NEWS

Westchester Polo Club is pleased to announce during women’s history month that registration has opened for the third annual East Coast Open (14- to 20-goal) and East Coast Handicap (8- to 12 goal) Women’s Polo Championships from July 27 to August 1, 2021. Each tournament will offer $2,500 in prize money with the semifinal rounds of both tournaments hosted by Myopia Polo Club (South Hamilton, Massachusetts) and the finals by Westchester Polo Club (Newport, Rhode Island) over the weekend. All tournament participants will automatically qualify to play in the Sunny Hale Legacy WCT Finals.

“It’s exciting to continue the momentum for high caliber women's polo competition in the United States with these medium and high-goal tournaments during the summer, hosted by two of the oldest clubs in the country,” said USPA Northeastern Circuit Governor Leighton Jordan. “They have done a great job establishing these tournaments as fixtures in the Northeast polo season. It will be a highlight again this summer."

Finalist prizes, Most Valuable Player and Best Playing Pony recognitions will be awarded in each tournament. The first four teams in each tournament to register by Thursday, June 24, will receive official team jerseys sponsored by USPA Global Licensing Inc.

The tournament registration deadline is Monday, July 19, 2021, at 5:00pm ET or sooner if the team limit is reached. Entry form, requirements, schedule, tournament fees and details can be found here. Also professional USPA umpires will officiate the matches. 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, July 24, at 7:30pm ET.

“Each year we have raised our game, and this year will be no exception. All available resources are in effect to provide a first-rate competitive experience, from prize money to the collaborative strength of our two clubs for each of our best field conditions, at the peak of the Northeastern polo season, professional USPA Umpires, a veteran Host Tournament Committee, and trusted advisory Tournament Managers at each host site,” said Westchester Club President and USPA delegate Dan Keating. “We are doing everything we can to support the progress of women in the sport of polo, and provide forums of upper levels of competition for players to advance.

Each tournament will feature top level teams competing for the prestigious Sunny Hale and Anne Hutchinson silver trophies. 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.

Players seeking to connect with other players to form a team are encouraged to post on the tournaments’ Facebook Group page and also contact Agnes Keating at agnes@nptpolo.com or (401) 847-7090 for more information.