NEWS

The United States Polo Association (USPA) is proud to announce the 2023 Intercollegiate/Interscholastic (I/I) Lifetime Achievement Award, Service Award and Young Alumni Award recipients. Recognizing those who have dedicated their time and efforts to growing and developing the game while inspiring youth athletes across I/I polo, the USPA proudly adds Clyde Waddell, Megan Judge and Jenny Schwartz to a select list of individuals who have made a profound and lasting impact on the sport.

The awards for I/I Lifetime Achievement, Service Award and Young Alumni are tentatively scheduled to be presented during the 2023 USPA Fall Committee, Board of Governors and Annual Member Meeting in September in Indio, California.

To be awarded only in exceptional circumstances to an individual who exemplifies the spirit of I/I by providing many years of service and commitment to growing young players in the sport and providing an outstanding example of dedication to the continued advancement of the I/I program. This year’s posthumous recipient Clyde Waddell joins Danny Scheraga (2022) as the second individual to receive the award.

Clyde Calvin Waddell Jr. was born in Warren, Ohio, on January 19, 1942. He graduated from the University of Cincinnati in 1965 where he was an active member of the Reserve Officers' Training Corps and later served in the United States Army. Waddell married Beryl Wulfekamp and had two daughters, Bethany and Jennifer. He and his family moved to Lubbock, Texas, in 1980 where he was the Chief Financial Officer for Furr’s Grocery Stores until 1989 when he began pursuing personal business ventures.

Waddell always had a love for animals. He became involved with horses when his daughters began English riding lessons and hunter jumper shows in the early 1980s. Waddell’s love for horses flowed over into the racehorse industry when he purchased a few thoroughbred broodmares and racehorses.

In his retirement he found his true passion – Texas Tech Polo. What began in 1999 as simply boarding the team’s horses at his beloved farm, Cross Winds, turned into a full-time job of coaching and traveling. His coaching career was highlighted by the 2006 Men’s National Intercollegiate Championship. Waddell passed away on September 13, 2016, in Lubbock, Texas. Waddell’s coaching continued until the day he died.

To be awarded annually to an individual who has exemplified the spirit of I/I by demonstrating commitment to growing young players in the sport in the last calendar year. The recipient has also provided an outstanding example of selfless contribution to the sustainability of their local club(s) and the I/I program as a whole. Currently in its third year of recognition, Megan Judge will receive the I/I Service Award alongside previous honorees Lou Lopez (2021) and Bonnie Magill (2022).

Megan Judge learned to play polo from her grandfather, William C. Carter Jr. who was a 30-year member of the Will Rogers Polo Club (Los Angeles, California). Judge has over 23 years of experience in club management and teaching polo and credits her love for polo to her early influences; Sue Sally Hale, Domingo Questel and mostly her grandfather.

Judge competed for California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly) intercollegiate polo team, located in San Luis Obispo, California, from 1995-1999, and was a member of the All-West All-Star team all four years. She was also a member of the Western Regional Championship teams in 1996 and 1999. Judge has been playing polo for over 29 years and is rated at 5-goals (women’s arena), 3-goals (women’s outdoor), 2-goals in the arena and 0-goals outdoor.

Judge has been the coach of the Cal Poly polo team for the past 19 years and has led her teams to compete in the National Intercollegiate Championship eight of the last 13 years. In 2023, Judge coached her wild-card Cal Poly women's team to a Division II Women’s National Intercollegiate Championship title to earn her first national trophy. Judge also coaches two interscholastic teams (Girls and Open), with the 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018 girls interscholastic teams and 2017, 2018 and 2021 open interscholastic teams advancing to nationals.

To be awarded annually to a young alumni who has exemplified the spirit of I/I by giving back to the sport in the last calendar year, by demonstrating commitment to growing young players in the sport and providing an outstanding example of selfless contribution to the sustainability of their local club(s) and/or the I/I program as a whole. A young alumni is defined as someone who has graduated within the last 10 years. Announced as a new category in 2023, Jenny Schwartz becomes the first I/I young alumni to be bestowed this honor.

Jenny Schwartz started polo as a middle school student at Garrison Forest School (Owings Mills, Maryland). She went on to play for Garrison Forest’s interscholastic team winning two Girls’ National Interscholastic Championships (2009, 2011) under Cindy Halle. After graduating from Garrison Forest in 2011, Schwartz went to Virginia Tech (Blacksburg, Virginia), where she started the school’s polo program with the help of the Interscholastic/Intercollegiate Polo Development team. Schwartz was able to acquire equipment and horses, and also built a small practice arena. Schwartz began the program while also coaching all the students that joined the team until she graduated in 2015. In 2015, Schwartz received the Intercollegiate Female Player of the Year award.

After graduation, Schwartz worked as a USPA intern at polo clubs in Poolesville, Maryland, and also worked under Justin Powers with USPA Polo Development traveling to different clubs around the country managing tournaments, events and various polo development projects. She helped grow the polo school at Seneca Polo Club (Poolesville, Maryland) before accepting her position as Director of Polo at Garrison Forest School in 2017. Since then, she has loved working at her alma mater—a place she will always call home. Schwartz has brought many young players into the sport and advanced their skills in order to compete in college, with a few now working in the polo industry. She is particularly proud of the lower school program she has cultivated as well as supporting the club programs (Ruda Polo and Charm City Youth Polo) that run out of the Garrison Forest organization.

Most recently, Schwartz began hosting community outreach polo clinics to underserved youth in Baltimore, Maryland. Garrison Forest Polo hosted two clinics for Nexus Family Healing, a residential treatment and foster care facility in Baltimore County. Eighteen girls and boys traveled to campus, many of which were introduced to horses for the first time. Garrison students, Ruda and Charm City players all came together to teach horsemanship and polo basics. The clinics are a fantastic display of the development of an I/I player, uniting middle school, interscholastic, intercollegiate and I/I alumni to facilitate an amazing opportunity to give back to the community and spread the joy of polo.