Mar 31, 2025
On Saturday, March 29, San Pedro (Joseph Fitzsimons, Miguel “Miki” Novillo Astrada Jr., Stephen Orthwein Jr., Will Emerson) met Mt. Brilliant (Hutton Goodman, sub. Leo Mandelbaum, sub. Alejandro González, Julian Daniels) in the Stephen Orthwein Memorial final, hosted by Port Mayaca Polo Club in Okeechobee, Florida. Honoring an American polo icon, the 8- to 12-goal sanctioned event was awarded 2025 Legacy Polo Series status. Stemming from a USPA initiative to recognize individual memorial tournaments at the medium-goal level, the Legacy Polo Series ties together the rich history of the sport uniting clubs around the country. Led by Daniels and González in the sixth chukker, Mt. Brilliant overcame a two-goal deficit to claim an 11-10 victory.
Setting the stage for a rematch, San Pedro entered the final confident from a 5-2 win over Mt. Brilliant in preliminary play just two days earlier. Eager for redemption, González and Mandelbaum struck first for a 2-1 Mt. Brilliant lead. San Pedro outscored its opponents in the second chukker with three goals from Astrada Jr. to tie the match 4-all. Containing Mt. Brillant to a single Penalty 3 from Daniels, Astrada and Orthwein Jr. lifted San Pedro to a 7-5 lead at the half.
Trading goals in the fourth chukker, the back-and-forth affair continued in the fifth period, with Daniels and Astrada exchanging two field goals each to maintain the gap. Trailing by two moving into the final chukker of play, a field goal from Daniels combined with two penalty conversions from González completed Mt. Brillant’s comeback win.
Leading Mt. Brilliant with six goals in the final, Julian Daniels was named Most Valuable Player. Showcased in the second chukker, Best Playing Pony honors were awarded to Prima Krestel, played and owned by Miguel “Miki” Novillo Astrada Jr.
All photos courtesy of ©Kaile Roos.
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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