field availability, which moved the 2-goal division to an indoor format, played at the ERG Arena on Wednesday, November 6 and Friday, November 8. Wednesdays’ exciting round of arena polo split the pack into the five Championship bracket teams at 1–0 and five Consolation bracket teams at 0–1. Friday’s semifinals placed Pegasus (Anne Andras, Sheila Lequerica,Tiffany Clifton, and Lia Salvo) and Land Rover (Cecelia Cochran, Slaney O’Hanlon, Julia Steiner, and Courtney Asdorian) on top of the winning bracket, and placed Neiman Marcus (Kendall Plank, Megan Flynn, Brianna Galindo, and K.C. Krueger) against St Regis (Samantha Falbe, Erin Brittin, Jolie Liston, and Sheryl Sick) in the Consolation bracket finals. Improved field conditions allowed Saturday’s 2-goal Championship and Consolation finals to move to an outdoor format, and crowds packed the sidelines of the HPC Flanders Field to enjoy tailgating, shopping at the La Martina store and specialty vendors, and a margarita contest. Pegasus scored a decisive 7–2 win over Land Rover to take the Championship trophy, while Neiman Marcus defeated St Regis 6–2. River Oaks Bookstore was the winner of the Farish Cup invitational, and Sullivan Group claimed first place in the Bayou City Invitational division. The week-long event ended with Sunday’s finals, which included a special WCT Junior exhibition match featuring girls ages 8 to 12. The Houston Polo Club was excited to include the Junior group in the 2013 tournament, with the goal of bringing today’s top players together with the next generation of female polo players. “Twenty years ago, young girls starting out in polo didn’t have the opportunity to begin competing this early on,” says Hale. “Today, with the right training and leadership example, there is no limit to what these girls can achieve over the next 10 to 20 years in our sport. Most of all, the friendships and polo dreams that I can see being forged among these young players are very special.” Heading into the 2:00 pm Sunday finals, three of the four players for Goose Creek brought extensive experience in higher-level women’s polo to the field, as did BTA’s powerful lineup of Argentine 2-goal player Lia Salvo; the mother-daughter team of Chrys Beal and K.C. Krueger; and Houston’s Sheila Lequerica. The two teams swapped goals and some hard bumps through three fast-paced chukkers, with no significant advantage emerging for either team. Goose Creek gathered some momentum late in the third and entered the fourth chukker with a two-goal lead. In the last chukker, Salvo narrowed the gap to one goal, but Hale scored with a nearside neckshot to put Goose Creek up 7–5. Salvo scored one more goal but ran out of time to tie it up during the last minute of play, ending the finals 7–6 in favor of Goose Creek. “This year’s Open was some of the best women’s poIo I have ever played—so competitive and fun. I’m glad we could at least give them a run for their money,” said BTA’s K.C. Krueger.“We are so fortunate to have such a great tournament with so many teams in
all levels. This tournament’s success would not be possible without organizations traveling across the U.S. and players coming in from all over the world.” MVP of the Open division was awarded to Sunny Hale. Best Playing Pony in the Professional division went to Cachorra owned by Maureen Brennan and played by Sunny Hale, and to Bitsy in the Amateur division, played and owned by Chrys Beal. In addition to lots of outdoor and arena polo action, all 81 participants in the tournament enjoyed Texas hospitality, including a cocktail party hosted by Land Rover Houston Central, a Welcome Players asado, La Martina custom gear bags and other prizes awarded for each place in all divisions. Other 2013 event contributors included St. Regis Houston, Hendrick’s Gin, Melissa Pop, MyRecruiting, Sullivan Group, River Oaks Bookstore, Tavaero Jet, Ruth’s Chris Steak House, Esther Kane/Fairplay Farms, and Masai of Palm Beach.
For more information about the 2014 USPA U.S. Open Women’s Polo Championship® and the U.S. Women’s Handicap Tournament contact: Tickets and Sponsorship Opportunities: Tammy Beeson, tbeeson@thehoustonpoloclub.com Tournament Information and Team Entries: Pam Mudra, polomanager@thehoustonpoloclub.com
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