NEWS

The Texas Arena League (TAL) kicked off its 2023 season with smashing success at Brookshire Polo Club in Brookshire, Texas. Teams competed in C-Flight, 0 to 3 goal, 3 to 6 goal, and 6- to 9-goal divisions from Friday, January 27 through Sunday, January 29, to accommodate for a vastly competitive environment for players of differing skill levels.

Teams will continue to play for points accumulated at each event that will be tallied up at the end of the season for the end-of-league awards and the coveted TAL trophy buckles. New this year, the Dripping Springs location has been added, plus, the addition of the Armadillo Division. The Armadillo Division was added to accommodate the number of teams that wanted to participate in the 2023 TAL. Counting every flight and division, Texas Arena League has 49 teams competing this year!

In addition to once again bringing arena polo back to the Houston area, TAL has also proven itself to be a pioneer for polo events. TAL is proud to host the Southwestern Circuit General George S. Patton Jr., sponsored by Patton Legacy Sports, the Southwestern Circuit Arena Sportsmanship Cup and the Southwestern Circuit Admiral Chester W. Nimitz in the 0- to 3-goal division. Additionally, the Southwestern Circuit General Lewis B. “Chesty” Puller started in the 3- to 6-goal division, and will be followed by the Southwestern Circuit Sherman Memorial, bringing with it great honor for the ideals of quick-thinking and natural respect on which it was founded. The National Arena Delegate’s Cup had its first games completed at Brookshire at the 6- to 9-goal level as well.

Teams from all over the lone-star state have shown up and showed why TAL is such a success. These teams will continue to travel and compete, racking up points and wins in the hopes of becoming League Champions. Points for Most Valuable Player, Sportsmanship and Best Playing Pony are also accumulated throughout each weekend played and will receive their own awards upon conclusion of the tournament series. Nutrena is sponsoring awards for the Best Playing Ponies, while Galvin Agency sponsors the MVP awards and Catena, Polo InterActive and JD Polo sponsor the Sportsmanship awards. With such dedicated sponsors, competitive spirit is high, and yet still does not take away from the undeniable camaraderie that is distinctive of TAL.

Charles Henkel, one of this year’s competitors for the Maritica team, enthusiastically shared, “I had so much fun last weekend! I particularly love the organization, and professionalism the staff has put into TAL. It’s created a perfect environment for me to continue to play polo with all my old alumni friends who I started playing polo with back at Texas Tech! Even better, I can now watch the game grow, as their kids are now in C-flight!”

Another participant, Lisa Yanskey, commented, “Texas Arena League has really grown up. There is a waiting list and an entire extra tournament that has been created to accommodate all of the teams that want to play. Exclusivity grows interest, and everyone I’ve spoken to is excited to have a team. The competition is stacked, and the camaraderie is second to none.”

Yanskey’s teams “Texas Sun & Shade” and “Frank's Friendly Firearms” are both sponsors this year for the Texas Arena League and have seen some tough competition so far in the games. They are just some of the many dedicated sponsors making the Texas Arena League possible, including U.S. Polo Assn., whose vests adorn every player in the League, providing affordable and comfortable clothing for everyone to enjoy.

Some vendors were even on-site for the action, such as Jackrabbit Tack and Pata Lifestyle, who even featured their pop-up tent at location. In addition to sponsoring the event, Nutrena featured equine nutritionist Sharon Choney as an attendee over the course of the weekend. TAL has become nothing less than an amalgam of the brightest arena polo players and the most committed sponsors the sport has to offer. Everyone in attendance was able to enjoy the environment of support coming from both teammates and sponsors who only proved to be supportive throughout the entire weekend.

“We love supporting Texas Arena League as a multi-year sponsor. The matches are always exciting and entertaining. Good luck to the league for the rest of the season,” added Ashley Aguilar on behalf of sponsor Shannon Galvin.

Looking forward to locations such as Dripping Springs Ranch Park and Event Center (Dripping Springs, Texas) and Legends Polo Club (Kaufman, Texas), TAL continues to rally support for a thrilling season.

View the full list of award recipients from the first weekend and follow all of the games and standings during Texas Arena League on PoloSK and on the TAL Facebook page.

Galvin Agency Most Valuable Player Award
Will Walton (winner in 6 to 9 goal and 3 to 6 goal categories)
Mark Osburn
Olivia Reynolds
Cody Goetz
Rehan Kumble
Megan Flynn
Megan Rahlfs
Zak Coleman
Joss Leufrancois
Ariel Mancebo
Josie Dorsey
Lauren Sterr
Ashley Owen
James Glew

Nutrena Best Playing Pony Award
Cash - Will Walton
Moxie - Tiamo Hudspeth (winner in 6 to 9 goal and 3 to 6 goal categories)
Uncle Lucious – ridden by both Shane Rice and Megan Flynn
Willy Nelson – Nadir Khan
Nugget – Trey Crea
Walter - Played by Megan Flynn, owned by Alex King
Rockera - Joss Leufrancois
I’iwi - Mark Osburn
Collette - Played by Zak Coleman, owned by Victor Aguilar
Platinum – Brady Williams
Salt Rock - Emrey Owen
Rosita - Uma Villanueva
Bob - Gal Shweiki
Lady – played by Ariel Mancebo, owned by Horsegate

Polo InterActive Sportsmanship Award
Garrett Bankhead
Megan Flynn
Will Mudra

Catena Sportsmanship Award
Stephen Stout
Holly Vu Fulkerson
Tanner Kneese (winner in 0 to 3 goal and 3 to 6 goal categories)
Sammi Leach
Cody Goetz
Gal Shweiki
Joanie Jackson
Gustavo Toro
Kim Vaughan
Kelly Coldiron
Karl Hilberg

All photos courtesy of ©David Murrell.