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 four titles (2017, 2018, 2022, 2023), followed by Tonkawa (2016, 2019). Recent champions to also earn the 8- to 12-goal title include Bill Flick Ford (2020) and ML Bar Ranch (2021).
In 2023 defending champions BTA (KC Krueger, Joao Souza Aranha, Steve Krueger, Mason Wroe) and Tonkawa (Jeff Hildebrand, Juanese Oliveria, Jack Kiely, Manuel Villamil) and rose above the competition to reach the anticipated showdown. Separated by only one goal at halftime, BTA's formidable offense and steadfast defense saw the team in blue to gallop retain its title with a 13-7 triumph.
Two talented teams will go head-to-head for this year's H. Ben Taub Memorial. Including numerous Houston Polo Club staples, former champion (2016) Jeff Hall will suit-up for 3L Energy Solutions/Old Pueblo, as tournament leading winner (2016, 2017, 2018, 2022, 2023) and Team USPA alumnus Steve Krueger will aim for an impressive third consecutive title and sixth overall win with CW Petroleum/Propaganda.
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 up to $1,200, 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.
2023 H. Ben Taub Memorial Champions: BTA - Mason Wroe, Steve Krueger, Joao Souza Aranha, KC Krueger. Presented by Kitch Taub and Cam Studio's Carla Munoz and Leah Moghabghab. ©Kaylee Wroe
