Association News

Meeting Recap

During the week of Monday, Oct. 5 through Saturday, Oct. 10, the USPA convened for the annual Fall Committee, Board of Governors and Annual Member Meeting. Due to the pandemic, the USPA decided to postpone the in-person meetings, which were set to be held in Mulvane, Kansas, at the Kansas Star Hotel. The virtual meetings gave a unique opportunity for USPA members to attend meetings they may not have been able to join in the past.

The 16 committees met throughout the week from Monday through Friday, each hosting a Zoom meeting open to the committee members, board, staff and USPA membership. In addition, the USPA Umpires, LLC, Polo Development, LLC and communications/marketing gave hour-long presentations.

During the annual member meeting on Friday, Chairman Armstrong presented his vision for the future of the association. In addition, the delegates received information regarding the proposed changes to the 2021 by-laws, rules and tournament conditions. The staff also disseminated some friendly reminders, including member benefits, the 2021 helmet mandate and the process for submitting tournament results.

The following is a recap of the Saturday fall board of governors meeting with highlights from the committee meetings and division presentations:

Mr. Smith, USPA secretary, ratified the previous actions of the board in his secretary’s report. Mr. Rudolph, treasurer, presented a brief financial report and acknowledged the strong relationship with USPA Global Licensing. He indicated the USPA is in a solid financial position but must continue to remain vigilant in exercising prudence in spending.

Arena

Chairman Ms. Sanchez emphasized that arena polo is experiencing a boom with arenas located at 60% of USPA member clubs and 63% of the membership playing at clubs with arenas. Polo schools are able to increase volume, intercollegiate/ interscholastic teams and middle school competition are growing and arena leagues are gaining interest and attendance. The Polo Development Initiative arena improvements, coupled with the COVID-19 USPA Polo Tournament Stimulus Package, have increased the quality of and interest in USPA arena tournaments. Sanchez noted that after multiple requests, all 2021 USPA national arena tournaments have been awarded.

Recently, Great Meadow Polo Club (The Plains, Virginia) played five national arena tournaments in a four-week period with huge success. At the USPA Women’s Arena Open held there, Lezlie Hiner was presented with the 2019 Russ Sheldon Award for outstanding contributions to arena polo.

Armed Forces

Mr. Hilberg, chairman, presented an overview of the military events that took place this year. The committee is exploring a partnership with the George S. Patton legacy sports organization. The board approved six motions from the committee, including two new national Armed Forces

tournaments, one new circuit arena event and additions to the tournament conditions.

Audit

Member Mr. Stanislawski presented the committee’s report. There were no inquiries in the previous six months. Mr. Stanislawski noted that his personal term on the committee would be expiring in April and the committee continues to look for a replacement member who, ideally, would be a USPA member with a CPA degree.

Board and Staff Development

Mr. Rizzo, chairman, gave a summary of the committee’s annual accomplishments. It continues to work on various initiatives, including revising various policies. Mr. Zach Grob, currently also serving on the Young Players’ Committee, was added as a new member of the committee.

Club and Member Administration

Chairman Mr. Armour summarized the actions of the committee. The board approved a new mission statement for the committee which aligns with the new revisions to the by-laws.

Constitution

Chairman Mr. Jornayvaz outlined the revisions to the proposed 2021 by-laws, which include: the addition of a preamble; the addition of a provision describing the role and responsibilities of the USPA chief executive officer; updates to the Advisory Committee language; and additional language to clarify the timing and process of membership classifications. One significant change to the membership classifications is that effective Jan. 1, 2021, active member clubs must conduct annually a minimum of either four club events or two USPA events. Another notable change for 2021 is that a club (except for those that participate primarily in interscholastic polo at the high-school level) may only remain provisional for one year. The board approved the proposed 2021 by-laws. The committee also proposed amendments to the Polo Development, LLC and Umpires, LLC operating agreements. The board approved the revisions.

Equine Welfare

Chairman Dr. Manno gave an overview of the changes to the Equine Drugs and Medications Rules, which the board approved for 2021.

Executive Committee

Chairman Armstrong gave a brief overview of the actions of the committee since the April board of governors meeting. The board approved the ratification of those actions. Armstrong reported that with the approved budget Option One, the board had agreed to the extension of the Tournament Stimulus Package through 2021. He presented the revised COVID-19 2021 USPA Polo Tournament Stimulus Package guidelines and the board approved.

Finance

Chairman Mr. Ramirez Jr. provided an overview of the recent committee meeting. He stated that the USPA’s investment portfolio is performing in accordance with the investment plan. Aaron Lally of Meketa Investment Group discussed the portfolio. The portfolio handled the 2020 first quarter correction well. There is potential for uncertainty through the end of the year, but the liquidity available allows for short-term action if needed. The committee recommended approval of the 2021 USPA annual budget and the international budget in the recent meeting.

CEO Mr. Puetz stated that both budgets were widely discussed during the budget renewal process. Included in the 2021 budget is an extension of the well-received COVID-19 USPA Polo Tournament Stimulus Package. In the international budget, event planning and costs related to the FIP World Championships (previously scheduled for 2021) were moved to 2022 and will be presented to the board at the fall 2021 meetings. Funding for international events that were postponed due to the pandemic will remain in the investment portfolio. The board approved the 2021 operating budget and international budget.

Handicap

Mr. Carlucho Arellano, executive director of Services, spoke on behalf of the committee and summarized the proposed changes to the handicap policy. The changes include: allowing women’s 0-goal and arena -1-goal handicaps to change at any time; automatic adjustments to women’s handicaps based on changes in their mixed handicaps; a trigger for an automatic review if a player’s foreign handicap is 2 goals higher or lower than their USPA handicap; an increase in the number of at-large Arena Handicap Committee members from four to six (specifying that two at-large Arena Handicap Committee members shall be representatives from intercollegiate/ interscholastic); the ability to assign a women’s arena handicap automatically based on their women’s outdoor handicap; and updated language regarding the high-level outdoor disclosure for players who receive a handicap change after playing in a qualifying tournament. The board approved the proposed changes to the handicap policy as presented.

International

Chairman Mr. Hall led an hour-long meeting. The

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Incoming Women’s Polo Committee Chair Meghan Gracida

committee discussed the 2021 proposed international events, which include Polo in the Park, the postponed Women’s Nations Cup and other miscellaneous invitations.The United States has been invited to bring two teams (men’s and women’s) to compete in the 2021 Polo in the Park event, to be held at the historic Hurlingham Park in London, England. The USPA, FIP and their partners have all agreed to postpone the FIP World Polo Championships until Fall of 2022.

Rules

The committee welcomed new members Cecilia Cochran, Anna Winslow Palacios and Billy Raab. It proposed several substantive changes for 2021 to the outdoor rules, arena rules and tournament conditions that were approved by the board of governors: establishing forfeiture as the penalty for heel calk violations (OR 6a, AR 2e); clarifying that any “next game” suspension in a USPA event must be served in that or another USPA event (OR 33b-e); allowing team captains to question the score keeping or timekeeping in the final period until 15 minutes after the final whistle (OR 11c); clarifying that the arena roof structure is out of bounds (ARs 7, 9); eliminating the use of shootouts for seeding purposes (TC VI); enabling the use of Dartfish video for umpire reviews only (TC VII); and clarifying “calling the advantage” (OR 21b).

The committee also proposed, and the board approved, three new optional tournament conditions for host tournament committees to use in 2021 if they choose: an expansion of Outdoor Rule 26A that prohibits blocking in live play as well as on set plays; an alternative to the ¾ rule in USPA events with an upper-handicap limit between 4- and 6-goals that has been used successfully by many HTCs as a variance in 2020; and a “fair-play” throw-in to restart play when it has been interrupted unexpectedly to the significant disadvantage of the team in possession.

Women’s Polo

The committee had a productive first meeting under the leadership of new chair, Ms. Meghan Gracida. Ms. Gandomcar-Sachs presented the Women’s Tournament Reimbursement Program on behalf of the committee to the board. The board approved the reimbursement program.

Young Players

Under the leadership of chairman Mr. Thurston, the committee predominantly focused on diversity in USPA polo and how it could interact with other various committees of the USPA to cultivate diversity-specific initiatives.

The board approved the national and sanctioned tournament applications as presented.

Umpires, LLC

The USPA Umpires, LLC gave a full report on the initiatives and areas of focus throughout the year, along with plans for the future. Umpires, LLC highlighted the success of the COVID-19 USPA Polo Tournament Stimulus Package, which has yielded 120 tournaments as of Tuesday, Oct. 6. Chairman Mr. Gose presented five points at the forefront of the USPA Umpires, LLC: recruitment and international recruitment; retention (contract labor/employee, bonus); training—outside monitors/regional managers; evaluations—game management, play calling, non-calls; mindset.

The board ratified the actions of the Umpires, LLC, communications department & USPA Marketing, LLC

Global Licensing, LLC

Chairman Mr. Cummings opened the meeting by discussing the strong financial performance and health of USPAGL during these challenging times with COVID-19. He also mentioned how the retail and apparel industries have been negatively impacted with significant financial losses, store closures and layoffs. Cummings also thanked president and CEO Michael Prince and his team for

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USPAGL’s strong financial results and management of the crisis over the past year.

Prince provided an update on U.S. Polo Assn. and the global impact of COVID-19. First, he thanked the USPA and the USPAGL board for their tremendous support during these unprecedented times. He mentioned that approximately 95% of the global business had reopened, the overall business was trending better than originally forecast in March and USPAGL would outperform the revised 2020 plan. The aforementioned positive financial momentum will result in higher revenues, lower expenses, higher gross profit and more USPA royalties. He noted this is occurring while many other apparel brands and retailers have incurred hundreds of millions of dollars of losses and closed thousands of stores.

Prince also mentioned that USPAGL has worked very hard to manage cash flow, working with licensees, vendors and the USPA to ensure a longterm stable foundation and future. He shared that all licensees had paid USPAGL in a timely manner for the past seven months. He indicated retail stores were starting to rebound with outdoor locations doing better than malls. Also, USPAGL has been aggressively expanding its digital presence, launching nine e-commerce sites and 15 brand sites, which has doubled the e-commerce business and grown to almost 6 million social media followers worldwide.

The Umpires, LLC has seen great success with the COVID-19 Polo Tournament Stimulus Package.

He expects the holiday season will be challenging based on the tough economic environment and that more department stores and retailers will close their doors. This will result in e-commerce being more important than ever before, as will looking at new distribution channels for the future. Prince mentioned U.S. Polo Assn. remains on the offense with strong marketing, from global photo shoots and commercials on top-rated shows like Yellowstone to supporting the Silver Cup at Santa Barbara Polo & Racquet Club (Santa Barbara, California) and the Collegiate Partnership Program for intercollegiate polo clubs.

Ms. Stilson, assistant vice president of marketing for USPA Global Licensing Inc., gave an update on Global Polo TV’s plans to transition to a subscription-based platform. Beginning Nov. 3, GPTV will roll out three polo passes ranging from $49.99-$175 for 2021 USPA live games. The premium polo pass, which has a value of $225, will be free to all USPA playing and lifetime members and the polo pass, which has a value of $75, will be free for all USPA social members. The Gauntlet of Polo Pass will include the top three USPA tournaments and have a value of $150.

The goal is to continue to offer on-demand content, player interviews and horse stories for free to all current subscribers that are not interested in purchasing a polo pass. Currently, the platform has

over 8,000 subscribers (25% of them USPA members) and has had high engagement during times of no polo. The Global Polo TV platform offers custom content offerings with USPA vault games, polo news and other inside polo stories. For more information visit globalpolo.com.

The board of governors approved a motion from USPA Communications and Global Polo Entertainment to support changing the branding of USPA events on Global Polo TV from “USPA Polo Network” to “USPA Official Event.” For all USPA events hosted on Global Polo TV, the USPA will remain at the forefront of all references related to owning the events and have sign-off rights prior to usage.

Polo Development, LLC

Over the past year and a half to two years, the program’s committees have been going through program-specific strategic planning discussions and implementation. Key points of the strategic planning efforts, goals and objectives moving forward into 2021 and beyond were presented.

The Polo Development Initiative Committee presentation homed in on the impact the PDI program has made on club infrastructure, specifically arena developments and enhancements. Moving forward, the PDI Committee, under the leadership of Chairman Bob McMurtry, will look to help support new strategic opportunities at the club level, such as instructor/academy development and the continual promotion of regional cooperative efforts such as the Chicago Polo Association.

Team USPA Chairman Mason Wroe discussed how the program is on track after scaling down the number of participants in the program with a benchmark of achieving a 4- to 5-goal handicap by 21-22 years of age. During the summer, the committee began having discussions on a femalespecific development track and will begin the strategic planning process for this initiative in the first part of 2021.

Junior Polo Committee Chair Ms. Chrys Beal briefly discussed plans to play the 2020 National Youth Tournament Series Championship in Florida in early 2021. The Junior Polo Committee continues

Published by the United States Polo Association Offices at 9011 Lake Worth Rd., Lake Worth, Florida 33467 • (800) 232-USPA Chairman: Stewart Armstrong President: Tony Coppola Secretary: Charles Smith Treasurer: Steven Rudolph Chief Executive Officer: Robert Puetz to work on plans for a junior U.S. Open Polo Championship. The board approved revisions to the NYTS tournament conditions for 2021.

The Intercollegiate/Interscholastic Committee meeting was led by I/I Chair Liz Brayboy. She reviewed the I/I strategic planning process that occurred in the spring and summer and the outcome of a new I/I committee structure. The new structure includes three sub-groups, each led by its own chair: I/I Tournaments & Regular season, chaired by Cindy Halle; I/I Funding & Awards, chaired by Miranda Luna; and I/I Program & Club Sustainability, chaired by Brayboy. These three chairs, along with the two coaches’ representatives, make up the I/I leadership group.

Halle reported on the I/I season as it related to COVID-19; the cancellation of both the National Interscholastic Championships and National Intercollegiate Championships; and the process and steps the committee and staff are taking for the 2020-2021 I/I season. Additionally, Halle reported on the educational outreach to the clubs that has been ongoing through the summer and fall. Lastly, Halle reviewed the 2021 I/I tournament condition changes and season addendum.

Luna reported on the new I/I fundraising guidelines and plans for a second tier of fundraising grants available. Brayboy discussed the different working groups within the Program & Club Sustainability group, including alumni outreach, horse donation and rehoming, I/I value metrics and I/I club sustainability. The I/I Committee had a record number of attendees at the meetings.

The board approved revisions to the I/I tournament conditions, along with the COVID-19 addendum for the 2020/2021 I/I season.

New Business

Armstrong reported that the chairs for the Armed Forces Committee, Safety Committee and Junior Polo Committee would be stepping down. He thanked Mr. Hilberg, Mr. Norregaard and Ms. Beal for their extensive contributions and leadership on their respective committees. The board approved the new committee chairs including: Mark Gillespie for the Armed Forces Committee; Dr. James A. Ulibarri for the Safety Committee; and Tiger Kneece for the Junior Polo Committee.

Brayboy was appointed to fill the governor-at-large vacancy.

The spring board of governors meetings will take place the week of Monday, April 12 through Friday, April 16, 2021, and each committee will have a virtual participation component.

Intercollegiate/Interscholastic

Deadlines & Reminders

A quick reminder that all I/I teams must secure a string of horses for tournament play. Tournaments will be played from early February to mid-April. Intercollegiate academic paperwork, coaching requirements and entry fees are due Jan. 15. Interscholastic paperwork, coaching requirements, and tournament entry fees are due Jan. 5. Make sure to renew your USPA player memberships for 2021 before participating in any games.

If you need assistance completing the paperwork by the deadlines, please contact Ali Davidge at adavidge@uspolo.org.

Funding Recipients

The Intercollegiate/Interscholastic Committee is excited to announce the list of 2020 funding recipients: Cornell University, Harvard University, Montana State University, Morehouse College, Roger Williams University, Skidmore College, Stanford University, Texas Christian University, Texas Tech, University of Louisville, University of California Santa Barbara, University of Connecticut, University of Kentucky, University of North Texas, University of Texas, University of Virginia, University of WisconsinMadison, Westmont College, and Yale University.

The Start-Up & Enhancement program is in place to help programs through providing reimbursable grants to clubs participating in the I/I program.

For more information on the I/I Start-Up & Enhancement program please contact I/I Program Coordinator Ali Davidge at adavidge@uspolo.org.

Fundraising

The I/I fundraising application is open to all intercollegiate and interscholastic teams looking to hold a fundraiser to support their I/I team. If you are interested in applying for a reimbursement grant, please check out the Intercollegiate/Interscholastic page on uspolo.org for more details.

Polo Development Initiative

The PDI grant program is designed to facilitate the sustainability of polo by empowering clubs and polo schools with grant-based reimbursable awards. The success of the sport depends on the success of its clubs. The USPA 2021 PDI application guidelines and PDI application form will be available online at the uspolo.org website. All applications must be submitted online. The application deadline is Jan. 31, 2021.

Please contact Pam Mudra by email at pmudra@uspolo.org if you have any questions regarding the PDI program.

All I/I players should renew their USPA memberships before participating in any games.

Sarah Siegel-Magness Zeroed in on polo

by Jewel Connelly/United States Polo Association

As a woman who has experienced both walking the star-studded red carpet and being teammates with Prince Harry, Sarah Siegel-Magness has a spoiler alert for us all: nothing is better than the game of polo, not even the Oscars.

Earning a well-deserved win in the 12-goal Pacific Coast Intra-Circuit Cup with her team Dundas in June, Siegel-Magness is solely focused on perfecting her game, leaving behind her Hollywood film career (Oscar-nominee for Best Picture for Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire) five years ago to commit everything to the sport.

Fascinated with horses growing up in Colorado, but unable to be around them due to her father’s severe allergy, Siegel-Magness was first immersed in the sport via the vibrant polo community of Costa Careyes, Mexico, during her wedding in 2001. Returning over the years and eventually planting roots, mother and young son Cable began their polo journeys simultaneously, ushering in a new legacy of family polo. Now that the sport has captured her undivided attention, she weighs every potential business opportunity against her newest obsession, finding that most do not measure up or ignite the same level of passion. Training with the intensity and dedication of a pro, Siegel-Magness prepared in every way possible to carry Dundas’ winning momentum into Silver Cup competition at Santa Barbara Polo & Racquet Club in Carpinteria, California.

Sparking her interest from the initial encounter, Siegel-Magness’ involvement with the sport began with spectating and awarding trophies at Costa Careyes.

“I used to watch and think polo was such a majestic sport and I liked how fast the horses were moving, but the turning point for me came when I got on the horse and hit the ball,” Siegel-Magness said.

Taking a single stick-and-ball lesson 10 years ago while in Mexico, she left feeling so inspired that she returned to Colorado and purchased all the necessary equipment, but never had the opportunity to play in the states. Determined to learn when the family bought a home in Mexico, Siegel-Magness took up the reins and a mallet and never looked back.

“For the last five years, polo has been my obsession and had 100% of my attention,” she revealed. “I directed and produced films and I had my own clothing company, but now every holiday revolves around polo. I gave up my entire professional life to learn to play because what I realized is if you want to be an exceptional polo player it has to be your entire life.”

Unknowingly getting her start under one of the most recognizable players in the sport, Memo Gracida, Siegel-Magness spent her first two years learning from the polo legend who she met in Mexico. Later training with Joe Henderson, SiegelMagness’ world began to expand as she was introduced to the pro pool in Indio and polo in Santa Barbara.

Described by many as one of the hardest working sponsors, male or female, in the game, Siegel-

Magness’ undeniable discipline and drive is fueled by her desire to make up for lost time. Driving three hours round trip almost daily from her home in Los Angeles to play one hour of practice in Santa Barbara, she is unfazed by the commute because she is both fanatical about polo and devoted to her family. Prioritizing team practices, Siegel-Magness seeks out every opportunity to learn more about the game from experienced individuals around her.

“I practice penalties every day, I do not miss stickand-ball practice, doing drills or the hitting cage,” Siegel-Magness said.

Spending five to 10 minutes in the hitting cage to warm up and running six miles before every game, Siegel-Magness’ routine helps her manage the pregame jitters (along with her polo pup companion, teacup schnauzer Rosie). Open to trying a variety of methods to improve her swing, Siegel-Magness has sought out ingenious tools from both the polo industry and others including an Equicizer weighted mallet (used in the hitting cage) and parachute made for golf clubs.

“The weight on the mallet has really helped me follow through and feel where the momentum is,” Siegel-Magness shared. “The parachute functions to create resistance so the mallet moves slower and I have to work harder to do the swing.”

Proactive in her pursuit, Siegel-Magness is constantly assessing her performance and reflecting on what she could be doing more effectively.

“When I go to bed at night I’m rehashing my day of polo,” Siegel-Magness shared. “Even when I was on vacation after winning the 12-goal tournament, sometimes I couldn’t sleep thinking about what I could improve on because I love polo so much.”

Intentional with her time and motivated to absorb as much as possible, Siegel-Magness makes it a point to utilize her teammates during stick and ball as well as the game.

“I rely on each one of them to work with me in different ways,” she commented. “After watching our games we talk about what I did on the field and what my weaknesses are, and during stick-and-ball practice we focus on those areas.”

Soaking up every ounce of time with her pros, Siegel-Magness works that much harder to ensure she is always in position to contribute to her team. Capitalizing on each of her teammates’ strengths, she often develops specific skills with an individual pro.

“Each of my pros have a different perspective and I like that because one will see one thing I need to work on while another will see something else,”

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Siegel-Magness explained. “Also, each of them are really proficient in one skill in particular, so I’ll work with one pro on penalties and another on ball control.”

Ironically opting for individual sports, including gymnastics and ice skating growing up, SiegelMagness loves being able to rely on her teammates and the camaraderie which comes from embracing the team sport dynamic.

Dedicating six days a week to her craft during the

Sarah Siegel-Magness played San Saba’s Tobi in the 2019 U.S. Open Women’s Polo Championship.

high-goal season at Santa Barbara, Siegel-Magness is thankful to share her love of the sport with both her husband Gary and now 16-year-old son. Playing polo in Colorado before they were married, Gary returned to the sport as a result of his wife’s deep passion to play the game, rounding out three of the five family members.

“Just knowing we’ll spend time together stick and balling or during games guarantees a certain amount of family time every day and I love it,” SiegelMagness exclaimed. “Polo has brought our family together so much, and I’m the only mom who plays a sport with her son, who Cable knows, so we are on a different level of mom and son.”

Playing with and against her son in Santa Barbara, Siegel-Magness has enjoyed watching him excel. His most recent success was winning the first 12-goal tournament at Santa Barbara post lockdown,

ASPEN VALLEY POLO CLUB

Sarah Siegel-Magness has played in everything from women’s, beach and mixed to arena and snow polo. when he earned Most Valuable Player honors. Each parent preferring a different speed of polo, Cable also joins his father for games in Mexico where it all began.

“It’s so fun to watch them play, I actually really enjoy being on the sidelines and not playing myself,” Siegel-Magness said. “My husband is very happy playing the more casual polo played in Mexico while I’m incredibly competitive and like to play highergoal polo.”

Creating and sharing memories together all over the world through their polo connections, SiegelMagness and Cable have even played with Nacho Figueras in Rome and at high-profile Veuve Clicquot events.

Born with a natural work ethic, Siegel-Magness has greatly appreciated connecting with the top highgoal organization Valiente and having the unique opportunity to be mentored by 10-goaler Adolfo Cambiaso in Denver, Colorado.

“[Cambiaso] has been really helpful to me and definitely invested some time in helping me improve,” she said.

Admiring Valiente’s mindset and their unflinching dedication to polo, Siegel-Magness has similarly adopted a Valiente mentality when it comes to her game.

“In Santa Barbara you won’t see me socializing at the parties because I’m completely focused on getting better at playing polo and that’s what I love about Valiente,” Siegel-Magness revealed. “Everything is focused on polo, which is the way I like to do business.”

Over the past year and a half, she has purchased many Valiente horses for both her and Cable’s strings, steadily switching out horses to keep up with her rapid growth and tournament level. Recognizing that just having exceptional horses would not be enough without a top-class regimen, Siegel-Magness credits her grooms who have kept them in peak condition.

“I was lucky that the grooms who worked for Bob and Rob [Jornayvaz] worked for me this summer,” she said. “They work like clockwork and are so good at what they do. Having these professional grooms has taken our organization to the next level and I attribute a lot of the success to them.”

Utilizing a Kraft Water Horse Walker for conditioning as well as Centurion Systems magnets to reduce inflammation, Siegel-Magness is always striving to be on the cutting edge of the sport to accelerate the process. Making a complete transition from knowing nothing about polo to balancing a fulltime polo career, this animal lover’s barn is home to more than just polo ponies, including three donkeys, three mini and one full-sized goats, three sheep, two mini ponies (Cookies and Cream) and the newest addition, Marty the baby zebra.

Participating in all types of polo (including snow and beach), Siegel-Magness is also now a passionate advocate for arena and women’s polo, which have both helped her in mixed games.

“I had no idea how fun women’s polo is and how talented the women were until my first game,” SiegelMagness said. “Dawn Jones asked me to be on her team in the 2019 U.S. Open Women’s Polo Championship and that was my first experience playing women’s polo, competing for the most prestigious cup!”

Although the 2020 tournament was cut short, she has already put her team together for the 2021 season. Exposed to high-goal arena polo during a rainy winter season in Santa Barbara, Siegel-Magness discovered her obsession with the game and wished she had the opportunity to compete in college.

“If I had more time and a dedicated string for arena it would be my ultimate goal to play both,” she said. “It’s a nice compliment to the field and my defense got so much stronger after I played in the arena.”

As the only woman on the roster in the 2020 Silver Cup, Siegel-Magness is used to being one of, if not the only, woman on the field, but she is hoping to utilize skills from playing women’s polo to her advantage.

“In women’s polo, you don’t rely so heavily on long passes,” she revealed. “A lot of times when the ball is dropped or a player gets taken out, the opportunity to gain possession comes so fast that you learn to be quicker at the short game, which in turn helps in mixed polo.”

Taking safety just as seriously as she does her practice regime, Siegel-Magness believes that one of the most critical keys to longevity in the sport is the simple prevention of career-ending injuries. Never getting on a horse without an eventing vest and a mouth guard, safety gear is a number one priority for Siegel-Magness. Sporting a face mask, double knee pads, elbow pads and shin guards, she advocates for more players to take increased precautions, successfully convincing two of her pros to wear a vest and all to wear mouth guards.

“The vest is a game changer; it covers your collarbone and prevents you from breaking it,” Siegel-Magness shared. “Also a mouth guard significantly reduces the chance of getting a concussion.” Acknowledging that often times players, including her son, would not willingly elect to wear more safety gear, she believes it would benefit not only the individuals, but the sport itself if it was to be required.

“One thing I see with sponsors is they come in and get roped into playing at a higher level than they are ready for and then they get hurt,” Siegel-Magness said candidly. “To be able to sustain new players for

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Sarah Siegel-Magness won the Intra-Circuit Cup at Santa Barbara with Mariano Fassetta, Santi Torres and Juan Cruz Marcos.

longer amounts of time you have to keep them safe.”

Choosing to seize every day, Siegel-Magness has made a tremendous amount of progress in five short years (including starting her own USPA member club—Cancha de Estrellas Polo Club), but continues to be humbled every time she steps on the field.

“Polo has taught me to have more patience,” she said. “Every time I play I realize how much I still need to learn, and patience comes with recognizing this sport takes time to get better. No matter how much you learn from others, time in the saddle and in the game is the best teacher because you have to experience each scenario for yourself.”

Inspiring many of her friends who attend her games at SBPRC and are exposed to polo through her aspirational imagery on Instagram, SiegelMagness advises to start with a lesson, get educated about the sport before you begin and take it one step at a time.

“I think the arena is a great place to start because it requires less horses,” she said. “Most people don’t have the luxury of time to devote to polo and that’s why I suggest the arena because its much less of an investment in time and money to begin there.”

Setting her sights on the long-term goal, SiegelMagness has discovered the importance of daily disciplines and putting in the extra time that nobody sees is ultimately the key to lasting success. •