DELEGATE'S CUP
TOURNAMENT HISTORY
Established in 1969, the Delegate's Cup (formerly known as the Eight Goal) has been a staple in the USPA national tournament calendar and was hosted uninterrupted for 45 years until 2015. The legendary Gulfstream Polo Club in Lake Worth, Florida (now defunct), was the home of the prestigious tournament from the mid 1970s until its unfortunate closure in 2016. During that time, Bluestone Farm captured a total of four titles and three consecutive wins from 2005 to 2007, with each winning team boasting at least two members of the Obregon family.
A highly sought-after national trophy, the competition relocated in 2016 to the Houston Polo Club (HPC) in Houston, Texas. In the contest's inaugural year at the club, 7 Bar W/Rocking P (Marcos Villanueva, Nick Cifuni, Sheila Lequerica, Carl Price, Courtney Price) secured the win in a close final over BTA II 7-5. BTA once again advanced to the final in 2017, however were bested by Pegasus/Propaganda (David Andras, Paul Hobby, Nick Cifuni, Mason Wroe) with the same two-goal margin from the previous year. After a two-year hiatus the Delegate's Cup returned in 2020 and has been awarded to four different champions including Roxstars/Vintage Polo 1 (2020), Vintage Polo (2021), Island Time Polo/Sullivan Group (2022) and C-Bar Thoroughbreds/Patagonia Grill (2023).
Proudly returning to South Florida for the first time in a decade, last year's edition hosted by International Polo School (IPS) in Loxahatchee, Florida, pitted Bientina (Valentino Carlotti, Florencio Lanusse, Agustin "Baldo" Palomeque, Mariano Gonzalez Sr.) against Fox Den Polo (Joaquin "Pelo" Vilgre La Madrid, Brendon Stenzel, Facundo Obregon, Derek Sifton). Separated by no more than three goals the entire match, overtime was required to settle the score, with Bientina ultimately emerging victorious 9-8.
Amid an action-packed winter season at International Polo School (IPS), a deep field of 12 teams will vie for the title including 90210 Polo, Beverly Equestrian, Dead End Polo, Fox Den, Highfields, Iconica, La Mariposa, Lost Creek Ranch, Marjing, Newport, Organic Matters and RBC. Representing Team USPA are Active Members Hope Arellano (90210 Polo) and Finn Secunda (Iconica) alongside alumnus Gates Gridley (Marjing).
International Polo School will be taking advantage of the USPA's Tournament Support Program (TSP) for the Delegate's Cup, which provides eligible USPA Member Clubs with waived tournament fees, trophies or trophy reimbursements, one professional umpire and $2,500 in prize money at no extra cost. Tournaments with six or more teams may opt for a second no-cost professional umpire in lieu of prize money.
The USPA originally created the Tournament Stimulus Package (TSP) to help member clubs host USPA events when the United States was emerging from the first wave of the COVID-19 crisis. The USPA wanted to continue to support member clubs with TSP benefits in 2022. Therefore, it extended and expanded TSP under a new name—the Tournament Support Program. Each USPA Member Club can obtain TSP benefits for two USPA events, with the option of a third under specific circumstances.
2024 Delegate's Cup Champions: Bientina - Valentino Carlotti, Florencio Lanusse, Agustin "Baldo" Palomeque, Mariano Gonzalez Sr. ©Alex Pacheco
