YLVISAKER CUP
TOURNAMENT HISTORY
The Ylvisaker Cup is played annually as a tribute to William T. “Bill” Ylvisaker, a true pioneer who was responsible for developing the Wellington, Florida, area into the high-goal winter polo capital of the world. Ylvisaker contributed extensively to the sport’s resurgence in the 70s and 80s. Ylvisaker created the Palm Beach Polo and Country Club out of the unwelcoming, wild and forbidding marsh on the edge of the Florida Everglades. Palm Beach Polo Club flourished and the town of Wellington sprung up around it, going on to successfully host not only, polo but numerous other equestrian sports.
As for Ylvisaker’s personal playing record, he began with two National Interscholastic Championships in the 40s, continuing polo at Yale University, ultimately reaching a 7-goal handicap at the height of his career. His notable wins include a 1972 U.S. Open Polo Championship victory, a USPA Gold Cup and two Coronation Cup titles (Great Britain versus United States), among many others. Ylvisaker co-founded the Polo Training Foundation in 1967, and served as its first Vice President. He also served as Chairman of the USPA from 1970 to 1975. He was inducted into the Museum of Polo and Hall of Fame in 1996.
Established in 2003, the prestigious tournament has consistently fielded talented rosters of up to 16 teams over the past decade. New Bridge/La Dolfina captured back-to-back wins in 2006 and 2007, the only consecutive wins by one team in the history of the Ylvisaker Cup. Additional contemporary champions include Coca-Cola (2017), Valiente (2018), Dutta Corp (2019), Patagones (2020), Beverly Polo (2021) and CK Shack (2022).
The Ylvisaker Cup will serve as the second qualifying leg of four prestigious national tournaments (Joe Barry Memorial, Iglehart Cup, Outback Cup) culminating in the NPC 16-Goal Championship. Qualifiers will be played across multiple clubs, with the championship final hosted on Sunday, April 14 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.
Each of the four national tournaments serve as a qualifier for the NPC 16-Goal Championship, with each winning team moving on to the final event. Should a team win more than one qualifier, that team will automatically advance to the NPC 16-Goal Championship final.
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. Yet, 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 represent in the NPC 16-Goal 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.
In 2023, Iconica continued their 16-goal prowess (Maureen Brennan, Mariano "Peke" Gonzalez, Lucas "Luckitas" Criado Jr., Santos Merlos) facing an undefeated Dundas (Sarah Siegel-Magness, Geronimo Obregon, Paco "Paquito" de Narvaez Jr., Tomas Panelo). Iconica’s familiarity and faith in one another helped create an early advantage which they maintained throughout the entire game. Dundas battled back into contention by halftime, but Iconica owned the second half of the final, capitalizing on their confidence in each other to ride away with the 13-7 victory. Read article here.
The Ylvisaker Cup will be guaranteed two Sunday matches (February 4 and 11) on U.S. Polo Assn. Field One. The Ylvisaker Cup final will be played on Sunday, February 25 on NPC Field 2.
Hosted and managed by the WPT and Patagones Polo Club, this year's competition will feature a deep field of 11 competitive teams vying for the prestigious title. 90210 Polo, Clearwater, Copperline Farm, Flying H, Mayer Ranch and Novo Polo will join five teams (BTA, Catamount, La Fe/Dazos, Patagones, SD Farms/Old Hickory Bourbon) currently competing in the Joe Barry Memorial for the opportunity to advance to the NPC 16-Goal Championship.
Representing Team USPA are Active Members Kristos "Keko" Magrini (Catamount) Mackenzie Weisz (Clearwater), Lucas Escobar (Copperline Farm), Nicolas "Nico" Diaz Alberdi (La Fe/Dazos), Jack Whitman (Patagones), Graduating Member Nicolas "Nico" Escobar (Copperline Farm) and alumni Jesse Bray and Geronimo Obregon (90210 Polo), Steve Krueger (BTA), Santino Magrini (Flying H) and Costi Caset, Matt Coppola and Jared Zenni (Mayer Ranch).
Patagones Polo Club will be taking advantage of the USPA's Bridge to High Goal Initiative (B2HG) for the Ylvisaker Cup, which provides eligible USPA Member Clubs three USPA Professional Umpires (two mounted officials and one third man) at 50% of the regular cost to the club.
The Bridge to High Goal Initiative (B2HG) has been created to support polo between 12 and 16 goals. The goal of the program is to build a bridge from low-goal polo to high-goal polo that provides a safe environment for competition which will allow for the cultivation of team owners and the advancement of aspiring professionals.
2023 Ylvisaker Cup Champions: Iconica - Maureen Brennan, Mariano 'Peke' Gonzalez, Lucas 'Luckitas' Criado Jr., Santos Merlos. ©David Lominska
