Nov 22, 2016 2:47 PM
A strong U.S. Army Team compromising of Captain Terrence Donahue USAR, Colonel Marisa Tanner USA (ret.) and former Sergeant Paul Knapp defeated a Marine squad of Sergeant Chris Jones, Lieutenant Colonel Dean Daggett (ret.) and Officer Candidate Eric Hobby to win the 2016 Nimitz Cup 12-8. Held November 20, at the Virginia Polo Complex in Charlottesville, Virginia, The Nimitz Cup is the U.S. Military’s annual arena championship.
All services fielded teams, but the strong military deployment schedule limited the number of active duty players that could participate. The Navy team consisting of Commander Mike Yermakov (USNR ret.), Commander Stephanie “Mini” Butler USN, Lieutenant (junior grade) Vicky Frederichs USN and former Petty Officer 2nd Class Robert Cojocaru USN competed Friday evening against the Marine team. Despite a strong showing, the Navy lost the match 12-5. The second match on Friday saw the Air Force team of former Airman Peter Rizzo, Rob Phipps and Jonathan Burrows fall to the Army team 11-7. As often happens, the Army team captain, Major Mark Gillespie USA (ret.) suffered a pulled groin muscle in the first match and was forced to cheer from the sidelines in the second match (and no he was not eligible for a Purple Heart!).
On Saturday, November 19, Virginia Polo hosted nine active duty service members for a four-hour Introduction to Polo clinic. With the military players serving as instructors, the clinic covered polo rules, the hitting cage and culminated in a controlled mounted scrimmage. Enthusiasm ran high with the members of the US Army’s 3rd Infantry “The Old Guard” Caisson Platoon, Army Aviation, Military Police and Marine Intelligence Officers who participated in the clinic.
During the opening ceremonies, the National Colors were carried by a mounted detachment from the US Army’s Old Guard Caisson Platoon. All matches were played on handicap and utilized a split string format that ensured equal quality of all horses. The USPA Armed Forces Committee and Virginia Polo have agreed to once again play the tournament next year under the same format and at the same location.
Effective Date: Saturday, May 16, 2020
The suspension of USPA Tournaments and Events will be lifted for USPA Member Clubs in locales where hosting polo matches and tournaments is permitted under applicable state and local laws, executive orders and similar decrees. The USPA Member Clubs in these locales are encouraged to follow all such requirements of their state and local authorities with respect to polo operations. In addition, we also encourage all USPA Member Clubs to take the precautions recommended by the CDC. We are preparing a detailed list of best practices for USPA Member Clubs as they return to hosting USPA Tournaments and Events and plan to circulate these guidelines within the next week. We will continue to monitor the COVID-19 situation closely and will notify you if we determine a different course of action is necessary.
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