NEWS

Newport Polo is pleased to open the registration for the inaugural East Coast Open Women’s Polo Championship (14- to 20-goal) and East Coast Handicap Women’s Polo Championship (8- to 12-goal) Sunny Hale Legacy WCT Qualifier tournaments, presented by Dechra Veterinary Products.

The tournaments will be hosted by Westchester Polo Club in Newport, Rhode Island, and Myopia Polo Club, in South Hamilton, Massachusetts, June 27 through July 1.

Registration for the Women’s East Coast Open will close online this Friday, June 8, at 5:00pm ET. Team entry requirements, full schedule and tournament fees can be found on the online registration form here.

The tournaments are sanctioned by the United States Polo Association (USPA), and will be limited to four teams each, by invitation from the Host Tournament Committee. A live draw of teams for their respective opening rounds will be livestreamed on the tournament’s Facebook Group page and on Newport Polo’s Facebook fan page on Saturday, June 23, at 7:30pm ET.

Dechra Veterinary Products is committed to helping care for animals by providing quality products and the very highest level of support. This is why DECHRA is one of the fastest growing global brands in the veterinary market. When it comes to equine health, vets put their trust in Dechra and its wide range of products supporting the equine veterinarian including products for locomotion, dermatology, joint support, opthalmics and reproduction.

Each tournament will feature top level teams competing for the prestigious Sunny Hale and Anne Hutchinson silver trophies, and the winners recorded in the United States Polo Association Blue Book. Hale is remembered as a passionate ambassador for the players and horses of polo, and considered to be one of the all-time greatest female polo players and role model for many women in the sport. Hutchinson, a champion of civil liberty and toleration in the colonial era, became the first woman to found a community in the New World (Portsmouth, Rhode Island - 1638) and is revered in New England as a heroine of freedom.

A Players’ Advisory Board may be consulted on the tournament’s Facebook Group page by players seeking to connect with other players to form a team. Interested parties may also contact agnes@nptpolo.com to receive detailed information. All tournament participants will automatically qualify to play in the "Sunny Hale Legacy WCT Finals" in Wellington, Florida.

Newport Polo is the home of the Westchester Polo Club, America's first polo club, offering exhibition polo and club member services for outdoor and arena polo, and polo instruction. Established in 1876, Westchester Polo Club is a founding member club of the USPA and host of the Newport International Polo Series.

For more than 375 years, Newport has been welcoming visitors from near and far to its charming New England coastal harbor, earning its reputation as America’s First Resort. Evolving from its colonization for religious freedom to prominent colonial port to a destination ripe with sport, culture, history, art, entertainment and scenic beauty, distinctive shops, renowned restaurants, diverse accommodations and world-class events, its past, present, and future make this international resort uniquely legendary. For more information, please visit www.nptpolo.com.