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), CK Shack (2022) and Iconica (2023).
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 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 Ylvisaker Cup 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 qualifies on more than one team, 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 Ylvisaker Cup will be guaranteed two Sunday matches (February 2 and 16) on U.S. Polo Assn. Field One.
In 2024, finalists SD Farms/Old Hickory Bourbon (Sayyu Dantata Jr., Cesar "Peco" Polledo, Mariano Obregon Jr., Stevie Orthwein) and Clearwater (Juan "Benja" Quiroga, Raul “Gringo” Colombres, Lucas Diaz Alberdi, Camp Campbell) were neck and neck throughout the first half. Returning from halftime, Clearwater broke away with three goals off the mallet of Alberdi, securing the thrilling 14-13 win. Read article here.
Hosted and managed by the WPT and Patagones Polo Club, this year's competition will feature a deep field of 12 competitive teams vying for the prestigious title. Bientina, Clearwater, Copperline Farm, Flying H, Los Machitos/El Refugio, Novo, SD Farms, South Park Elementary, Tonkawa and Willow Bend will join two teams (ConcordEquityGroup.com, Zapican BMW) currently competing in the Joe Barry Memorial for the opportunity to advance to the NPC 16-Goal Championship.
Representing Team USPA are Active Members Mackenzie Weisz (Tonkawa) and Lucas Escobar alongside Graduating Member Nicolas "Nico" Escobar (ConcordEquityGroup.com). Team USPA alumni include Jesse Bray and Geronimo Obregon (South Park Elementary), Santino Magrini (Flying H) and Felipe Viana (Zapican BMW).
Photo: 2024 Ylvisaker Cup Champions: Clearwater - Juan "Benja" Quiroga, Raul "Gringo" Colombres, Lucas Diaz Alberdi, Camp Campbell. Presented by Janie Ylvisaker. ©David Lominska
