Association News

The National Arena Amateur Cup will be held at Legend’s Polo Club in Kaufman, Texas. Right: Mark Osburn hits the ball in the air.

Fall Meeting

Due to the pandemic, the USPA Fall Board of Governors and Annual Member Meeting will be held via video conference from Monday, Oct. 5 through Saturday, Oct. 10. Please visit uspolo.org for more information and the most up-to-date schedule.

National Arena Amateur Cup Rankings

An initiative launched in 2019 by the Tournament and Arena Committees, the new format of the National Arena Amateur Cup has continued to be a success. This format has created an opportunity to showcase the accessibility of amateur polo and to incentivize amateur players to participate longer and more frequently in USPA tournaments at their home clubs, in their home circuits and nationally.

All amateur players rated -1 through 3 goals will be eligible. In accordance with National Arena Amateur Cup rules, no player may have a handicap higher than the upper limit of the event. If there is a question regarding whether a player falls into the amateur category, that decision will be made by the NAAC Tournament Committee, in consultation with the player’s home club manager as well as the club’s circuit governor.

Eligibility to play in the National Arena Amateur Cup will be based on a point system. Those who have competed in the Pacific Coast Arena League, Texas Arena League, horse shows, or other sports—like NASCAR, cycling or triathlons—should be familiar with the concept of a points system based on win-loss or ranking.

Points will be given to individuals playing in all

USPA arena events—circuit, sanctioned and national. Points will be based on the number of teams and team standing in each tournament. All points will be awarded to each team member, not the team as a whole. Points will be based on team members playing the entire tournament and all chukkers within each game. Players with the highest points will be eligible to play in the National Arena Amateur Cup, which will be held at Legend’s Polo Club in Kaufman, Texas in November.

In addition to NAAC points, circuit and national arena events are eligible for: • Trophies and/or trophy reimbursement from

USPA • Arena Incentive Program reimbursement funds • Pump 8 Umpire (maximum 8-goal tournament with four team minimum) • Exposure through USPA weekly e-blast “This

Week In Polo” and Polo Players’ Edition magazine with submission of write-ups and photos

MURRELL DAVID

To view 2020 rankings, visit the National Arena Amateur Cup page on uspolo.org. For more information, contact tournament coordinator, Kaila Dowd at kdowd@uspolo.org.

Tournament Results

Clubs are encouraged to assemble and submit summer tournament results from all USPA events for inclusion in the Blue Book and on uspolo.org. Tournament results may be submitted electronically through the tournament database. Please include the name of the host club, name of tournament and dates played.

Information must also include names of players on all teams that have competed in the event, list of games played with scores of each game and a captioned high-resolution photo of the winning team for each event, as well as Most Valuable Player and Best Playing Pony. If you have any questions about the tournament database, please contact tournament coordinator, Kaila Dowd at (561) 517-1652 or via email at tournaments@uspolo.org.

Women’s Tournaments

Mark your calendars: the Houston Polo Club in Houston, Texas, has announced the dates of the prestigious Texas Women’s Open and U.S. Open Women’s Handicap. These USPA tournaments are not to be missed, as they bring together some of the best high-goal women’s players in the country for a competitive series of games. The U.S. Open Women’s Handicap also offers the unique opportunity to showcase women’s high-goal polo and will be livestreamed on Global Polo TV.

Tournament Dates: Nov. 10-15 Levels: Texas Women’s Open: 16- to 20-goal U.S. Open Women’s Handicap: 8- to 12-goal

For more information about the tournaments please contact Houston Polo Club at polomanager@thehoustonpoloclub.com.

Gen. George S. Patton Jr. Award

Remembered for his fierce determination and ability to lead soldiers, Gen. George S. Patton Jr. is considered to be one of the greatest military figures in history. Immortalized as one of the world’s most intriguing military men, he was known for carrying pistols with ivory handles, his intemperate manner and his love for polo.

Patton was an avid believer that polo was a useful

WROE KAYLEE

tool in understanding how his fellow officers performed under pressure. Regarded as one of the most successful United States field commanders of any war, he continuously drove his troops to the highest standard of excellence in training, and utilized his love for polo as a teaching aid. He traveled from post to post with a fine set of polo ponies and routinely established weekend polo matches at his assigned military bases. Patton encouraged participation, and helped grow awareness and interest in the sport.

The Armed Forces Committee encourages nominations of members who have gone above the call of duty to create opportunities for military members and their families to be involved in the sport of polo. Please include how the nominee best embodies the characteristics described with your nomination. Nominees are not required to have served in the military but must be current USPA members.

Please submit your Gen. George S. Patton Jr. Award nominations to Kaila Dowd at kdowd@uspolo.org by Dec. 31.

Tiffany Busch competes in Houston’s women’s polo. Two high-goal events are scheduled for November.

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

I/I tournament conditions have been amended for the current year. Contact Ali Davidge for questions.

Middle School

Do you have a 5th, 6th, 7th, or 8th grade player ready for tournament polo that would like to compete in this year’s USPA I/I Middle School League? Check out the dates for upcoming Middle School tournaments on the I/I page at uspolo.org. Don’t see a club near you? Contact Emily Dewey at edewey@uspolo.org to schedule a tournament at your home club.

Intercollegiate/Interscholastic

The USPA National Intercollegiate Championships, originally rescheduled for Oct. 20-25 at the Virginia Polo Center in Charlottesville, Virginia, have been canceled. We are very proud of our qualifying teams and want to commend them for the fantastic season.

Qualifying teams are University of Virginia Men & Women, Cornell University Men & Women, Texas A&M University Women, University of North Texas Men, Southern Methodist University Men, University of Kentucky Women, Point Loma Women, and Oregon State University Men.

The USPA National Interscholastic Champi

onships, rescheduled for Nov. 18-22 at the Houston and Brookshire Polo Clubs in Houston, Texas, have also been canceled. We want to congratulate the qualifying teams on a successful season. Open Teams: Gardnertown, Houston, Rancho Naranjo, Central Coast and Maryland Polo Clubs. Girls’ Teams: Aiken, Maryland, Houston, Maui and Boston Polo Clubs.

Tournament Conditions

The National Host Tournament Committee has approved an addendum for 2020-2021 I/I tournament conditions. Due to the ongoing Covid-19 situation, team requirements and paperwork deadlines have been adjusted to support the program’s current schedules. There will be no regular season game requirement. No paperwork or tournament fee will be due before January 2021. A full list of deadlines is available on the uspolo.org I/I page.

If your team is worried about completing paperwork or you have any questions concerning the upcoming season, please reach out to Ali Davidge at adavidge@uspolo.org.

Ask the Expert

Thank you to all of our guest presenters for the I/I “Ask the Expert” Summer Series, including Cindy Halle, Beth Supik, Dr. Molly Muedeking, Lou Lopez, Amy James, Caleb Pilukas, Robin Sanchez, Shannon Stilson and Megan Judge.

NYTS

Cerro Pampa and Black Diamond took advantage of the extended NYTS Qualifier season. Cerro Pampa’s three teams played a round-robin tournament. Camilla McFall, Ryan Kerley, Antonio Theirot and Simone Harper emerged as the winners. Ryan Kerley, Caroline Mathews, Liliana Gonzalez, Marco Esposto and Camilla McFall were named All-Stars. North of the border, Black Diamond provided two days of fast play for local Canadian players. “Platino” played by Adam Ramson was awarded Best Playing Pony. All-Stars were Matt Schneider, Adam Ramson, Nadia Stobbe and Will Schneider.

Clint Nangle

Celebrating a lasting legacy

On the morning of Friday, Aug. 7, the polo community lost long-time contributor and polo pony advocate, Clint Nangle, who passed away quietly at his home in Aiken, South Carolina. Born in 1930 to Jane and John Nangle in Marblehead, Massachusetts, Clint had just recently celebrated his 90th birthday on the Fourth of July.

Though born left-handed, Clint learned to play the sport with his right hand and went on to win tournaments at Myopia Polo Club (South Hamilton, Massachusetts), Royal Palm Polo Club (Boca Raton, Florida) and Ocala Polo Club (Ocala, Florida). His interest in the sport of polo began while he was attending Harvard University (Class of 1952) and grew while beginning to play at the Myopia Polo Club in the 1960s. Upon graduation, Clint was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps, followed by employment at the National Security Agency, ABC, Procter & Gamble, as well as forming his own investment company. He also helped to develop the New England Polo League, fostering growth of club competition throughout the Northeast; mentored Harvard and Radcliffe players for a number of years; and later at Royal Palm Polo was a leader in encouraging young players and lending polo ponies.

“I was very saddened to hear of Clint Nangle’s passing,” Dr. Mike Manno shared. “For myself and every member of the Equine Welfare Committee, past and present, I just hope he knew how important his contributions were to the well-being of the polo horse. We all owe him a debt of gratitude. Clint is the sole reason I became involved in the committee when he asked me to join almost 15 years ago. I can’t think of a more deserving or fitting tribute than to have the USPA present the Clint Nangle Equine Welfare Award in his name each year.”

Clint became a member of the United States Polo Association in 1965 and was affiliated with the Myopia Polo Club for almost 20 years. While working for Kenyon & Eckhardt, a national advertising agency, Clint bought a small farm in South Hamilton, Massachusetts, located next to the polo barns. His first polo pony came from Doc Roberts, a

professor at Cornell University’s College of Veterinary Medicine. After relocating to Florida, he began playing at the Royal Palm Polo Club in Boca Raton. It was there the Oxley family encouraged him to become involved with the USPA.

In 1990, he became co-chairman of the Club Polo Committee and began to serve on other committees. In 1992, when Florida and the Caribbean separated from the Southeastern Circuit, Clint became the first circuit governor. He held the role of Florida circuit governor for a total of 12 years, taking an early retirement to do the job full time. After, he served as a governor-at-large for another nine years.

In a special issue of Polo magazine, Clint was called one of the USPA’s outstanding polo contributors of the Twentieth Century.

In 1995, Clint founded the USPA Veterinary Committee, which is now the USPA Equine Welfare Committee. He served as the committee chair for 20 years and was crucial in developing a number of programs to increase the welfare of horses in the sport. During that period he created the Unwanted Polo Pony program and the Polo Pony Welfare Guide. Over the years, he served as a member of

Clint Nangle was involved with the USPA for three decades.

numerous committees including the Nominating, Constitution, Marketing, Tournament and Women’s Committees. Additionally, he served on the board of the Museum of Polo and Hall of Fame from 1997 to 2015.

In 2013, Clint was the recipient of the Hugo Dalmar Trophy, which is presented by the USPA chairman to the player who best exemplifies the sportsmanship characteristics inherent to the sport of polo. Clint was also the first recipient of an award created in his honor, the Clint Nangle Equine Welfare Award, in 2014.

In 2007, after relocating to Wagener, South Carolina, Clint founded the Overbrook Polo Club, a small local club focused on easy, relaxed polo for both beginners and seasoned players. He continued

PARKER BARBARA COURTESY

Counter clockwise from top left: Clint playing at Overbrook on his 80th birthday; Clint at Royal Palm Polo in the 1980s; Clint with daughter, Dana in West Newbury, Massachusetts, 1967; Clint at Royal Palm; The Clint Nangle Equine Welfare Award.

SCOTT NANGLE COURTESY DANA

to teach polo there for the last 13 years.

Clint was an avid reader and art collector. He played the piano and loved jazz and big band music. A little-known fact about Clint is that he is a published author. His first book, “Some Things Harvard Never Taught Me” was published in 1993, and “Love Songs at Harvard Sq.,” a book of poems and lyrics was published in 2009.

PARKER BARBARA COURTESY

Clint is survived by his daughter Dana Nangle Scott (John) of Simsbury, Connecticut; sons Gene and Rod (Elizabeth), three grandsons, and longtime companion Barbara Parker of South Carolina. He was predeceased by his first wife Ann Edmiston Nangle and son John Nangle.

A memorial mass and celebration of life will be held at a later date. •

SCOTT NANGLE COURTESY DANA

Counter clockwise from above: Clint around 1934; Clint, at 88, riding 40-year-old Freckles; Clint enjoyed teaching polo at his Overbrook Polo Club for the past 13 years; Clint received the Hugo Dalmar Trophy from Chuck Weaver; Clint in Aiken, South Carolina: Clint winning the senior tournament at Royal Palm Polo, 2005.