5 minute read
taking heart: women’s tournament
w omen’s tournament
In July of each year, women polo players from across the U.S. and Canada pack their polo gear and head to Calgary for the annual Women’s Heart Cup Tournament. The majestic Canadian Rocky Mountains to the west and lush verdant hills all around the Calgary Polo Club make visiting players describe it as one of the most scenic clubs in North America, and as a destination that has a lot of fun things to do outside of polo.
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The Calgary Polo Club has a well-earned reputation for organizing one of the most popular women’s tournaments in North America. Eight grass fields, two clubhouses, a sprawling 200-acre location, and beautiful views in all
taking heart:
by lynn bremner
directions give the club an edge in offering an outstanding polo experience for women players of all levels.
Ten women’s teams competed in the 2011 tournament with visiting players from Texas, California, Oregon, Florida, and Argentina.
Friday’s games were fast and scores were close. At the end of the day, the Rocky Mountain Pools team of Hale, Garsed, Butler, and Schindel and the Cam Clark Ford team of Fargey, Riggs, Dalton, and Peters qualified for the A-Flight Sunday final; with the Omega Risk Management and Identity Angels paired for the Consolation final. The B- and C-Flight games were roundrobins that continued into the finals on Sunday. The sidelines were filled with players and spectators, and most stayed all day to watch the games.
On Friday night, Fred P. Mannix hosted all of the visiting WCT players at the Stampede Dinner at the Calgary Polo Club Ranch House. The ladies pulled on their cowboy boots and dusted off their hats for a night of Wild West fun. Over 150 members and friends attended the dinner that featured a 9-goal polo match, cocktails on the Ranch House patio, and a traditional Stampedestyle dinner.
On Saturday, the ladies had the day off to explore Calgary and to enjoy a couple of distinctively frontier-style events, including a stop at The Shooting Edge where James R. Cox, a social member of the club and student at the Polo Academy, hosted a morning of shooting for the Heart Cup participants. That evening, Cam Clark hosted a Calgary Stampede BBQ and chuckwagon races, where the ladies met Kirk Sutherland, professional chuckwagon driver of the Calgary Polo Club, Polo Canada, and PTF wagon.
Sunday morning saw a calm, sunny day, making it a perfect day for polo finals.
a flight
rocky mountain pools & spas Sunny Hale 3 Cathy Butler 0 Kim Garsed 0 Cheryl Schindel -1
cam clark Ford Kristine Dalton 1 Dayelle Fargey 1 Abby Riggs 1 Ruth Peters 0
identity angels Anne Evamy 0 Kristy Outhier 2 Jessica Schneider 0 Carin Middleton 0
omega risk international Natasha Baescher 1 Malia McCoy 0 Kate Weber 0 Tiamo Hudspeth 0 Megan Kozminski -1
B flight
pemoco nesbitt burns Shannon Peters 0 Karen Linkletter -1 Abby Riggs 1 Alyssa Barlow -1 Sara Inkster -1
tekarra Tiamo Hudspeth 0 Jennifer Foster -1 Deidre Lake -1 Brittany Siemens -1
the shooting edge Kate Weber 0 Tia Sutherland 0 Stephanie Davison -1 Megan Kozminski -1 Meghan McClarty -1
C flight/Polo aCadeMy
pink velvet: Kim Hoover, Tracey Skinner, Candice Crosby, Eileen Duffy
chukkers: Shawna Simpson, Radhikas Billy, Natasha Ellison, Tiffany Burns
poise publications: Andrea Douglas, Emma Tooth, Jana Elordi, Dorys Gagne
In the A-Flight finals, Cam Clark Ford started out strong, scoring four goals in the first chukker to take an early lead. They continued to run and score, taking them to a four-point lead at the end of the second chukker. Dayelle Fargey was on fire, scoring four goals in the first half of the game for Cam Clark Ford. Teammate Ruth Peters scored two goals in the first half of the game and Abby Riggs added one, taking the total to 7–3 going into halftime. Rocky Mountain Pools recharged their batteries during halftime, closing the gap with three back-to-back goals by Sunny Hale, and one by Kim Garsed. The score was 8–7 heading into the fourth and final chukker. Cam Clark Ford wasn’t willing to give up their lead and continued to ride hard, adding two more goals by Fargey and Riggs. Hale rallied and answered with one more goal for Rocky Mountain Pools, but it wasn’t enough. Cam Clark Ford won the match 10–8. Best Playing Pony was awarded to Nicaragua, owned by Dayelle Fargey and played by Abby Riggs. MVP was awarded to Kim Garsed and the Sportsmanship award went to Cheryl Schindel.
In other action, Pemoco Nesbitt Burns won the B-Flight finals in a round robin against Tekarra and The Shooting Edge. Best Playing Pony was awarded to Ruby, owned by Shannon Peters. The MVP of the B Flight was Tiamo Hudspeth and the Sportsmanship Award went to Tia Sutherland.
In the final game of the day, Pink Velvet won the C-Flight finals in a round robin against Poise Publications and Chukkers. MVP was presented to Candice Crosby, and the Sportsmanship Award went to Tasha Ellison.
The games were followed by dinner and a ceremony for the Spirit Award, which was founded in 2010 by Deb Wolstenholme. This award is given to one of the participating players in the tournament who exhibits a special “polo spirit.” Judges Sunny Hale, Kristy Outhier, and
Natasha Baescher unanimously agreed on the 2011 recipient of the award: Anne Evamy.
The founder of the Women’s Championship Tournament, Sunny Hale, had great things to say about the 2011 Heart Cup WCT Qualifier in Calgary: “This year’s Calgary women’s tournament was an absolute blast. From the Calgary Stampede, and polo, to taking up practice at the shooting range, touring the more than 75 head of Stampede broncs in their mountaintop pasture, and enjoying dinner parties and new friends we met along the way. One of my favourite memories on the trip was sharing a chat with one of the great polo supporters of our time, Fred P. Mannix, as he mounted up and got prepared to umpire a women’s tournament match—yes, umpire! A huge thanks to all of our hosts in Calgary for a great tournament that absolutely represents the concept of what I have been promoting in WCT polo—great competition and fun.”
