H. BEN TAUB MEMORIAL
TOURNAMENT HISTORY
The H. Ben Taub Memorial is a national tournament held exclusively at Houston Polo Club in Houston, Texas. Established in 2015, the H. Ben Taub Memorial is named to commemorate Houston native H. Ben Taub, a medical executive, businessman and philanthropist. An avid polo player, Taub was active in USPA governance serving as Southwestern Circuit Governor from 1998-2007. Entering its ninth year of competition, BTA has established a strong winning presence claiming three titles (2017, 2018, 2022), followed by Tonkawa (2016, 2019).
In 2022, BTA (Kelly Beal, Wesley "Whistle" Uys, Mason Wroe, Steve Krueger) and Old Pueblo (Leigh Anne Hall, Duilio Diaz, Cody Ellis, Jeff Hall) rose above the competition to reach the anticipated head-to-head showdown following three weeks of action packed polo. Both holding undefeated 3-0 records, BTA and Old Pueblo’s evenly-matched rosters demonstrated offensive power on both sides with BTA’s Krueger and Old Pueblo’s Ellis each assembling five-goal performances, but BTA’s steadfast defense ultimately pushed them over the top to claim the title 7-5. Read article here.
This year's edition will field six competitive teams including, BTA, Eureka, Old Pueblo, Propaganda, San Saba and Tonkawa. Featuring multiple individual champions and Houston Polo Club staples, defending champions BTA will attempt a repeat performance to earn their fourth title, Tonkawa will aim for a return to the podium for the first time since 2019, with the remaining teams vying for their first H. Ben Taub Memorial championship.
Amongst the competition are Team USPA alumni Mason Wroe, Steve Krueger (BTA), Tomas Alberdi (Eureka) and Cody Ellis (Old Pueblo) and Active Team USPA Member Juanse Olivera (Tonkawa).
Houston Polo Club will be taking advantage of the USPA's Tournament Support Program (TSP) for the H. Ben Taub Memorial, 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.
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.
Photo: 2022 H. Ben Taub Memorial Champions: BTA - Kelly Beal, Mason Wroe, Steve Krueger, Wesley "Whistle" Uys, presented by Kitch Taub. ©Kaylee Wroe
