October 2021 Polo Players' Edition- Association News

Karson Bizell and Kirstie Allen competed in a Mid-Continent Women’s Polo Series event in August.

©David Murrell

Women’s Series

The Mid-Continent Women’s Polo Series continues through November. In the series, individuals gain points toward end-of-year awards by participating in select tournaments. Points are based on the amount of teams and a team’s finish in the tournament with additional points for Most Valuable Player and Sportsmanship Award winners. Catena USA is the high-point individual sponsor with a gorgeous Swiss-made watch awarded to the winner. Additional prizes go to second, third and fourth place high-point players at the end of the year. Contact the host club to enter and follow the series on Facebook (@USPoloAssociation) and Instagram (@uspoloassociation). Upcoming events: •Texas Military Polo/Central Texas Polo Association (Poteet, Texas) Oct. 16-17/Arena/7-10 goal

•Legends Polo Club (Kaufman, Texas) Dates TBD/Arena/Goal Level TBD

•Houston Polo Club (Houston, Texas) Nov. 9- 14/Outdoor/Multiple Levels—Texas Women’s Open (16-20 Goal) & U.S. Open Women’s Handicap (8-12)

High School Sports Polo Awards

The USA TODAY High School Sports Awards, presented by U.S. Polo Assn., the official brand of the United States Polo Association, were recently awarded to the nation’s top athletes in a first-of-itskind, national student awards show, which aired on Thursday, Aug. 5.

As part of the partnership with U.S. Polo Assn., the ESPY-style award show included, for the first time, the country’s top female and male athletes in the sport of polo. Unlike many sports, female and male polo players of all ages play on the same fields together, and at all levels, including professional. In addition, many of today’s great polo players began in their youth, like those recognized at this special award event.

The USA TODAY High School Sports Awards, hosted by Michael Strahan and Rob Gronkowski, along with red carpet hosts DJ Khaled and Charly Arnolt, featured top professional athletes like Aaron Rodgers, Shaquille O’Neal, Kerrie Walsh Jennings, Chipper Jones, Laurie Hernandez and many others.

USA TODAY High School Sports Awards—one of the most extensive high school sports recognition programs in the country—honors talented high school athletes, coaches and teams. This year, 104 regional and statewide programs culminated to set the stage for the first ever national show, highlighting more than 1,000 honorees in 27 sports categories from 50 states, all vying for the opportunity to be named the top athlete in their sport. The regional honorees and winners were revealed in June and state winners were announced in July. Winners from the state level, chosen from a base of more than 60,000 student athletes and 24,000 schools, made up the honorees for the national show.

Mackenzie Weisz, who competed in the Gauntlet of Polo, won the USA TODAY High School Sports Awards in the boys’ polo category.

©David Lominska/Polographics.com

All honorees received a special gift box from USA TODAY with commemorative items, including a keepsake co-branded trucker hat from U.S. Polo Assn., the show program and other sponsor gift items.

The national award winner in the girls’ high school polo category was Hope Arellano, featuring finalists, Sophie Grant and Summer Kneece. The national award winner in the boys’ high school polo category was Mackenzie Weisz, featuring finalists Lucas Escobar and Winston Painter.

“On behalf of U.S. Polo Assn., I’d like to congratulate all of the participating athletes and recognize the outstanding winners,” said J. Michael Prince, president and CEO of USPA Global Licensing, the worldwide licensor of the multibillion-dollar U.S. Polo Assn. brand. “It’s been an honor for U.S. Polo Assn. to be the presenting

sponsor for this star-studded event where we had the tremendous excitement of introducing the sport of polo to this year’s roster of awards. As an authentic, sport-inspired global brand, we love the opportunity to support up-and-coming student polo players as well as the amazing athletes from so many other sports.”

Finalists and winners for the category of polo were selected through a stringent process that was conducted by the USPA and included a committee of internal experts and a diverse group of representatives from within the USPA, Polo Training Foundation and the Interscholastic/ Intercollegiate Committee. Ultimately, the winners were selected for being the highest performing and most qualified candidates.

“The USPA is proud to have this opportunity to be included in this prestigious student athlete recognition event and to be able to put forth our best student polo players from around the U.S. on this stage,” said Stewart Armstrong, chairman of the USPA. “It’s the USPA’s mission to support youth polo players through our interscholastic and intercollegiate programs, and we hope to see these deserving athletes on the professional stage in the coming years. Congratulations to all!”

Among the other 27 sport categories for these elite high school athletes, coaches and teams were baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, gymnastics, hockey, lacrosse, soccer, softball, swimming and diving, track and field, tennis, volleyball, wrestling and more. The national broadcast showcased stories and highlights of the nation’s top athletes in each sport and their stellar performances from the past year.

Hope Arellano took the win in the USA TODAY High School Sports Awards girls’ polo category.

©David Lominska/Polographics.com

“We were thrilled to partner with a sportinspired brand like U.S. Polo Assn. and to include polo in our awards this year,” said Crystal Costa, the program’s event director. “Polo is an amazing sport that many people don’t get a chance to see in person. It’s great that we can draw more attention to the sport of polo by including it in an event of this stature for such deserving kids.”

The on-demand awards show can be viewed at Global Polo TV and at USA TODAY, USA TODAY News and USA TODAY Sportswire channels, available on Amazon Fire TV, the Roku Channel, Samsung TV Plus and most Smart TVs. It is also available on Amazon Prime Video Direct and at SportsAwards.USATODAY.com.

Fall Meetings

The United States Polo Association is pleased to announce that the USPA Fall Committee, Board of Governors and Annual Member Meeting will be taking place in Charlottesville, Virginia, from Oct. 27-30 at the Boar’s Head Resort. Tucked in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, the Boar’s Head Resort is the perfect blend of relaxation and fitness, offering everything from tennis and golf to nature trails and an all-new spa.

Just two miles away from the University of Virginia, the resort maintains strong ties with the UVA Cavaliers and the historical city of Charlottesville. The Charlottesville Albemarle Airport (CHO) is the closest airport to fly into and is a 20-minute drive to the hotel. The Richmond International Airport is the closest major airport and it is a 90-minute drive to the hotel.

The USPA Fall Committee, Board of Governors and Annual Member Meeting provides USPA members with the opportunity to audit committees and become more involved with the governance and future direction of the association. Providing an optimal setting to network with clubs across the country, the fall meeting is a forum for members to share opinions, ask questions and receive advice.

The USPA encourages members to represent the interests of their club and meet with circuit governors and USPA staff. To assist with expenses a $1,000 travel reimbursement stipend is available to all club delegates, and lunch is provided for all members in attendance. In addition to the meetings, events over the weekend include the USPA/Polo Training Foundation Awards Ceremony on Friday, Oct. 29 at the Beh House at Virginia Polo. The USPA and Virginia Polo are planning several arena events and other activities to recognize local polo clubs.

Circuit Governor Elections

The USPA is pleased to announce the results of the circuit governor election. The association sincerely appreciates the volunteers and clubs for their participation. The results are as follows:

Border Circuit*

Central Circuit**

Eastern Circuit—Joe Muldoon

Florida Circuit—Stephen Orthwein Jr.

Great Plains Circuit—Mike Carney

Hawaiian Islands Circuit—Bill Kirton

Mid States Circuit—Jorge Vasquez

Northeastern Circuit—Leighton Jordan

Pacific Coast Circuit—Dan Walker

Pacific Northwest Circuit—Sheryl Sick

Rocky Mountain Circuit* Southeastern

Circuit—Billy Raab Southwestern

Circuit—Paul Jornayvaz

The term for circuit governors will begin on Saturday, Oct. 30. Please reach out to director, Governance and Operations, Lindsey Ebersbach at lebersbach@uspolo.org with any questions or concerns.

*In the Border and Rocky Mountain Circuits, no candidate was nominated within the nomination period by the required minimum of two club delegates. The constitution states that if no candidate in a particular circuit is nominated within the applicable nomination period by the required minimum of two club delegates, the chairman of the association shall select an individual to serve as the circuit governor of such circuit, subject to approval of the board of governors.

**The circuit governor candidate in the Central Circuit did not receive the required majority of votes entitled to be cast by the delegates in order to be elected. The constitution states that if no candidate in a particular circuit receives the majority of the total number of votes during the election period, the chairman of the association shall select an individual to serve as the circuit governor of such circuit, subject to approval of the board of governors.

Pamela Flanagan wears a Casablanca NEU and Hazel Jackson and Dolores Onetto wear Instinct Askari helmets—all NOCSAE compliant.

©David Lominska/Polographics.com

Newest Compliant Helmet

Instinct officially introduced a third NOCSAE compliant helmet to the market: Instinct Askari. Currently Casablanca NEU, Charles Owen Sovereign and Instinct Askari are the only helmets that pass the NOCSAE ND050 standard. The USPA will continue to update the membership as it becomes aware of additional helmets on the market that meet the standard.

Scholarship Winners

Congratulations to the following Intercollegiate/ Interscholastic players that were awarded USPA Intercollegiate Scholarships—Vlad Tarashansky (University of Virginia), Olivia Reynolds (Texas A&M University), Elizabeth Leudesdorff (University of Connecticut), Grayson Price (Texas A&M University), Taylor Nackers (University of Kentucky) and Ella Horton (University of Idaho).

Requirements for application include playing at least two years of interscholastic polo, competing on an intercollegiate team, a 3.0 GPA, two letters of recommendation and a short essay. Recipients are selected based on horsemanship, sportsmanship, playing ability, contribution to the sport, academic excellence and character. The funds awarded to players are paid directly to the student’s institution for their tuition and are renewable for up to four years. Congratulations to our outstanding student athletes, and good luck to them in their college careers!

Middle School Tournaments

Do you have a group of youth players in 5-8th grade? If so, sign up now to host a middle school tournament at your club any time throughout the year. Contact Emily Dewey at edewey@uspolo.org for more information.

Players interested in participating in a Middle School League tournament, go to uspolo.org to find a tournament near you.

Clubs can hold middle school tournaments anytime throughout the year.

©Larry Johnson

Ask the Expert

Thank you to all of our guest presenters on the I/I Ask the Expert Summer Series: Cristina Fernandez, Will Orthwein, Tab Orthwein, Jenny Schwartz, Bridget Davidge, Branden Van Loon and Beth Supik. If you are interested in watching any of the Ask The Expert videos, check them out on uspolo.org!

Intent to Compete

All teams planning to compete in the 2021-2022 Intercollegiate/Interscholastic season, remember to submit the Intent to Compete form by Oct. 6. Please note this is just the preliminary information and divisions can be changed if needed before the final December deadline. To fill out the Intent to Compete form, please visit the I/I page on uspolo.org.

I/I Clinics

The I/I clinic program is now open for I/I teams to apply for reimbursable funds up to $1,500 to host a clinic this fall. To learn more about the program, please contact Amy Fraser at afraser@uspolo.org.

I/I Magazine

Would you like to submit an ad for the I/I magazine? Contact Amy Fraser at afraser@uspolo.org to learn more about the rates and requirements for ad submission.

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 Operating Officer: Chris Green