugar), another of the teams that had to play the classification, showed its strength. Despite having the lowest rating it is bracket (24 goals) it overcame all three of its rivals (a 29-goal team and two 26-goal teams) to reach the semifinals.

The two tickets for the definition were closed on Friday, Dec 7, also in Pilar. In the first round, La Mancha Amadeus continued to surprise everyone as it dispatched La Irenita, 10-7. It seemed to have everything going against it when it trailed, 6-2, at the end of the fourth chukker. But it recovered in the

P O L O I N T H E PA M PA S

three remaining periods and managed to turn the score. Next, Pilará Etiqueta Negra exhibited its experience playing together and defeated Las Monjitas II, 13-10.

In the final, La Mancha continued demolishing giants. But they did it with solvency and unexpected amplitude. The event was held at Palermo’s Field 2, on Sunday, Dec. 16, as the opening match of the day. It was the same day the 2nd Women’s Argentine Polo Open and the 125th Argentine Open were defined.

La Mancha Amadeus attacked quickly and after the first chukker the scoreboard showed a 5-1 difference in its favor. With much more experienced players, the crowd expected Pilará Etiqueta Negra to react, but it didn’t happen. With three players under 23 years old, La Mancha Amadeus did not let up and two periods later, the figures had doubled (10-2). And the progression continued its course until reaching the final, 21-6.

“I think we play the best game of our lives. We made it all. It seemed that we had a magnet for the ball and we won in each run. We closed a wonderful tournament,” said Bautista Bayugar, author of a dozen goals and owner of Ombucito Te Puede, chosen as best Argentine bred horse in the final.

As a consolation, the AAP distinguished Gallego Ganadora, owned by Matías Torres Zavaleta, as

the best mare of the tournament.

The remarkable performance of La Mancha Amadeus had quick consequences as the AAP raised the rating of all four of its members a week after the final: Genaro Ringa, Lucas Díaz Alberdi and Martín Aguerre went from 6 to 7, while Bayugar climbed two steps up the 8 goals.

“We are like in a fairy tale. These weeks changed our lives. With Lucas and Genaro we won the Santa Paula Cup (the most important intercollegiate tournament in Argentina) six years ago and now we achieved this. We can put the cherry on the top of the cake, which would be to qualify for the 2019 Triple Crown,” explained the back.

In the end, the cherry was not theirs. In the repêchage, held on Wednesday Dec. 19, against La Ensenada (Juan Britos, Juan Martin Zubia, Facundo Fernández Llorente and Jerónimo del Carril), the eighth-place squad in the 2018 Triple Crown, La Mancha fought until the end and although it entered the last chukker just one goal down (11-10), Britos completed a remarkable day and sealed the 15-12 victory that kept the team of patron Ernesto Gutiérrez among the eight best teams on the planet.

“We are happy with all the things we did together.

We do not know what we will do next year. But this achievement is unforgettable,” Bayugar concluded. •

La Mancha’s Genaro Ringa, Lucas Diaz Alberdi, Martin Aguerre and Bautista Bayugar

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

POLO AROUND THE GLOBE

White out Snow polo events in Kitzbühel, St. Moritz

Everyone was bundled up for the event.

The 17th Bendura Bank Snow Polo World Cup Kitzbühel, in the heart of Austria’s Tyrolean Alps, was played from Jan. 18-20. Six teams, made up of 18 players from eight nations and over 150 horses, competed for the top spot. The area was blanketed with a record-breaking amount of fresh snow, providing perfect footing and a true winter wonderland.

The teams presentation was held in front of Hotel zur Tenne in the village of Kitzbühel. Guests were greeted with an assembled roar of six Maseratis as the players arrived and took their positions on the presentation stand.

Games began the next day. The first match of the day saw defending champion Bendura Bank (Melissa Ganzi, Alejandro Novillo Astrada, Tito Gaudenzi) up against Corum (Eckardt Juls, Patrick Maleitzke, Juan Ruiz-Guiñazu), which received a goal-and-ahalf handicap to start the match. Corum made the most of the jump start and increased it to a 7½-4 lead by halftime, thanks to the unstoppable Maleitzke. Bendura rallied in the second half but was always a step or two behind. Corum’s Juls fell from his horse in the final seconds of the match, fracturing his collar bone, but the team had the 11½-9 win.

Last year’s runner-up, Engel & Völkers (Kutlay Yaprak, Agustin Kronhaus, Adrian Laplacette Jr.) then faced Maserati (Marc Aberle, Caspar Crasemann, Thomas Winter), which began with a goal-and-a-half handicap. Maserati raced ahead, adding the first goal scored to its handicap, but Engel & Völkers then took the wheel, slamming in five in a row to end the half ahead, 5-2½.

In the second half, the teams traded goals, leaving Maserati still trailing. With three minutes to go, Yaprak sealed the victory with a shot through the posts after near misses by his teammates. Engel prevailed 8-4½.

The day’s action concluded with Bernd Gruber (Eduardo Greghi, Grant Ganzi, Pierre Henri Ngoumou) taking on Cîroc Vodka (Sebastian Schneberger, Aki van Andel, Valentin Novillo Astrada). Cîroc jumped out front early on and ended the half with a comfortable 6-2½ lead. The teams matched each other in the second half, but

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

Guests enjoyed delicious culinary delights.

POLO AROUND THE GLOBE

by then it was too late, and Cîroc had the 8-4½ win.

Cîroc carried its momentum into the next day when it downed Maserati 13-6½. Cîroc narrowly lead 4-3½ at the half. Astrada and van Andel combined for nine goals in the last 14 minutes while holding Maserati to two.

The next match pitted Corum, with 3-goal Lukas Sdrenka replacing the injured Juls, against Bernd Gruber, which started with a one-and-a-half-goal handicap. By halftime, Corum lead 5-3½. Early in the third, goals by Ganzi and Ngoumou put Bernd Gruber ahead for the first time, but two quick goals

by Maleitzke put Corum back on top. The teams traded goals, keeping Corum ahead, 9-7½.

The final match of the day saw Bendura Bank take on Engel & Völkers. Engel jumped out front early and enjoyed a 6-2 lead at the half. Early in the third, Novillo Astrada banged heads with his horse, and had to leave the game after suffering a concussion. Seven-goal Isidro Strada stepped in to take his place but Engel & Völkers had the momentum and took the win.

Following a star-studded Players’ Night Gala on

The players were driven around in sleek Maseratis.

Cîroc’s Aki van Andel leans into Engel and Völker’s Kutlay Yaprak in the Kitzbühel final.

POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N 41

POLO AROUND THE GLOBE

A Cîroc representative (far left) celebrates with Cîroc’s Sebastian Schneberger, Valentin Novillo Astrada and MVP Aki Van Andel in Kitzbühel.

Saturday, players were ready to take the field on Sunday for the final matches.

The first subsidiary pitted Bendura Bank against Maserati. Novillo Astrada was back in the saddle for Bendura Bank, which finished the first seven minutes ahead, 4-1½. Novillo Astrada added three more in the second, while holding Maserati to two for a 7-3½ lead at the half. Bendura added three unanswered goals in the third. Maserati matched Bendura in the final chukker but the damage was done and Bendura had the 13-6½ win.

The second subsidiary, The Kitzbühel Country Club Cup, saw Corum take on Bernd Gruber. This time Juls was replaced by Enno Grans. Corum shut out Bernd Gruber, 3-0, in the first chukker but Bernd Gruber fought back to level the score in the second. From then on the teams matched each other goal for goal, but when the final horn sounded, Corum held a narrow 7-6 lead.

The final saw Engel & Völkers up against Cîroc.

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

Van Andel and Astrada struck first, but Engel fought back. By the half, Cîroc lead, 4-2. The team continued to lead at the end of the third, 6-3.

Astrada hammered in three in a row in the final chukker, while Laplacette was held to one. With time running out, Cîroc took the 9-4 victory. Van Andel was named MVP. After the match, an exuberant Sebastian Schneberger said, “This was a great event and I’m so happy we’ve walked away with the title. It was a tough match but we rallied together and did what we came here to do.”

Event organizer Tito Gaudenzi said, “What an exciting weekend this has been. Our team may not have made it to the final, but this year’s tournament has been the best yet, with record crowds and fantastic players. I can’t wait for next year’s edition and we hope to welcome everyone back for the 18th Bendura Bank Snow Polo World Cup. But for now, off to St. Moritz!”

POLO AROUND THE GLOBE

St. Moritz Many of the same players joined Gaudenzi in St. Moritz for the following weekend.

With the sun shining brightly on St. Moritz’s Engadin Valley, and the ice on lake of St. Moritz frozen thick enough to hold the polo infrastructure, snow polo founder Reto Gaudenzi and his team of 250 delivered another fantastic Snow Polo World Cup event to a record-breaking crowd of 18,000. In the end, Melissa Ganzi made history as the first woman to win the trophy after captaining Badrutt’s Palace to a 7-3 victory over Maserati.

The event was played over three days, from Jan. 25-27, with four teams vying for the trophy. The first round of games had Azerbaijan (Ali Rzayev, Agustín Kronhaus, Adrian Laplacette Jr., Isidro Strada) facing defending champion Cartier, that presented a whole new line-up with the father-son duo of Marc and Grant Ganzi along with Tito Gaudenzi and 10goal Juan Martin Nero, fresh off his Argentine Open victory. Azerbaijan began with a half-goal handicap and Marc Ganzi guided in Nero’s 60-yard penalty in the first minute to start off the scoring. Kronhaus

responded and teammate Strada followed with a goal. Nero dribbled in a goal to end the chukker with Azerbaijan narrowly ahead, 2½-2.

Nero added two more in the second before Laplacette put another one in for Azerbaijan, ending the half with Cartier ahead 4-3½. The teams traded goals in the third. The last seven minutes was a fullout battle with Laplacette connecting to put Azerbaijan ahead, 5½-5.

The next game had Badrutt’s Palace (Melissa Ganzi, Juan Bautista Peluso, Alfredo Bigatti, Alejandro Novillo Astrada) taking on Maserati (Zhanna Bandurko/Valery Mishchenko, Robert Strom, Max Charlton, Chris Hyde). The first 14 minutes ended with Maserati ahead by a nose, 3-2.

Badrutt’s equalized the score in the third. The last period saw the teams trade goals for a level 5-5 score with just seconds left. Finally, Charlton broke free and lofted the ball through the goal just as the horn sounded.

The second day began with Karabakh riders performing a “Land of Fire” demonstration on

Karabakh riders gave a demonstration on the second day.

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

POLO AROUND THE GLOBE

A steady snow fell during the final in St. Moritz.

Father and son, Reto and Tito Gaudenzi, organized the events.

Karabakh mountain stallions in an exhilarating, acrobatic, Cossak-style display accompanied by Sarhadchi dancers in flowing green robes and bejewelled headdresses.

Attention then shifted to the polo action as Badrutt’s Palace faced Azerbaijan. Strada was sidelined after falling ill, his spot on Azerbaijan filled by Thomas Winter, allowing the team to start with a one-and-a-half-goal handicap. The team got off to a good start until Laplacette suffered a badly cut ear and was rushed to the hospital. Min Podesta took his place, requiring a handicap goal be taken away to reflect the handicap difference. By halftime, Badrutt’s had jumped ahead 4-2½.

Astrada, who seemed to

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

be every where, scoring goals and shutting down Azerbaijan’s offense, took a tumble, badly bruising his arm. He gamely got back on and continued. The teams traded goals ending the third in Badrutt’s favor, 5-3½. Ganzi and Astrada each found the goal in the fourth to take the 7-3½ win and advance to the final.

In the next match, Maserati sported a half-goal handicap as it faced Cartier. It went on to score three more in the first seven minutes while doubleteaming Nero and holding Cartier to two. Maserati kept up the pressure and hammered in four goals.

Cartier managed to match the four goals with Nero sinking two difficult 50-yard neck shots, but was unable to make up for the early deficit. Maserati advanced to the final with a 7½-6 win.

The last day began with the subsidiary La Martina Cup. As spectators packed the grandstands and surrounded the arena, a gentle snow began to fall. Last year’s Snow Polo World Cup winner, Cartier, took on Azerbaijan Land of Fire. Laplacette was back in the saddle after getting his ear stitched up. Azerbaijan began with a two-goal handicap and took full advantage of the lead, increasing it to five while Cartier failed to reach the goal, ending with

POLO AROUND THE GLOBE

Azerbaijan holding the 5-0 victory.

“We were on fire today,” said Elcin Jamalli, who replaced Ali Rzayev on Azerbaijan. Nero was gracious in defeat. “It is great to be back in St. Moritz. It is such a special tournament—the people, the snow, the great organization. Everything is fantastic and I can’t wait until next time,” he said.

The final for the Cartier trophy was next with Badrutt’s Palace battling Maserati. The teams were level on handicap and neither team was able to score in the first half of the opening chukker.

Alejandro Novillo Astrada finally was able to shake loose, sinking back-to-back goals for a 2-0 lead at the end of the first chukker. Astrada seemed unstoppable, notching goal after goal and neutralizing the best efforts of Brits Chris Hyde and Max Charlton.

Astrada was struck by Charlton’s mallet and came off his horse at the beginning of the third chukker. He shook it off and was soon back on his horse, coolly converting the resulting penalty. The drama continued with Bigatti’s horse falling after a rough ride-off and just as soon as Bigatti remounted, Hyde was off his horse. The seven-time Snow Polo World Cup winner had aggravated an

injury suffered the previous day and was unable to continue. Luckily his son Jack, a 4-goaler, put on his boots and took his father’s place.

Astrada continued his scoring Tsunami to start the fourth. Soon after, Peluso was struck on the hand by a Charlton’s mallet and fell to the ground in pain. He got back up and continued on with Badrutt’s holding a comfortable four-goal lead.

Despite Maserati’s inevitable defeat, the team tried its best until the final horn sounded.

The Cartier Trophy was presented by Cartier’s managing director, Mrs. Laurence Bourgeois and boutique director of Cartier St. Moritz, Mrs. Kaethy Dobers. Melissa Ganzi received Best Playing Patron, Alejandro Novillo Astrada was MVP and Pantera, played by Astrada in the fourth period, was Best Playing Pony.

“It’s an amazing feeling. I’m super proud of my team and happy to represent Badrutt’s Palace,” said Melissa Ganzi.

Astrada shared Ganzi’s delight. “I am extremely happy. I knew I scored a few goals, but I didn’t know how many goals I scored. Our team played amazing.

We had a great game. I am so happy for Melissa.”

Next year’s event is planned for Jan. 24-26. •

Badrutt’s Palace’s Juan Bautista Peluso, Alfredo Bigatti, Melissa Ganzi and Alejandro Novillo Astrada

POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N 45

POLO REPORT DISPATCHES FROM THE WORLD OF POLO CALIFORNIA

KERRI KERLEY

BUSH LEAGUE/FMB CAPTURES ELDORADO’S OFFICERS CUP

Bush League/FMB’s Ulysses Escapite finesses the ball through the posts while Antelope’s players can only watch.

B

ush League/Farmers & Merchants Bank got the upper hand in the final of the 8-goal USPA Coachella Valley Officers Cup at Eldorado Polo Club in Indio, California, Jan. 29.

Four teams played off over 10 days to determine the winner.

The final, played on an absolute perfect afternoon at a balmy 77 degrees, featured the rejuvenated and undefeated Antelope (Geoff Palmer, Grant Palmer, Santiago Trotz, Jimmy Wright) and Bush League/Farmers &

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

Merchants Bank (Virgil Kyle, Danny Walker, Henry Walker, Ulysses Escapite). The pronghorns, however, were the team that Bush League/FMB had an issue with—the result of a loss in qualifying play.

The final started off with good scoring opportunities for both teams but the only goal came off the mallet of Geoff Palmer, converting a Penalty 2 offering to put Antelope up 1-0.

The second was all Bush

League/FMB as Danny Walker scored three open-goal awards along with a field goal and Escapite counted one from the field as well. Trotz got one for the pronghorns and it appeared the money men might be on their way as they led 5-2.

With Trotz masterminding the lineup, Antelope scored three times in the third (goals from Geoff Palmer, Trotz, and Wright) as Bush League/ FMB was able to counter with just one from Escapite. The second period

R E P O R T

Bush League/Farmers & Merchants Banks’ Virgil Kyle, Ulysses Escapite, Henry Walker and Danny Walker won the Officers Cup.

lead was now just one, 6-5, going to the half.

Antelope drew even in the fourth as Trotz counted a field goal to tie it up, 6-6, with no reply from the financiers. It appeared the undefeated Palmer group could very well stay that way—not.

Whatever was said in the Bush League/FMB huddle between the fourth and fifth chukkers will never be known but to say it worked would be a gross understatement. The orange and white shirts came out and absolutely dominated with four goals —two from the field by Danny Walker, a Penalty 1 and a goal by Henry Walker as a result of a perfect set-up from Escapite on the free shot from center after the Penalty 1. Going to the final period Bush League/FMB led by10-6.

Sensing a victory, and a halt to the Antelope winning streak, the leaders did not slow down as enormous pressure allowed Walker to convert another open goal and Escapite counted one from the field to lead by six. As if it mattered, Wright scored for Antelope to come within five and it was over at 12-7. Bush League/FMB became the champions and at the

KERRI KERLEY

KERRI KERLEY

P O L O

Cotterel Farms’ Jennifer Luttrell-Benardoni, Mike Kerley, Francisco Benardoni and Gaby Sacullo won the 4-goal Officers Cup.

same time handed Antelope its first loss of 2019.

Because of his very aggressive play and his ability to deliver and set up when needed, Henry Walker was selected as MVP and Martina, owned and played by Trotz in the fourth, was awarded the Best Playing Pony blanket.

Lazy 3 (Louisa Musselman Fikes, Jared Sheldon, Peter Blake, Audrey Persano) and Twin Palms (Chris Maloney, Ryan Robertson, Graham Bray, Ruben Coscia) fell to the finalists in preliminary play.

In the 4-goal division of the tournament, the final was a close head-to-head battle between Cotterel Farms (Jennifer Luttrell-Benardoni, Mike Kerley, Francisco Benardoni, Gaby Sacullo) and Thermal (Dave Carlson, Felipe Sordelli, Ernie Ezcurra, Reg Whyte). The teams met in bracket play where Thermal came out on top.

Cotterel came out strong with a 2-1 lead at the end of the first chukker. The second chukker was scoreless as both teams focused on defense and kept each other at bay. Ezcurra was able to tie it up at 2-2 with a Penalty 2 conversion early in the third chukker but Cotterel

fought back to hold on to its lead heading into the final chukker, 3-2.

The forth and final chukker was once again a defensive battle and remained largely scoreless for most of the period. Ezcurra tied the game with a break-away with his approach shot going far to the right before an amazing deep tail shot found the goal.

With the score level at 3-3, overtime looked all but inevitable. That was quickly rectified by a long-range neck shot by Cotterel’s Mike Kerley to secure the 4-3 win.

Francisco Benardoni was rewarded with MVP honors and Alba, owned by Jimmy Wright and played by Ernie Ezcurra, took home the Best Playing Pony blanket.

Five teams competed for the prize.

Luna (Jennifer Alexy, Shannon Mendez, Diego Larregli, Santiago Mendez) tied Cotterel’s 2-1 record in preliminary play, but lost in a shootout to determine who advanced.

Palm Desert/Exit Consulting Group (Dan Horn, Lamar Rutherford, Matthew Walker, Rodrigo Salinas) and Cedar Creek (German Coppel, Nicholas Wilhelm, Ashton Wolf, Conrad Kissling) finished 0-2.

—Tony Gregg

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

JIM BREMNER/JFBPHOTOS.COM

R E P O R T JIM BREMNER/JFBPHOTOS.COM

P O L O

Evergreen’s Tom Sprung, Quinn Evans, Carlitos Galindo and Taylor Freeman won the Sportsmanship Cup at Empire Polo Club.

EVERGREEN SECURES SPORTSMANSHIP CUP Evergreen made the most of penalties to come from behind in the last period and win the 4-goal Sportsmanship Cup over Grande Prairie, Jan. 27, at Empire Polo Club in Indio, California.

Grande Prairie (Piers Bossom, Felipe Sordelli, Tim Rudy, Ross Adams) got on the board early with a goal by Bossom. Evergreen (Tom Sprung, Quinn Evans, Carlitos Galindo, Taylor Freeman) got on the board after being awarded a Penalty 1. Rudy and Sordelli each found the mark to end the first with Grande Prairie ahead 3-1.

Sordelli and Rudy traded goals with Galindo in the second to maintain a two-goal spread, 5-3. Galindo sunk a Penalty 4 but Sordelli had the answer, ending the third, 6-4. Galindo easily found the mark with a Penalty 2 but Rudy split the uprights with a safety.

Galindo scored from the field to come within one, 7-6.

Grande Prairie players were working hard in the last period but in doing so began making mistakes. First, they knocked the ball over their own back line and Galindo capitalized on the Penalty 6 to level the score. Evergreen was on the receiving end of three opengoal penalties, which Galindo and Evans scored to jump ahead 10-7. Evans finished out with a run to goal to give

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

Hanalei Bay’s Luis Saracco, Ignacio Saracco, Joe Coors and Krista Bonaguidi won the USPA 4-goal National Amateur Cup.

Evergreen the 11-7 win.

Tim Rudy was named MVP and his horse Chrome took the Best Playing Pony blanket.

Evergreen hoped to carry the momentum into the Amateur Cup. It made it to the final after a three-way shoot-out, but fell to Hanalei Bay (Krista Bonaguidi, Joe Coors, Ignacio Saracco, Luis Saracco).

In the final, Galindo struck first, putting Evergreen on the board but a Penalty 2 by Coors negated the goal.

Luis Saracco found the uprights a few minutes later, putting Hanalei Bay on top. Galindo traded penalty conversions with Luis Saracco in the second and Evans sunk a Penalty 3 in the third to knot the score at 3-3 at the half.

Hanalei then came out with renewed energy as a chilly wind picked up.

Bonaguidi slipped a Penalty 2 between the posts and Ignacio and Luis Saracco each scored to double Evergreen’s score, 6-3. Ignacio Saracco added another in the fifth and Bonaguidi converted another Penalty 2. Galindo got one more on the board for Evergreen before time expired with Hanalei Bay ahead 8-4.

Luis Saracco was named MVP and his mare, Garua, was Best Playing Pony.

The 1-Goal final was a round-robin between Vancouver (Kristen Armbruster, Grant Lockhart, T.J. Elordi, Nicolas Maciel), Vashon (Kim

Bergman, Stephanie Davidson, Becky Schallar, Mariano Gutierrez) and CPCSethi Transport (Paul Sethi, Olivier Climaud, Tom Schuerman, Domingo Questel).

Vancouver and Vashon ended their two chukkers tied 3-3. CPC-Sethi Transport beat Vancouver 3-1. Vashon and CPC-Sethi Transport tied 2-2. CPCSethi Transport was the winner of the match by three net goals In the 8-goal President’s Cup, Ridgeway Hemp (Beau Staley, Meghan Gracida, Carlos Hernandez, Memo Gracida) made it to the final with three wins while Lockton (Jenny LuttrellBenardoni, Tommy Costello, Nicolas Maciel, Shane Rice) advanced with two wins.

It was a low-scoring first chukker with Hernandez and Rice trading Penalty 2s. Lockton turned up the pressure in the second with Benardoni and Maciel finding the target while Rice scored a hat trick for a 6-1 lead. Memo Gracida put a Penalty 3 conversion on the board in the third but Rice responded. Hernandez and Staley found the mark to cut the deficit to three, 7-4, at the half.

Memo Gracida scored a lone goal in the fourth to come within two, 7-5. Rice negated those goals with two of his own, including a Penalty 3. Memo Gracida scored again to keep Ridgway Hemp in the game. Hernandez got the team

R E P O R T

JIM BREMNER/JFBPHOTOS.COM

P O L O

Lockton’s Shane Rice, Nicolas Maciel, Tommy Costello and Jenny Luttrell-Benardoni won the 8-goal USPA National Presidents Cup.

B-Flight winners NC Real Estate Firm’s David Brooks, Maud Eno and Mark Hauser with Shepherd Youth Ranch’s Ashley Boswell

closer in the opening minute of the sixth but Rice sunk a Penalty 4 in response.

Costello scored his first goal, but Hernandez shot back with two, including a Penalty 2, but time ran out and Lockton held on for the 11-9 victory.

Tommy Costello was MVP and Shane Rice’s Pawn Shop was Best Playing Pony.

SOUTHEAST

REAL ESTATE FIRM WINS B-FLIGHT INDOOR MATCH

Triangle Area Polo Club in Hurdle Mills, North Carolina, recently played its 4th annual Shepherd Youth Ranch Indoor Tailgate Match at the North Carolina Fairgrounds’ Jim Hunt Arena. A-Flight and B-Flight matches were played.

The first game pitted Fast Med (Leslie Brooks, Nicole Romach, Tammy Havener) against NC Real Estate Firm (Maud Eno, Mark Hauser, David Brooks) for B Flight.

Leslie Brooks started the scoring in the first chukker with back-to-back goals. Romach followed with another to give Fast Med the quick lead. NC Real Estate responded with one to end the chukker, 3-1. Havener scored for Fast

David Brooks and Shepherd Youth Ranch founder Ashley Boswell with A Flights’ MVP Carson Tucker, Natalia Hernandez and Bella Hamon

Med in the second before NC Real Estate opened up with Mark Hauser and David Brooks combining for six goals while Fast Med was silenced. NC Real Estate Firm had the 6-4 win.

In A Flight, the Triangle intercollegiate/interscholastic team (Bella Hamon, Natalia Hernandez, Carson Tucker) wore the Shepherd Youth Ranch jerseys as it took on Sullivans Eastern Inc. (Chelsy Miller, Maeren Honacher, Sheana Funkhouser, Tammy Havener, Chris Wolf).

Shepherd got off to a blazing hot start with Hernandez and Hamon scoring a goal each. Miller put Sullivans on the board, but with time winding down, Tucker scored then stole the ball from the ensuing bowl-in

and counted a two-pointer to put Shepherd up 5-1.

Honacher and Havener got the ball moving for Sullivans in the second chukker, shutting out Shepherds, 3-0, to close the gap to one, 5-4, at the half.

Both teams lit up the scoreboard in the third.

Wolf tied the game before the teams traded goals.

Tucker added another two-pointer, putting Shepherds ahead, 8-6.

Funkhouser, Wolf and Miller scored to take a first-time lead, 9-8. Hamon responded by putting Shepherd ahead by two to end the third chukker, 11-9.

Both teams were firing at the goal but weren’t having luck hitting the mark until Hernandez scored. Tucker added a pair of goals to pull away with the 14-9 win. Tucker and her horse, J.J. were named Duo of the Match.

Tucker counted five goals on the two chukkers she played J.J.

FLORIDA

CROSSFIT EL CID TOPS SHADY LADY 8-GOAL Crossfit El Cid topped four teams to win the Shady Lady 8-goal at Port

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

R E P O R T DAVID LOMINSKA/POLOGRAPHICS

P O L O

Crossfit El Cid’s Jennifer Williams, Cecelia Cochran, Marcos Onetto and Jason Wates won the Shady Lady 8-goal at Port Mayaca.

Mayaca Polo Club in Okeechobee, Florida, on January 2.

The final saw Crossfit El Cid (Jennifer Williams, Cecelia Cochran, Marcos Onetto, Jason Wates) take on Horseware/Aliano’s Realty (Tom MacGuinness/Tim Kyne, Nick Aliano, Charly Quincoces, Charlie Cendoya, Hugo Lloret).

Horseware led 6-5 at the haf, but Crossfit rallied, coming out strong in the fourth chukker with four unanswered goals.

Horseware returned the favor in the fifth, heading into the final ahead, 9-8. Both teams ran up and down the field in the last seven minutes of regulation time until Cochran scored a great goal to knot the game, 9-9. Onetto and Cendoya swapped penalty conversions, leaving the scored tied, 10-10, to force an overtime period.

The teams remained tied for over three minutes before a costly mistake gave Crossfit a Penalty 2. Onetto, riding Best Playing Pony Fanta, slipped the ball through the posts to win the match, 11-10. Onetto was named MVP for his efforts.

On the way to the final, Horseware/Aliano’s Realty defeated Southeast Hay/Speedwell (Nicole Watson, Robert Orthwein, Stevie Orthwein, Lukas Valencia), Shamrock (John Walsh, Trevor Niznik, Max Secunda, Hayden Walsh) and Crossfit

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

Dutta Corp’s Lucas Diaz Alberdi, Timmy Dutta, Gringo Colombres and Kris Kampsen with Gill Johnston

El Cid, while Crossfit El Cid defeated Southeast Hay/Speedwell and Shamrock. Shamrock got the best of Southeast Hay/Speedwell.

DUTTA CORP MAKES IT THREE IN A ROW IN 20G After counting wins in the Herbie Pennell and Joe Barry Cups, Dutta Corp completed the 20-goal season with a win in the Ylvisaker Cup at International Polo Club Palm Beach in Wellington, Florida, on Feb. 10.

After falling to Pilot (Curtis Pilot, Matias Gonzalez, Lucas James, Facundo

Pieres) in preliminary matches—the team’s only loss—Dutta Corp (Timmy Dutta, Lucas Diaz Alberdi, Gringo Colombres, Kris Kampsen) faced Pilot again in the final and was looking to avenge the earlier loss.

“We lost a game against Pilot, but that was a learning curve for us and we figured out our mistakes and went to the drawing board to figure out how we could beat them,” Dutta said.

The teams battled throughout the first seven minutes with Dutta shooting at goal three times and Pilot once, but neither team could split the uprights.

Kampsen broke the drought in the second but Pieres quickly responded

Crossfit El Cid’s Marcos Onetto reaches for the bouncing ball while Horseware/Aliano’s Hugo Lloret goes for the hook.

P O L O

R E P O R T

Masai of Palm Beach’s Malicia von Falkenhausen, Nicole Watson, Alina Carta, Hope Arellano and Courtney Asdourian and San Saba’s Dawn Jones, Alyson Poor, Slaney O’Hanlon, Rileigh Tibbitt and Clarissa Echezarreta, with Cecilia Cochran, third from left

with a Penalty 3 conversion. Colombres sunk a Penalty 4, then scored on a run downfield. Kampsen finished up with a Penalty 2 through the posts to end the chukker with Dutta ahead, 4-1.

Alberdi and Colombres traded goals with Lucas James in the third, ending the half with Dutta ahead 6-3. Alberdi started off the scoring in the fourth.

Pieres sunk a Penalty 2 but Dutta answered with a field goal to double up the Pilot score, 8-4.

Dutta shot at goal four times but was unable to find the mark. Pieres sunk another Penalty 2 to close the gap, 8-5.

In the last seven minutes, Kampsen traded Penalty 2s with Pieres. James added a Penalty 3 to bring Pilot within two, 9-7. Dutta was determined not to allow Pilot to get any closer and Colombres guided the ball through the posts. Alberdi scored an ensurance goal to give Dutta the 11-7 win.

Gringo Colombres, who played a remarkable game, scored a game-high four goals, matched only by four penalties from Pieres. Lucas Diaz Alberdi also played incredibly and was named MVP. Colombres’ Coquito, a 10-year-old bay gelding from England, was named Best Playing Pony.

Colombres played him in portions of the second, fourth and sixth chukkers.

Dutta Corp’s preparations for the match seemed to work as it finished the season three for three.

MASAI TRIUMPHS IN JANUARY LEAGUE Masai of Palm Beach won the first Women’s League monthly final of the winter polo season, Jan. 30, at Santa Rita Polo Farm in Wellington, Florida.

Masai of Palm Beach (Malicia von Falkenhausen, Alina Carta, Hope Arellano, Courtney Asdourian, Nicole Watson) held off San Saba (Rileigh Tibbitt, Slaney O’Hanlon, Alyson Poor, Clarissa Echezarreta, Dawn Jones) for a thrilling 6½-5 victory.

Rising star Hope Arellano, 15, of Masai of Palm Beach, was named Most Valuable Player after scoring a teamhigh three goals.

“It was very fun,” Arellano said. “I was very lucky to get MVP. It’s a great prize, I love it. I’m really excited about this league. I’m going to play next month as well so I am super excited.

“This was only my second time playing with Courtney and I felt like by the second and third chukker we started to get to know how to play with each other more,” Arellano said. “I felt like we all started to click by the third chukker. It was nice to win. My horses played really well, I was proud of all of them.”

Elena, a 6-year-old off-the-track Thoroughbred mare, co-owned and played by Courtney Asdourian in the

second chukker, was selected Best Playing Pony.

“She has been going super well,” Asdourian said. “This is kind of her first season playing consistent polo.

She is stepping up really nicely. She started off a little bit fresh, but she is settling in now.

“She is the kind of horse that the more you use her, the stronger she feels and more confident she gets. She is an all-around fun mare. She flies and she runs.”

Masai of Palm Beach started out with a half-goal handicap and slowly built a 4½-1 lead late in the third chukker before San Saba scored four unanswered goals to take a 5-4½ lead early in the fifth and final chukker.

With 38 seconds left in the game, Arellano scored the go-ahead goal and Von Falkenhausen added an insurance goal on a nice run to end the game.

In other action, Newport rallied to win the Limited Edition 12-goal at Grand Champions Polo Club, Feb. 2.

Trailing by as many as four goals in the first half, Newport (Gene Goldstein, Tomas Schwencke, Michel Dorignac, Nick Manifold) rallied in the second half for a thrilling 9-8 victory over Colorado (Rob Jornayvaz, Bautista Panelo, Nick Johnson, Robertito Zedda) in the championship final of the Limited Edition 12-Goal Series.

Newport, after trailing and rallying

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

GABRIELLE STODD

R E P O R T

GABRIELLE STODD

P O L O

Newport’s Nick Manifold, MVP Michel Dorignac, Gene Goldstein and Tomas Schwencke won the Limited Edition 12-goal.

in all four of its games, finished the month-long, eight-team tournament with a 3-1 record.

Michel Dorignac was named MVP after scoring five goals, all on penalty conversions, including a 60-yarder in the sixth chukker.

“We knew it was going to be a really tough game against a really strong team,” Dorignac said. “We were at a disadvantage because we had a shootout on Thursday and all of a sudden we are in the final and didn't have time to organize a practice so we had to come to the final without a practice.”

Creciente, a 9-year-old bay mare played by Robertito Zedda and owned

by J5 Equestrian, was selected Best Playing Pony.

Veteran pros Dorignac and Manifold, playing well above his 3-goal handicap, sparked Newport’s secondhalf comeback. It was the first time Goldstein had played with and won a tournament with Manifold.

“We knew we were going to have a tough beginning and knew we had to be patient,” Dorignac said. “We didn't get discouraged. We knew at some point we would have our momentum and we were going to come back.”

Newport, dominating the throwins, outscored Colorado, 6-3, in the second half. After shutting down Colorado’s offense, 4-0, Newport took the lead, 6-5, for the first time when

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

Patagones’ Santi Wulff, Joaquin Avendano, Santos Bollini and Milo Dorignac won the Aspen Valley Cup 8-goal.

Dorignac converted a 40-yard penalty with 1:34 left in the chukker.

Dorignac converted another 30-yard penalty to end the chukker with a 7-5 advantage.

While Colorado tried to claw its way back, outscoring Newport, 2-1, in the fifth chukker, Newport maintained its momentum and onegoal lead, 8-7, going into the final chukker.

With 5:20 left, Dorignac lofted a 60-yard penalty conversion for a 9-7 advantage. Colorado had its share of scoring opportunities including Zedda’s goal at the 1:29 mark to trail by one, but two Colorado fouls in the final minute proved costly as Newport held on for the win.

Action continued with Patagones capturing the Aspen Valley 8-Goal for the second consecutive year, Feb. 4.

Playing with three teenagers in the lineup, Patagones (Milo Dorignac, Santos Bollini, Joaquin Avendano, Santi Wulff) defeated Altair Polo (Ashley Busch, Keko Magrini, Brandon Phillips, Nick Manifold) by a narrow 14-13.

Patagones finished the tournament with a 3-1 record and avenged its only loss, 10-7, in Jan. 30 bracket play to Altair Polo (2-2). It is the first tournament the team has played together.

Wulff, a steadying influence on his young teammates and field general for

Patagones, was named Most Valuable Player after scoring a game-high 11 goals including what turned out to be the game-winner from midfield.

“I feel good,” Wulff said. “It’s always nice to win this tournament. I think the key was this team beat us pretty good last time in the bracket. I thought we came more prepared and were ready this time. We adjusted a few things and the horses played really good.”

Bollini, 19, Avendano, 18 and Dorignac, 14, all played significant roles in their team’s victory.

“It was all the young kids playing good polo,” Wulff said. “Plus, we had Keko on the other side who is 16 and played well. It is fun to see these kids scoring and playing faster than we do.”

Machitos Monserrat, played by Manifold in the third chukker, was selected Best Playing Pony.

Patagones broke open a close game in the fifth chukker behind Wulff’s three goals and Avendano’s goal for a 4-1 chukker and 13-10 lead. Wulff scored from midfield for a 14-10 lead early in the sixth chukker. Manifold and Phillips combined for three goals late in the chukker but ran out of time.

“We had been working the whole game on the man and in the fifth chukker it worked out. I ended up with the ball a few times on my own

R E P O R T

GABRIELLE STODD

GABRIELLE STODD

P O L O

Colorado’s Robert Jornayvaz, Santi Torres, Diego Cavanagh and Nick Johnson won the 20-goal Sterling Cup for the first time.

and was lucky to score,” Wulff said.

“Our organization is playing great at all levels,” Wulff said. “More horses for the kids, more horses for all of us thanks to Gonzalo [Avendano] who supports us.”

In 20-goal action, Colorado (Rob Jornayvaz, Santi Torres, Diego Cavanagh, Nick Johnson) rallied for a thrilling 9-8 upset of defending champion Valiente (Kian Hall, Robertito Zedda, Poroto Cambiaso, Adolfo Cambiaso) in front of a good local crowd and worldwide ChukkerTV audience.

It was Colorado’s biggest tournament win in its two-year history as a team and first time all four players won the Sterling Cup, including Johnson, who was making his 20-goal tournament debut.

“That was a very fun game,” said Rob Jornayvaz. “This is our biggest win. The team all kind of came together at the last minute.”

Argentine 9-goaler Diego Cavanagh was named MVP after scoring a gamehigh four goals including the gamewinner with two minutes left on an amazing 60-yard safety conversion in windy conditions.

“That was pretty unreal,” Jornayvaz said of Cavanagh’s gamewinner. “Honestly, we got very lucky in that corner that the ball went out off of Robertito and we got a safety.

“To be honest he smoked it,”

Valiente’s Agustin Nero, Santi Torres, Pablo Mac Donough and Poroto Cambiaso won the All Star Challenge Draw Tournament.

Jornayvaz said. “It went right in the center. It went super high and just dropped right in the goal. I didn’t see who got a mallet on it but it was already too late when it went in. Then it was just about running out the clock.”

Added Torres: “Diego is really good at penalties. I felt it was good when he was going to the ball and I knew it was going to go.”

Colorado finished the five-day, sixteam tournament undefeated with a 30 record. In early games, Colorado defeated Santa Clara, 9-8, and Casablanca, 13-10, and finished with 31 goals in the tournament.

Valiente (2-1) also scored 31 goals in three games. In its first two games, Valiente defeated Sebucan, 14-9, and Audi, 9-4. Both teams are in the J5 Equestrian organization.

“This is a big win for the organization,” Torres said.

“Obviously, it was going home either way. It was even better that it was for our side. It was a tough game. They were a really good team. It was four against four today and it was for everybody.”

In the fast-paced game, the lead changed hands five times late in the second half. Valiente led 5-3 at halftime and dominated most of the game until 6:08 in the fifth chukker when Cavanagh scored to tie the game at 6-6.

Valiente regained the lead, 7-6, on Zedda’s 30-yard penalty conversion with 2:43 left. Colorado tied the game at 7-7 after Johnson tapped in Cavanagh’s missed safety with 49 seconds left in the fifth chukker.

Colorado took the lead, 8-7, for the first time with 7:23 left in the sixth on Cavanagh’s 30-yard penalty conversion. Four minutes later, Adolfo Cambiaso scored to tie the game, 8-8.

Colorado took the lead for the second and final time when Cavanagh nailed a safety, lofting the ball 60 yards to the left of the goal post, curving in with the help of the wind.

After that it was just a matter of Colorado eating up the clock.

Moonshine, played by 13-year-old Poroto Cambiaso in the third chukker, was named Best Playing Pony for the championship final.

Festival, a stallion played by Adolfo Cambiaso in the sixth chukker, was selected Best Playing Pony for the tournament. Festival is out of Dolfina Cuartetera B04 and Dolfina Ventura.

Lufthanza, ridden by Poroto Cambiaso in the fourth chukker and owned by La Dolfina, earned the coveted American Polo Horse Association best registered horse of the game.

The teams met again in the World Polo League’s first tournament final.

Valiente (Agustin Nero, Santi Torres, Pablo Mac Donough, Poroto

POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N 53

R E P O R T

Colorado’s Robert Jornayvaz outruns Valiente’s Pablo Mac Donough in the first World Polo League tournament.

Cambiaso) made history with a thrilling 10-9 overtime victory over Colorado (Rob Jornayvaz, Juan Martin Zubia, Rodrigo Andrade, Jero del Carril) Sunday in the championship final of the inaugural World Polo League All Star Challenge Draw Tournament.

With 6:34 left in overtime, Argentine 10-goaler Pablo Mac Donough converted a 60-yard penalty shot to clinch the win in front of a record crowd and worldwide livestream audience.

Mac Donough finished with eight goals, all on penalty conversions and was named Most Valuable Player for the final.

“I have never had eight penalty goals in one game, that is the first time in my life I scored so many penalties in one game,” Mac Donough said. “It was good, especially the last one. I just wanted to hit the ball well and if you hit the ball well you have a chance to score. I just concentrated on putting the ball up in the air and that was it. Then you need a little bit of luck and it was on my side.

“This couldn’t be any better, to win the first World Polo League tournament,” Mac Donough said. “I am very happy to be part of this league. This is something good for

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

polo here in America. I am glad to be here this season and hopefully this league is here to stay.”

Poroto Cambiaso, 13, the son of polo great Adolfo Cambiaso and youngest player in the eight-team tournament, was selected MVP for the tournament and presented a Catena Watch by Bill Kraft, Catena USA CEO and president.

It was Cambiaso’s first 26-goal tournament win in his U.S. 26-goal debut. Cambiaso scored two goals in the final and matched up well against players twice his age.

“This is the first time in my life I play with Poroto,” Mac Donough said. “It’s unbelievable how he understands the game. He is the future of polo.”

Valiente finished the tournament unbeaten at 3-0 and Colorado finished 3-1. Both teams are owned

by Wellington-based J5 Equestrian.

The game was close from start-tofinish with never more than a twogoal difference. Valiente led 2-1, 3-2 and 5-4 in the first half.

Colorado took advantage of Valiente penalties in the fourth chukker and back-to-back goals from Del Carril and Zubia to give Colorado a 6-5 lead with 3:20 left, finishing with a 7-6 lead after four chukkers.

The fifth chukker was more

GABRIELLE STODD

P O L O

defensive with Cambiaso scoring the only goal for a 77 tie going into the sixth.

Mac Donough continued his magic at the line, converting 60- and 40-yard penalties to give Valiente a 9-7 lead with 4:15 left.

Colorado came roaring back with Jornayvaz’ goal at the 1:10 mark to trail 9-8 and del Carril’s 30-yard penalty shot to send the game into overtime.

Valiente advanced into the final with a come-frombehind 11-9 victory over Patagones. Colorado clinched with a 10-9 win over Flexjet.

World Polo League Best Playing Pony was awarded to Subaru, played

by Mac Donough in the sixth chukker. APHA Best Playing Pony was Amapola, played by Jornayvaz.

APHA Best Playing Pony of the tournament was Mini Watt, played by Torres. Mini Watt was also the APHA Best Playing Pony for the championship final in the 2017 $100,000 World Cup won by Torres’ team Palm Beach Illustrated.

Earlier in the day in the Handicap final, Scone (Alan Meeker/Aiden Meeker, Guillermo Terrera, Alejandro Taranco, Juan Martin Nero) defeated Audi (Marc Ganzi, Nic Roldan, Pelon Stirling, Kris Kampsen), 11-9. Ten-goaler Juan Martin Nero was Most Valuable Player. Terrera and Taranco each had four goals. Aiden Meeker added three goals. Aiden and his father Alan filled in for team sponsor David Paradice.

Ganzi and Stirling each had three goals for Audi.

Eight teams competed in bracket play to determine the two finalists.

Scone, Grand Champions, Colorado and Flexjet are in Bracket A and Audi, Valiente, Cria Yatay and Patagones are in Bracket B. —Sharon Robb

P O L O

R E P O R T MURRELLPHOTO.COM

SOUTHWEST

LEGACY POLO TAKES CONGRESSIONAL CUP

Ashley Owen was the Fan Favorite Player of the Weekend.

Ranch (Kelly Coldiron, Greg Summers, Allen Bowman). Greg Summers was given the Catena Sportsmanship award and Sonita, owned and played by MVP Brady Williams, was Best Playing Pony.

The 0- to 3-goal Challenge was a round robin with Central Texas Polo Association (Javier Insua, Holly Wood, Tres de la Paz) winning both of its matches. Castillo Polo (David Werntz, Cinderella Von Falkenhausen, Karen Summers) defeated Legend’s Horse Ranch (Nacho Estrada, Ismael Vasquez, Jack Crea). Javier Insua won U.S. Polo Assn. MVP, Cindi Von

MURRELLPHOTO.COM

The Texas Arena League officially got underway at East Texas Polo Club’s Legend’s Horse Ranch in Kaufman, Texas, Jan. 26-27.

TAL plays on a points system similar to Pacific Coast Arena League with teams and individuals accruing points throughout the course of the league towards end-of-season awards.

Points are given on a win/tie/loss status as well as points for Sportsmanship, MVP and Best Playing Pony Awards. In addition to TAL points, many events also accrue points towards the National Arena Amateur Cup standings.

In the USPA Arena Congressional Cup, Legacy Polo (Ashley Owen, Kyle McGraw, Javier Peralta) defeated Santa Anita (Oscar Bermudez Jr, James Servando McHazzlett, Sidro Olivas) in a shoot-out. Kyle McGraw was awarded Sportsmanship, Sidro Olivas took MVP honors and Nevada, owned and played by Ashley Owen, won the Nutrena Best Playing Pony.

In the USPA Admiral Nimitz Military Tournament, Williams Polo (Brady Williams, Mark Osburn, Maddie Lange) defeated OKC CCC

August Scherer shoots on goal in front of MVP Dalton Woodfin in the TAL 3- to 6-goal Challenge at Legend’s Horse Ranch.

Falkenhausen was given Sportsmanship honors and Davinci, played by Ismael Vasquez and owned

by Brady Williams, was Best Playing Pony.

In the USPA Sherman Memorial Cup, Legacy (Kyle McGraw, Loreto Natividad, Ashley Owen) scored a win over OKC CCC Ranch (Greg Summers, JT Shiverick, Kelly Coldiron). Joker, owned and played by Loreto Natividad won Best Playing Pony; Kelly Coldiron was the U.S. Polo Assn. MVP; and Kyle McGraw won the Sportsmanship Award.

The USPA General Puller military tournament saw Central Texas Polo Association (Chris Ballard, Javier Insua, Nacho Estrada) win over a very tough SAPC Punishers team (Kendall Plank, Amada Massey, Jack Crea). Jack Crea won the Catena Sportsmanship Award while Javier Insua was named MVP and Lolo, played by Kendall Plank, took home Best Playing Pony honors.

POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N 55

R E P O R T MURRELLPHOTO.COM

P O L O

South Padre Island’s MVP Keala Panzarini, Devan Groves, Abigayle McVaney, Robin Sanchez and Rebecca Seales won the USPA Women’s Challenge at South Padre Island Polo Club in Texas.

SOUTH PADRE PREVAILS IN WOMEN’S CHALLENGE The first Southwest Circuit women’s polo tournament of 2019 was played at South Padre Island Polo Club in South Padre Island, Texas, Jan. 5. Players came from San Antonio, Dallas, Austin, the Rio Grande Valley and North Texas to play in the 0- to 4-goal USPA Women’s Challenge at a waterside location in front of a crowd of Winter Texans.

San Antonio Polo Club was represented by Ursula Pari (4), Georgia Stone (0), Stella Stone (0) and Stephanie Franke (0). South Padre Island Polo Club players included Keala Panzarini (2), Devan Groves (0), Abigayle McVaney (0), Robin Sanchez

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

(2) and Rebecca Seales (0).

Groves owned the first chukker for the SPI team with three goals. Pari then took ownership of the second chukker with a score for San Antonio while her teammates held SPI at bay.

In the third, SAPC put two on the scoreboard while McVaney tallied one for SPI, leaving it barely holding a lead going into the final chukker. In the forth, Panzarini and Sanchez scored five additional points between them to shoot South Padre Island into the winner’s Circle.

Keala Panzarini was awarded MVP, Abi McVaney received the Sportsmanship Award and Ursula Pari’s India, a grey mare, won Best Playing Pony.

Devan Groves, playing at SPI for the first time, said, “Playing at the South Padre Island Polo Club was an unforgettable experience. Growing up in Illinois, I have never gotten the opportunity to play right along the beach and I cannot begin to describe how beautiful the grounds are.

“Of course, the experience of playing polo at South Padre would not have been possible without the

incredible dedication of Pud Nieto.

Pud makes you feel like family as soon as you come to his club and has been one of the most hospitable people I have ever met. Not only does Pud put on wonderful tournaments, but he also offers polo ponies for lessons and lease.

I had the privilege of playing Chula and Pokey in both the Women’s Challenge and the Amateur Cup and they were a lot of fun to play. I can’t wait to play at South Padre Polo Club again in the future!”

This tournament was the first in the Mid-Continent Women’s Polo Series. The series plays both arena and outdoor USPA women’s polo tournaments in Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana and Arkansas, at multiple clubs including New Orleans, Central Texas Polo Association, NWA, Houston, Midland, Dallas, Willow MVP Keala Panzarini

MURRELLPHOTO.COM

The final match of the weekend was the TAL 3- to 6-goal Challenge with Big Time Polo (Devan Groves, Dalton Woodfin, Brady Williams) taking home the win over Legend’s Horse Ranch (August Scherer, Karen Summers, Oscar Bermudez Jr).

Platinum, owned and played by Brady Williams, was the Nutrena Best Playing Pony; Karen Summers won the Sportsmanship Award and Dalton Woodfin was named MVP. The Galvin Agency Fan Favorite Player for the weekend was Ashley Owen.

Abigayle McVaney, Stephanie Franke, Devan Groves, Robin Sanchez and Tom Arbuckle won the USPA Southwest Circuit Amateur Cup. With them is Steve Armour.

Stella Stone. Playing for the SPI Polo Club team, in white, was Devan Groves, Abigayle McVaney, Tom Arbuckle, Stephanie Franke and Robin Sanchez.

SPI started out with a half-goal handicap.

Panzarini and Stella Stone quickly put two points on the board for San Antonio while SPI’s Devan Groves put the home team on the board. This fired up the SPI team with Devan Groves getting an additional score and Sanchez belting one through the goals while teammates Franke and McVaney kept the defense at bay. Arbuckle, Winter Texan and South Padre regular, got the stick on it a few times in the third chukker with passes from

Robin Sanchez avoids Ursala Pari’s hook.

MURRELLPHOTO.COM

Bend, Oklahoma City, South Padre Island and East Texas polo clubs with more being added.

The club also hosted the USPA Amateur Cup. Fall 2018 was rough for Texas and the USPA Southwest circuit.

Multiple tournaments were cancelled, postponed or forced from the grass into the arena due to the volume of seemingly never-ending rain. Even South Padre Island, with its sandy soil base, had some rainouts. But finally, the 2018 USPA Southwest Circuit Amateur Cup was played in January 2019.

What makes South Padre Island Polo Club so unique is its proximity to salt water. The Laguna Madre is literally yards away from the sideline while the Gulf of Mexico is a few hundred yards away from the other side of the field. During the match, there was a Farmer’s market, VIP tent and lots of spectators. Throughout the weekend, participants and their families took advantage of the beach, kite-boarding, saltwater fishing and the local restaurants and music venues.

Riding on the beach is just a matter of saddling up.

San Antonio Polo Club, in blue jerseys, mounted an all-female team for the tournament, including Ursula Pari, Keala Panzarini (a recent transplant from Hawaii) and sisters Georgia and

R E P O R T MURRELLPHOTO.COM

P O L O

McVaney but the Stone sisters of SAPC wouldn’t allow any scores. Pari regrouped her team for an attack in the final chukker with a score from Panzarini but South Padre Island maintained its half-goal lead winning the tournament.

Pari said, “After a long fall and winter of rain and cold, it was a nice respite to enjoy a day at the beach with my San Antonio teammates, who,, although a bit rusty on the edges from sitting out a season, had a lot of fun in South Padre. Many thanks to Pud Nieto and SPI Polo Club for the great hospitality and for the opportunity to bond with our up-and-coming women polo stars!”

Georgia Stone was named MVP and Robin Sanchez’s Pata Blanca was given the coveted Best Playing Pony award.

“This is the only prize I ever wish for,” said Sanchez. “Pata Blanca really put me right on the ball today. I couldn’t be more proud of her. This is a nice young Thoroughbred mare that has a bright future ahead of her.

Having the opportunity to come down to Pud’s and work the horses in this one-of-a-kind backdrop has been fantastic.”

Special thanks to Jack Crea for officiating, Steve Armour for announcing, Reese Layton for timing and scorekeeping, Katy and Walker Nieto for flagging and David and Debbi Murrell for the photos.

•

POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N 57

E Q U I N E AT H L E T E

(continued from page 17) weanlings, and had access to fresh forage and hay.

We are not sure why this particular horse began cribbing. It may be partly genetics and the way he responded to stress. As a foal he had a short period of stall rest and confinement. No one noticed any abnormal behavior at that time, and it’s difficult to know whether or not this influenced his behavior,” she says.

If a young horse must have stall rest, trying to enrich that experience might help avoid problems.

“You might try putting some toys in the stall for the young horse to play with,” she says. This might help encourage normal/natural oral behavior.

“Some of the things that might lead to cribbing in certain horses include a high concentrate diet, lack of turnout, and lack of socialization with other horses. Many owners are already trying to do the right things, and are often at a loss to know what else to do. Maybe they already have the horse out at pasture, allowed to be a horse. These horses may have hay in front of them most of the day and are socializing with pasture mates, but they still crib.

Owners are wondering what else they can do,” says Wickens.

Those are the best strategies to keep pursuing, however, to minimize the amount of time the horse spends cribbing. You don’t want them loosening your fence boards, so you might electrify the top board to discourage this behavior. “Some horses become very resourceful, however, when you thwart their cribbing. We’ve witnessed horses cribbing on other horses in the pen or pasture if they can’t set their teeth on a tree or a fence or hay feeder,” she says.

Surgery to remove portions of the muscles under the neck to keep the larynx from retracting is done as a last resort.

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

Preventative measures include putting more forage in front of them (not letting them go long periods of time without forage). “This is especially important in late fall and winter if the grass in a pasture is about gone, or dry and not very nutritious.

Rather than just putting some hay out, you might try to enrich the horse’s foraging experience. Maybe use a couple different kinds of hay and place a few flakes in different areas around the paddock so the horse has to move around and mimic foraging behavior,” Wickens says.

This gives the horse exercise as well as food, mimics traveling and grazing, and provides something more to do than just standing and eating at a feeder. You could also put out different kinds of hay for the horse to sample. “Some of it could be more nutritious if it’s a performance horse or any horse that needs more calories. A little legume hay along with the grass hay flakes placed here and there around the paddock can make a little more work and activity for the horse,” she says.

Hay nets are another way to do this, depending on the situation. “Make sure they are hung safely, and don’t leave horses all day unattended with hay nets if they are not accustomed to them. The main idea is to slow down forage consumption. In climates where there is less forage in winter (snow-covered pastures) horse may have to paw to get to the grass or may not have any grass, so you need to provide them with something to do.” This is especially true if they are dry-lotted for winter and kept off the pastures. Some of the slow feeders for hay may be helpful.

If the horse’s stomach is empty for more than a few hours, this may create some digestive upset, which may stimulate more oral behavior, and cribbing. “This is why it might help to provide more forage. It may not stop the cribbing but might reduce the frequency,” she says.

“If it’s a younger horse or one that has just started cribbing, evaluate the diet. If you catch this behavior early, before it has become well established, you might work with your veterinarian to make sure there’s not a gastro-intestinal issue--and consider using an antacid product. You might ask about treating for gastric ulcers. Abnormal oral behaviors are often associated with gut discomfort, which may stem from feeding management. This might be something to try with the horse that’s just begun to crib, and might be successful in halting it,” says Wickens. It may be easier to redirect a beginning cribber than a horse that’s been doing it for several years.

Just because a horse exhibits stereotypic behavior (cribbing, weaving, stall walking) doesn’t necessarily

E Q U I N E AT H L E T E

mean the horse’s current management or environment is suboptimal. It may mean that at some point in that horse’s history it was trying to cope with stress, and these behaviors tend to continue.

Colic, ulcers and cribbing Some horse owners think there’s a link between certain types of colic and cribbing. “I struggle with this idea, however, because at this point the research data is limited and does not necessarily point to a true cause and effect relationship. We don’t really know if cribbing makes horses more prone to colic or if these horses already have digestive upsets and are prone to colic and this made them more likely to crib,” Wickens says.

“It’s like the question about which came first, the chicken or the egg. A few studies in the veterinary literature have demonstrated an association between colic and cribbing, and there are many other causes of colic. I have known many cribbing horses that have never had problems with colic, and many noncribbers who have experienced frequent bouts of colic. There is still much we do not understand about the relationship between colic and other gastrointestinal problems and cribbing in horses,” she says.

If a cribbing horse is a hard keeper there are health issues to consider, such as severe wear of the incisor teeth. Wickens suggests putting a collar on that horse during mealtime or when it is in a stall.

“If the horse can’t crib during meals, he might digest food better, with less risk for colic and digestive problems,” she says.

If owners resort to using a collar, it’s important to make sure it is fitted properly. “Put fleece inserts on the collar to help prevent rubbing and sores. If a leather collar is not adjusted periodically it may become looser and less effective, but acclimate the horse to the collar gradually. If the cribber has never experienced a collar and you put it tightly around the neck it may irritate the horse and compromise safety of horse and handler.”

Some of her PhD work at Auburn University with Dr. Cindy McCall focused on whether there is a gastrointestinal link with cribbing. “I worked with adult horses that had a long history of cribbing. We tested the hypothesis that cribbers (compared to normal non-stereotypic horses) have greater number and/or severity of gastric ulcers. When we videoendoscoped those horses we did not find a significant difference between the cribbers and non-cribbers in the condition of their stomachs,” says Wickens.

“We also did a blood collection pre and postfeeding of a grain meal, looking at the gastric

Keeping forage in front of horses may help manage cribbing, but even then, sometimes they will continue to crib on whatever they can grab hold of.

hormone gastrin, which is a stimulator of hydrochloric acid (HCL). When the horse has a meal with stomach stretch and protein in the diet this stimulates production of gastrin, which in turn stimulates the parietal cells to produce HCL, making the stomach more acidic. In our cribbing horses there was a tendency toward a heightened gastrin response after feeding grain, compared to the noncribbing horses,” she says.

“Since that study (in 2008-2009), another paper POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N 59

JUNIORS BILDARCHIV GMBH/ALAMY STOCK PHOTO

E Q U I N E AT H L E T E

Horses that have been cribbing for several years show abnormal wear on their upper incisors.

came out in 2012 from a research group that was looking at additional gastro-intestinal hormones in cribbing horses. They were looking at ghrelin and leptin, which are both tied to satiety (the feeling of being full and satisfied after eating). There were some differences between stereotypic and control horses, but when the same group of authors repeated that study in 2013, in the second group of horses they didn’t see significant differences. So this idea needs further investigation,” says Wickens.

Recent research The traditional theory has been that horses start cribbing as a coping mechanism. Recent studies have shown that when horses are allowed to perform stereotypic behavior there is reduction in the stress hormone cortisol and/or heart rate. Some researchers have seen a difference between cribbers

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

and the control horses that do not perform stereotypic behaviors, while other researchers have found no difference.

“An abstract was presented a few years ago at the Equitation Science Society Conference, in which the study looked at cribbers and non-cribbers that were all exposed to a stressor. The cribbers were divided into two groups; the researchers either prevented or allowed the cribbers to go ahead with their cribbiting activity during the stressor or immediately after the stressor. The study found that when the horses were allowed to crib they were less stressed,” says Wickens. It relaxed them for a while.

This Swiss research group found that cribbers allowed to crib during training (using a wooden plank near where they were being trained in hand, doing ground work) had reduced stress levels, whereas their stress levels remained high when they were not allowed to crib. The study results suggest that cribbing is a coping strategy that helps these individuals reduce cortisol levels caused by stressful situations. The researchers concluded that preventing stereotypic horses from cribbing could be an inappropriate strategy to control this behavior, as it prevents these horses from coping with situations that they perceive as stressful.

This is something for owners to think about, if cribbing is a coping mechanism. “As concerning as the behavior can be—with the noise, destruction of facilities, etc.—if it does serve some function and has some purpose for the horse, we need to be careful about the way we approach it in terms of managing these horses. We also need to look at the broader picture and how we manage horses, especially young horses, to try to keep this from happening in the first place. This is important for young horses in training that need more calories, being fed concentrate feeds,” Wickens says.

It might be best to get the extra calories into them with more fat and fiber and less starch/sugar. “This also tends to have a calming effect (they aren’t as hyper) when there is more fat and fiber and less sugar. Many commercial feeds contain highly digestible fiber sources like beet pulp and alfalfa meal. These can provide more calories and help maintain body condition without creating behavioral and health issues like colic and laminitis,” says Wickens.

The behavioral issue also goes back to the question of best management for a cribber. “Should we be trying to thwart this behavior? The thought today is that maybe we should not try to halt it, unless the cribber is a hard keeper and spends too much time during meals cribbing instead of eating.

E Q U I N E AT H L E T E

If the horse is not consuming enough calories to maintain body condition, he might need to wear a collar during mealtime so he can focus on eating instead of cribbing,” Wickens says.

“A 2017 article by Katherine Houpt and Julia Albright focuses on dietary taste and gastric stimuli in terms of how it relates to a highly palatable meal containing sweet feed with molasses and a higher sugar content. This may stimulate cribbing behavior.

We do see more frequent cribbing during a grain meal. Horses tend to increase cribbing during or right after a grain meal. Very palatable feeds seem to stimulate them to want to crib, and they don’t crib as much while eating forage.”

A strategy that has met with some success is to make sure the horse has already had some forage before being given a grain meal. If you leave some hay in the stall when giving the grain meal, it may also help. It won’t stop the cribbing but may give the horse something else to focus on when he finishes his grain.

Another recent study looked at providing cribbing horses with toys. Lick-it type toys can give the horse something to do and distract him from wanting to crib. “One toy is called a tongue twister, designed for a horse to chew on or play with, using his mouth.

These devices are hung in the stall and have apparatus on them to encourage the horse to manipulate them with tongue and lips. The study showed that toys that stimulates chewing, licking and oral behavior is somewhat helpful for the cribber,” says Wickens.

If you watch cribbers, right before they set their teeth on the fence board or side of the stall, many of them exhibit a lot of oral behavior. “They tend to lick and chew just before they actually set their teeth.

Some of the horses that live in stalls, if you put a collar on they stop cribbing momentarily because they can’t expand the larynx and stretch their neck out to try to perform the behavior, but they almost always redirect the behavior into some other form of stereotypic activity. They may start to head toss, weave or walk the stall.” They seem to have a need to express that energy in some way.

The older theory about cribbing was that horses crib to release endorphins, to get their “fix” or a high. “Now we don’t necessarily think they are cribbing to get the high, but perhaps to relieve stress.

In younger horses, I think cribbing is initiated in response to gastric inflammation and pain which manifests as stress. We know pain influences brain development in terms of brain chemistry and physiology. I think all these things are linked.

Perhaps in these horses their brain chemistry and

physiology is already a little different or becomes altered, so they tend to be more sensitive; their reward and goal-directed systems are different from that of a non-cribbing horse. So when they are fed a highly palatable meal, it tends to stimulate those receptors in the brain to a degree that is more heightened than in a normal horse,” she explains.

“Thus they crib not so much to get the high. They are getting the endorphin release from something else that’s occurring (like the grain meal) and then that influences the behavior or reinforces it.

Cribbing is definitely linked to endorphins and opioid stimulation, but it may be that the receptors in their brain are already more sensitive. Different stimuli that elicit that ‘feel good’ response is reinforcing the cribbing, but I don’t think it’s necessarily the cribbing itself that is giving the horse the fix,” she says.

Wickens hopes to conduct more cribbing research. “We’re thinking that if you allow horses to crib, at least for a period of time during the day, maybe you are helping them reduce stress levels.

Horse owners who are trying to manage these behaviors might want to consider this before they try to physically prevent the cribbing behavior.”

She is very interested in the link between gastrointestinal health and stereotypic behaviors, especially cribbing. The hard part is finding funding for research. “Even though cribbing is a widespread problem and many horse owners are interested in gaining a better understanding of the behavior and how to more effectively manage their horses, finding grant funding to investigate these behaviors is difficult,” says Wickens.

“There are still some groups, especially in Europe, investigating cribbing. Some are going back to the idea of cribbing as a stress-coping mechanism, looking at ACTH and cortisol in these horses. Some of that research has been conflicting, with mixed results, but now that we have less invasive methods of measuring stress hormones it is easier to do, and results are often more robust. In the past we had to collect blood to analyze plasma cortisol. Now we have methods to look at salivary cortisol and can even collect feces from the horse and look at cortisol metabolites in the feces,” she says.

It’s much better if samples can be collected in noninvasive ways. “When we have to collect blood via jugular venipuncture, even if a horse is accustomed to handling and veterinary care, if you are drawing blood you are still introducing a stress just to get the sample. If we can do this in a non-invasive way it can be helpful, and there are some research groups using this approach,” she says.

• POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N 61

Y E S T E RY E A R S

International arena play Americans defeat England in inaugural Townsend Cup series

The Townsend International Indoor Challenge Cup dates back to 1923. In the summer of 1922, Charles Lang, secretary of the Indoor Polo Association of American went to Europe empowered to enter into negotiations with foreign teams to come to the U.S. and play in an international indoor polo match. After arriving in London, the English players showed some interest, but later decided it would be nearly impossible to get players with enough experience to make the trip worthwhile.

J.D. Richards, H.B. Blackwell and R.A. Granniss. Blackwell and Granniss played in the inaugural Townsend Cup series.

France was more receptive and it seemed likely they would accept the challenge. Instead, they countered, asking the Americans to play a series of tournaments in France. The Indoor Polo Association nearly abandoned the idea until a series of cables were received announcing the English had a team ready to sail to the U.S. A meeting was hastily called and a committee was formed to help organize the event and finance the travel expenses for the British team.

Sportsman John R. Townsend, a big supporter of polo, offered an elaborate silver perpetual International Indoor Polo Challenge Cup trophy, which, according to the New York Times, was valued at several thousand dollars in 1923. A deed of gift for the trophy was drawn up, designating it as “perpetual challenge cup for friendly amateur competition between teams representing the United States, England, France and such other countries as may

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

hereafter signify a desire to challenge for this cup.”

The English team set sail in late January and were expected to arrive in early February for the March event. The team was expected to bring at least six ponies conditioned and trained for international competition. The visitors would take part in matches in New York, Philadelphia and Cincinnati to help prepare for the main event. The Indoor Polo Association provided funds for transporting the players, six ponies and a groom.

The Brits ended up sending eight ponies, which sailed on the Mississippi, while the players sailed on the Olympic. After a brief delay because of bad weather, the players—F.W. Egan, Capt. W. F. Holman, Capt. F. L. Walford and Capt. H. McMullen—arrived the evening of Feb. 7, and were met on the dock by Averell Harriman, George Sherman, Robert Grannis, George Matthews Jr. and Gen. Mortimer Bryant. The English players were brought to the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel where they stayed during their trip.

Arrangements were made for them to practice the next day at Squadron A Armory, located at Madison Avenue and 94th Street in New York City. They were also honored at a luncheon at the University Club given by Thomas Leaming, president of the Riding and Driving Club of Brooklyn.

The players also stopped at the Riding Club to see the trophy and meet Townsend. The practice gave the players a chance to get used to the Armory, where the championship were to be played. Later that night, the players were guests at a welcome dinner at the Riding Club.

Remarkably, the players were playing together as a team for the first time. Indoor polo wasn’t being played in England, though plans were being made to introduce it. Only a few brief practices in London were arranged for them before coming to the U.S. But, indoor balls were not available to them so they practiced with an outdoor ball.

The English ponies, with all but one owned by Holman, arrived the third week in February and were stabled at the Armory. They arrived too late to travel to other states as originally planned so they were exercised in the Armory. The English players, mounted on loaned ponies, traveled to other clubs for two weeks to practice before competition.

Y E S T E RY E A R S

The English players were playing several combinations to determine how to line up the team.

In outdoor polo, Egan and Holman typically played Back, while Walford played No. 3. McMullin, expected to be the substitute, is the only forward.

On March 4, the players played their own ponies for the first time in a practice game at the Riding Club against a Riding Club team. They surprised spectators when they defeated the home team 10-4.

The team was led by five goals from McMullen. It was the second victory by the English, who trounced a 101st Cavalry team in Brooklyn, 21-3, days earlier.

Egan had been suffering from lower back pain and it was uncertain if he would be able to play the contest at all. He decided to try and tough it out.

The first match was played just before 10 p.m. on March 6. Over 1,000 fans braved stormy weather to fill the Armory, often jumping to their feet enthusiastically applauding for the hard-riding action. Though the box office reported almost all the seats were sold, those in high society who often attended the outdoor matches at Meadow Brook did not attend.

A report in the New York Times noted, “...

Without the stares of the multitude to be counted upon, there is little incentive for dress, and the elaborate wraps and gowns, which are features of the outdoor polo matches and of the horse show, were notably absent.”

The Americans—A.W. Kinny, H.B. Blackwell and R.A. Granniss—won the match 4½-1. They actually scored six goals in the four periods, but a half-goal was taken away on three occasions due to fouls. The English, lining up with McMullin at No. 1, Helman at No. 2 and Egan as Back, played their best game since arriving, with Egan the standout with his powerful backshots, despite his pain.

Neither team was able to score in the first chukker and the Americans faced a deficit after Granniss was called for an illegal hook. Kinny put the U.S. on the board with back-to-back goals in the first half of the second period. Granniss followed with a goal late in the chukker to lead 2½-0. Egan put England on the board midway through the third. Each of the Americans scored in the fourth to secure the win.

Granniss commanded the field, stopping the Brits defensive drives and passing to his forwards to score.

McMullin, who had shined in earlier play, struggled to get past Granniss and pick up passes.

The ponies on both sides played well. After the match, the ponies were paraded around the armory.

A sergeant of Squadron A with the American flag led the American ponies while a corporal bearing the British colors headed the English ponies.

Conditions for Challenge Under the conditions adopted, the club or association holding the cup shall be obliged to defend it against any challenger whose amateur and other standing shall be satisfactory to the Indoor Polo Association of the United States. Such a challenge shall not be given by any club or association oftener than once a year. The challenge must be given at least six months before the suggested date of play, which always shall be between Feb. 1 and April 30 of the year of play.

In case two or more challenges are made in any one year the organization first challenging shall have precedence, other challenges to be accepted in the order of their receipt. It is further provided that the holder shall not be obliged to accept more than two challenges in any one year, although it may, at its options, arrange an international tourney for play among the accepted challengers. The holder also may designate the time and place of play.

If the holder of the challenge cup fails to defend, its rights will be forfeited, and it must surrender the trophy to the Indoor Polo Association on demand. The rules of play in the challenge matches will be those of the country in which the match is held.

Play in the challenge matches will be three out of five games.

The second match of the contest, which attracted a larger crowd, saw the U.S. team crush the visitors 11-2. The English changed the lineup for the third match, replacing McMullin, who had been struggling, with Walford. Walford played much better but even so, the outcome was not much better, with the Americans winning 10-4.

The British saddles were delayed in arriving so they borrowed American saddles. This left their ponies with sore backs. The Americans loaned them ponies but it left them at a considerable disadvantage on strange horses. The visitors had only four of their own ponies in the last match. The Americans outmounted the visitors, beating them to play after play.

The Americans jumped out to a 3-1 lead in the first period with each of the Americans scoring and Holman tallying for England. Blackwell traded goals with Walford in the second for a 4-2 U.S. advantage at the half. The last 15 minutes saw the Americans outscore the Brits 6-2. Blackwell and Kinny added two each in the third, while Holman scored the only English goal. Kinny and Blackwell struck again in the fourth, while England was held to one by Walford. Not a single foul was called in the match.

The English were expected to immediately challenge for a rematch the following winter, but it wasn’t until 71 years later, in 1994, that the contest was played for again.

• POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N 63

CALENDAR

March/April F E B RUA RY 2 0 - M A RC H 3 The Founder’s Cup (26) Grand Champions, Wellington, FL

MARCH 7-9 Tabebuia Women’s Cup (WCT 16) Port Mayaca, Okeechobee, FL

M A R C H 2 7 - A P R I L 14 Triple Crown of Polo (26) Grand Champions, Wellington, FL

F E B RUA RY 2 4 - M A RC H 2 4 USPA Gold Cup (22) International, Wellington, FL

M A R C H 8 - 17 USPA Congressional Cup (4, 8) Empire, Indio, CA

M A R C H 2 7 - A P R I L 21 U.S. Open Polo Championship (22) International, Wellington, FL

F E B RUA RY 27 - M A RC H 3 Sarasota Women’s Challenge Sarasota, Lakewood Ranch, FL

MARCH 9 Molly’s House Charity Benefit Port Mayaca, Okeechobee, FL

MARCH 30- APRIL 20 Spring Fling (4-6) Port Mayaca, Okeechobee, FL

M A RC H 1 - 10 Eldorado March League (6,12) Eldorado, Indio, CA

M A R C H 1 0 - 17 Women’s U.S. Open Prelims Port Mayaca, Okeechobee, FL

APRIL 2-6 Women’s Championship Tournament Grand Champions, Wellington, FL

M A R C H 1 - 16 USPA Heritage Cup (12-16) Port Mayaca, Okeechobee, FL

M A RC H 15 - 2 4 USPA Rossmore Cup (12) Eldorado, Indio, CA

A P R I L 3 - 14 10-12 Goal League Sarasota, Lakewood Ranch, FL

M A R C H 16 - 2 4 USPA Governor’s Cup (6) Eldorado, Indio, CA

APRIL 4-7 Gay Polo League International, Wellington, FL

M A R C H 17 - 2 4 USPA 6-Goal Tournament Vero Beach, Vero Beach, FL

A P R I L 4 - 13 Club Tournament (4-6) Sarasota, Lakewood Ranch, FL

M A RC H 18 - 2 3 La Aguada Ladies Cup (12-14) La Aguada Autumn Cup (12-14) La Aguada, Open Door, Argentina

APRIL 5-20 Las Acacias (4-8) Grand Champions, Wellington, FL

J.T. Oxley Memorial (20) Grand Champions, Wellington, FL MARCH 1-23 Madelon Bourdieu Memorial (6) Limited Edition 8 Goal Series Top Pony 12-Goal Series Grand Champions, Wellington, FL MARCH 1-24 Trust Cup (4-6, 8-12) 1-Goal League Arena League Palm City, Boynton Beach, FL

M A R C H 1 - 31 The Shady Lady (8-12) USPA Continental Cup (4-8) The Black Olive (4-6) Port Mayaca, Okeechobee, FL $50K National 12-Goal Grand Champions, Wellington, FL MARCH 3 Julian Hipwood Junior Tourney Vero Beach, Vero Beach, FL MARCH 3-24 $100K World Cup (0-40) Grand Champions, Wellington, FL M A R C H 6 - 17 USPA National Inter Circuit (8-12) Sarasota, Lakewood Ranch, FL MARCH 6-24 Palm Beach Open (26) Grand Champions, Wellington, FL

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

M A R C H 2 0 - 31 10-12 Goal League Sarasota, Lakewood Ranch, FL

M A R C H 21 - 3 0 Club Tournament (4-6) Sarasota, Lakewood Ranch, FL MARCH 22 Brooke USA’s Sunset Polo Wanderers, Wellington, FL MARCH 22-23 Victory Cup: Best of Texas Garey Park, Georgetown, TX M A R C H 2 2 - 31 Champions Cup (8) Empire, Indio, CA MARCH 23 Women’s U.S. Open Final International, Wellington, FL M A R C H 2 3 - 31 Lions Cup (4) Empire, Indio, CA

APRIL 5-28 Primavera Cup (4-6, 8-12) Palm City, Boynton Beach, FL APRIL 6-20 National Presidents Cup (4-8) Grand Champions, Wellington, FL A P R I L 13 Victory Cup: Rio Grande Springfest Park, McAllen, TX A P R I L 14 All the Marbles Season Close Vero Beach, Vero Beach, FL A P R I L 17 - 2 8 Robert A. Uihlein Jr. Memorial (10-12) Sarasota, Lakewood Ranch, FL A P R I L 18 - 2 7 USPA Sportsmanship Cup (4-6) Sarasota, Lakewood Ranch, FL APRIL 27 April Challenge Cup Prestonwood, Oak Point, TX

@USPOLOASSN | #LIVEAUTHENTICALLY | USPOLO.ORG