NEWS

Hosted by Legends Polo Club in Kaufman, Texas, the USPA Women’s Arena Handicap final concluded on Sunday, November 24, in a battle between Wild Dog Polo (Verity English, Stephanie Colburn*, Tiamo Hudspeth*) and Legends Polo Club (Megan Rahlfs, Cara Kennedy, Wendy Stover). Fresh off a victory in the USPA Women’s Arena Open at Orange County Polo Club (Silverado, California), Colburn and Hudspeth carried their chemistry and momentum to the Lone Star State alongside new addition English to earn Wild Dog Polo’s second consecutive 2024 national title.

Reflecting on an action-packed fall season spanning multiple clubs across the country, Colburn elaborated on her bond with Hudspeth, “I board my horses at her facility, so we see each other just about every day. We ride together, we practice together, we played the [USPA] Women’s Arena Open together, we played in the [Southwestern Circuit] Women’s Challenge in Houston [Texas] last week. We have really just been building on our team chemistry together and getting our horses right.”

Adjusting Wild Dog Polo’s roster from California to the 7- to 12-goal level of the USPA Women’s Arena Handicap, Colburn continued, “The first person I thought of was Verity. She’s very strong for her handicap. She’s a lovely person, she’s well mounted, she has a great support network. She checked all the boxes for me and I’m so happy that she wanted to play with Tiamo and I.” Honing her skills at clubs across Texas, English shared her experience joining Wild Dog Polo, “The opportunity to play this tournament, especially with Stephanie and Tiamo was just one that I could not pass up. […] I learned so much from them throughout the games. Tiamo’s coaching is second to none and Stephanie is unstoppable. We just had a really good mix for some magic on our team.”

Jumping to an early lead, back-to-back goals from Hudspeth and Colburn opened the scoring in favor of Wild Dog Polo. Responding with fervor, Rahlfs scored five goals in the chukker, including three penalty conversions and a two-pointer to give Legends Polo Club a 5-4 edge. Capping off a high-scoring first half, Colburn and Hudspeth were back on the attack, capitalizing on both open play and penalty opportunities. Outscoring their opponents in the second chukker, Wild Dog Polo limited Legends Polo Club to a single goal from Rahlfs to take a narrow 8-6 lead at the break.

Relaying the importance of preparation entering the final, English expressed, “We had gone over set plays and we knew every decision was already made before the play presented itself to us, so we always knew where to be and what our job was on those set plays, those penalties, those knock-ins. That really helped us to get in the position to move the ball down the arena. But they definitely made it hard on us to get it in that goal.”

Following a goal from Kennedy to kick-start the second half for Legends Polo Club, the team in blue continued their charge, with the Colburn and Hudspeth duo adding five in the chukker to widen the lead 13-8. Overpowering Legends Polo Club once more in the fourth period, a final goal from English sealed Wild Dog Polo’s 16-9 triumph.

Leading Legends Polo Club with eight goals in the final, Megan Rahlfs was named Most Valuable Player for her standout performance. The Sportsmanship Award was presented to Grand Central Polo Club's Bobbi Anderson for her continued positive attitude, fairness and support for her peers on and off the field.

Best Playing Pony was awarded to Varro, played and owned by Tiamo Hudspeth. “He really changes my whole game,” said Hudspeth, “Whenever I get on him, he changes my whole level. He’s super quick and has so much heart. I started on him in the first, then I played him half a chukker in the third and came back on him in the fourth for half a chukker. He played a chukker and a half for me today and he really made a difference.”

English detailed Wild Dog Polo’s celebration plans, “Lots of pictures with our ponies. There’s a lot of appreciation for the horses, they did so much good work for all of us. Celebrating with the horses, making sure they’re taken care of and then popping some bottles after!”

The USPA Women’s Arena Handicap is now available On-Demand.

*Stephanie Colburn and Tiamo Hudspeth are Team USPA alumnae. Team USPA is a USPA program designed to enhance and grow the sport of polo in the United States by identifying young, talented American players and providing mentored training and playing opportunities leading to a pool of higher rated amateur and pro players and the resultant giveback to the sport of polo.

All photos courtesy of ©David Murrell.