JOE BARRY MEMORIAL
TOURNAMENT HISTORY
The Joe Barry Memorial was founded in 2005 in honor of Joe Barry, who passed away in 2002. Inducted into the Polo Hall of Fame in 1999, his major wins included six U.S. Open Polo Championship titles, three USPA Gold Cup titles and the 1971 Coronation Cup in England. Recent champions include Palm Beach Equine (2020), Santa Clara (2021), Patagones (2022) and Iconica (2023).
The Joe Barry Memorial will serve as the first qualifying leg of four prestigious national tournaments (Ylvisaker Cup, Iglehart Cup, Outback Cup) culminating in the NPC 16-Goal Championship. Qualifiers are played across multiple clubs, with the championship final hosted on Sunday, April 13, at the National Polo Center – Wellington (NPC). Participating clubs include Port Mayaca Polo Club (Okeechobee, Florida) and the Wellington Polo Tour (WPT) led by Patagones Polo Club (Wellington, Florida) and a series of private fields falling under the WPT umbrella.
Teams competing in the Joe Barry Memorial are vying for a spot in the NPC 16-Goal Championship. In accordance with the Tournament Conditions, each team participating in a qualifying event earns points towards eligibility for the championship. Teams that win a qualifier are awarded 25 points, second place teams in a qualifier receive 5 points and a team that comes in third or fourth place receive 1 point. To reinforce the idea that all participation is encouraged, players may compete in as many events as they would like on either the same team or on different teams. If a player triumphs in more than one event but on different teams, that player must choose which team he or she would like to compete with in the Championship, and the other team may use a substitute. Qualifying teams must maintain at least two of their original members in order to play in the Championship.
The Joe Barry Memorial will be guaranteed three Sunday matches (January 12, 19 and 26) on U.S. Polo Assn. Field One.
In 2024, BTA (Ignacio “Nachi” Viana, Steve Krueger, Alfonso Pieres, Kelly Beal) went head-to-head against Forbes Plunkett (Brandon Plunkett, Nicolas “Nico” Escobar, Lucas Escobar, Felipe “Pipe” Vercellino). The team in orange maintained the lead for the majority of the match until BTA mounted their comeback in the second half to tie the score in the sixth chukker. In the game’s final moments, Nico Escobar made a nearside neckshot, scoring the game-winning goal to earn the 8-9 victory with only seconds left on the clock. Read article here.
Hosted and managed by Port Mayaca Polo Club (PMPC), this year's competition will field five teams including, ConcordEquityGroup.com, Dracarys Polo, Las Brisas, San Saba and Zapican BMW.
Representing Team USPA is Active Member Lucas Escobar and Graduating Member Nicolas "Nico" Escobar (ConcordEquityGroup.com) alongside alumni Steve Krueger (San Saba) and Felipe Viana (Zapican BMW).
2024 Joe Barry Memorial Champions: Forbes Plunkett - Lucas Escobar, Felipe "Pipe" Vercellino, Nicolas "Nico" Escobar, Brandon Plunkett. ©David Lominska
