NEWS

The Texas Arena League (TAL) concluded its fifth season with finals at Legends Polo Club (Kaufman, Texas) on the weekend of March 11-13. There was plenty of excitement in the stands as the crowds cheered on their favorite players and teams in the finals of eight USPA tournaments and TAL league games.

On Friday, Dallas Polo Club (Will Walton, Joaquin Arguello, Mike Farah) triumphed in the 6- to 9-goal Southwestern Circuit Arena Delegate’s Cup final, having won every game played throughout the cross-bracket tournament. Played simultaneously in Poteet, Texas, the Southwestern Circuit Sportsmanship Cup final was won by Horsegate (Carly Schneider, Lauren Sterr, Ariel Mancebo). C-Flight games followed, with friends and family cheering on their favorite teams and players.

The Southwestern Circuit Admiral Chester W. Nimitz final kicked off Saturday’s impressive roster of 0- to 3-goal tournaments, with Polo Interactive (Jose Velez, Javier Insua, Tanner Kneese) taking the win with a thrilling 12-point lead.

“I played with what seemed to me a couple of well-oiled machines, Javier Insua and Tanner Kneese,” commented Polo Interactive’s Jose Velez. “We almost doubled the amount of net goals (30) when compared to any team and no one was close to the number of goals we scored overall (73) in the TAL tournament. While we won the Southwestern Circuit Admiral Chester W. Nimitz this year, the Texas Arena League Award was not to be. To quote the Terminator, ‘I’ll be back’…next year!”

The Southwestern Circuit Arena Amateur Cup final followed, with Visage.jobs (Joss Leufrancois, Trey Crea, Dani Gibson, Caroline Woodman) edging out Elite Spicy Senoritas for the win. In Saturday’s most anticipated matchup, Los Tres Ingleses (James Glew, Verity Cameron, Don English) emerged victorious against Bar-Spur in the final of the Southwestern Circuit General George S. Patton, Jr.

“I had great fun throughout the whole tournament with my teammates, and we came away with a hard-earned win on the final weekend to win the overall tournament,” said Galvin Agency MVP James Glew. “We look forward to playing in the league again next year.”

"Patton Legacy Sports could not have asked for a better partner in TAL to host the first sanctioned Southwestern Circuit General George S. Patton, Jr. of the year at Legends,” said Patton Legacy Sports Chairman Michelle Strauss. “TAL transcends stereotypical venues in this event and is a great example of how polo can be played by anyone who enjoys competitive riding. As an exceptional equestrian, polo was a sport General Patton truly enjoyed throughout his entire life. As curators of his athletic legacy, Patton Legacy Sports looks to partner with entities that honor his lifetime of commitment to competition. In the year ahead we are taking into consideration competitions to support annually. Additionally, we are finalizing plans to create a way for all polo clubs to connect with PLS as they honor George Patton's commitment to the sport."

In the Southwestern Circuit General George S. Patton, Jr. Bronze Medal, Blue Star (Serena Belsby, Ashley Owen, Megan Flynn) defeated Legends. Closing Saturday’s games, Gulf Coast Fence (Jason Atkins, Charles Henkel, Zain Saud) won both round-robin matches against Save Water Polo and Eagle’s Landing in the TAL league game.

Sunday’s 3- to 6-goal finals kicked off with the Southwestern Circuit Arena Masters Cup, where GK Farms (Audry Persano, Jessica Keanally, Cody Woodfin, Nadir Khan) prevailed with an eight-point lead. Dallas Polo Club (Mike Farah, Will Walton, Lindsay Bellack) beat out PSL Polo in the vigorous finals of the Southwestern Circuit General Lewis B. “Chesty” Puller. Despite tough competition, Legends (August Scherer, Nacho Estrada, Jon Winson, Haley Winson) overcame Bar-Spur in the Southwestern Circuit Sherman Memorial.

"Audry Persano and I were thrilled to have Cody Woodfin join us as a substitute for the final,” commented GK Farms’ Jessica Keanally. “His skill and quiet confidence allowed us to make some great team plays. My favorite part of polo is those rare moments when all the horses and teammates are synchronized. Cody [Woodfin] and Audry [Persano] play so fluidly - they make the game fun and exciting."

The Southwestern Circuit General Lewis B. “Chesty” Puller Bronze Medal victory was well-earned by Herk’s Store and Grill (Megan Flynn, Wendy Stover, Ashley Owen). In the final round robin of Texas Arena League, each team–Auour, Texas Military and Visage.Jobs–won one game against each other.

Learn more at www.texasarenaleague.com and follow Texas Arena League on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

0- to 3-Goal Southwestern Circuit Sportsmanship Cup

1. Patton Legacy Sports (2): Wes Alston (0), Karl Hilberg (1), Jack Crea (1)
2. Horsegate (2): Carly Schneider (-1), Lauren Sterr (0), Ariel Mancebo (3)

Friday, March 11
Horsegate defeated Patton Legacy Sports 13-10

6- to 9-Goal Southwestern Circuit Arena Delegate’s Cup
1. Dallas Polo Club (8): Michael Farah (1), Joaquin Arguello (3), Will Walton (4)
2. Straussfeld Realty (9): Megan Flynn (2), Tiamo Hudspeth* (3), Cody Woodfin (4)
3. Bar-Spur (7): Mark Osburn (2), Brady Williams (2), Chad Bowman (3)
4. Legends (9): Megan Rahlfs (2), Nacho Estrada (2), August Scherer (5)

Friday, March 11
Dallas Polo Club defeated Straussfeld Realty 21-11
Bar-Spur defeated Legends 24-18

0- to 3-Goal Southwestern Circuit Admiral Chester W. Nimitz

1. Auour Polo Team (3): Lindsay Bellack (0), Molly Hosler (1), Megan Rahlfs (2)
2. Polo InterActive (3): Jose Velez (-1), Tanner Kneese (1), Javier Insua (3)

Saturday, March 12
Polo Interactive defeated Auour Polo Team 24-12

0- to 3-Goal Southwestern Circuit Arena Amateur Cup

1. Visage.Jobs (3): Caroline Woodman (-1), Joss Leufrancois (2), Trey Crea (2)
2. Elite Spicy Senoritas (3): Lisa Yanskey (0), Amanda Massey (1), Stephanie Massey Colburn* (2)

Saturday, March 12
Visage.Jobs defeated Elite Spicy Senoritas 10-8

0- to 3-Goal Southwestern Circuit General George S. Patton, Jr.

1. Bar-Spur (3): Amanda Osburn (-1), Mark Osburn (2), Brady Williams (2)
2. Los Tres Ingleses (3): Verity Cameron (-1), James Glew (2), Don English, Jr.(2)

Saturday, March 12
Los Tres Ingleses defeated Bar-Spur 15-11

0- to 3-Goal Southwestern Circuit General George S. Patton, Jr. Bronze Medal

1. Legends (2): Marcus Murphy (0), Taylor Hooten (0), Nacho Estrada (2)
2. Blue Star (3): Serena Belsby (-1), Ashley Owen (2), Megan Flynn (2)

Saturday, March 12
Blue Star defeated Legends 19-10

0- to 3-Goal TAL League Game

1. Save Water Polo (0): Katie Anderson (0), Jan-Pieter Zweegers (0), Kim Vaughan (0)
2. Eagles Landing (0): Alisha Clark (-1), Gustavo Toro (0), Ally Vaughn (1)
3. Gulf Coast Fence (3): Jason Atkins (1), Charles Henkel (1T), Zain Saud (1)

Saturday, March 12
Eagles Landing defeated Save Water Polo 7-4.5
Gulf Coast Fence defeated Eagles Landing 10-1.5
Gulf Coast Fence defeated Save Water Polo 13-6.5

3- to 6-Goal Southwestern Circuit Arena Masters Cup

1. GK Farms (6): Jessica Keneally (0), Audry Persano* (2), Cody Woodfin (4)
2. Phipps Polo (5): Rob Phipps (0), Thomas Phelps (2), Chris Jones (3)

Sunday, March 13
GK Farms defeated Phipps Polo 22-14

3- to 6-Goal Southwestern Circuit General Lewis B. “Chesty” Puller Bronze Medal

1. Herk’s Store and Grill (6): Megan Flynn (2), Wendy Stover (2), Ashley Owen (2)
2. Lease Plan (5): Lisa Yanskey (0), Megan Rahlfs (2), Tiamo Hudspeth (3)

Sunday, March 13
Herk’s Store and Grill defeated Lease Plan 15-7

3- to 6-Goal Southwestern Circuit General Lewis B. “Chesty” Puller

1. Dallas Polo (6): Michael Farah (1), Lindsay Bellack (1), Will Walton (4)
2. PSL Polo (4): Sarah Morelli (-1), Carolyn Stimmel (2), Russell Stimmel (3)

Sunday, March 13
Dallas Polo defeated PSL Polo 19-15

3- to 6-Goal Southwestern Circuit Sherman Memorial

1. Bar-Spur (6): Mark Osburn (2), Don English, Jr. (2), Brady Williams (2)
2. Legends (6): Jonathan Winson (-1), Hailey Winson (-1), Nacho Estrada (2), August Scherer (5)

Sunday, March 13
Legends defeated Bar-Spur 20-13

3- to 6-Goal TAL League Game

1. Auour (5): Kim Vaughan (0), Molly Hosler (1), Rob Payne (4)
2. Texas Military (5): Tanner Kneese (1), Karl Hilberg (1), Javier Insua (3)
3. Visage.Jobs (5): Jack Crea (1), Joss Leufrancois (2), Trey Crea (2)

Sunday, March 13
Auour defeated Texas Military 8-5
Texas Military defeated Visage.Jobs 13-8
Visage.Jobs defeated Auour 10-7

Every game of the Texas Arena League awards a Galvin Agency Most Valuable Player, Catena USA Sportsmanship and Nutrena Best Playing Pony. The winners of these awards are listed below.

Galvin Agency Most Valuable Players
Chris Jones
Megan Flynn
Carolyn Stimmel
Mark Osburn
Rob Payne
Caroline Woodman
James Glew
Ashley Owen
Joaquin Arguello
Chad Bowman
Ariel Mancebo
Tanner Kneese
Zain Saud

Catena USA Sportsmanship Award Recipients
Audry Persano
Megan Rahlfs (X2)
Lindsay Bellack
Hailey Winson
Tanner Kneese
Amanda Massey
Mark Osburn
Marcus Murphy
Tiamo Hudspeth
Carly Schneider
Molly Hosler
Jason Atkins

Nutrena Best Playing Pony
Hobo – Cody Woodfin
Steely Dame – Wendy Stover
Katniss – Will Walton
Blue Duck – Mark Osburn (X2)
Julio – Rob Payne
Marlboro – Joss Leufrancois
Missy – James Glew
Money – Ashley Owen
Moxie – Tiamo Hudspeth
Margarita – Wes Alston
Solita – Javier Insua
Peppy – Ally Vaughn, Gustavo Toro

*Tiamo Hudspeth, Audry Persano and Stephanie Massey Colburn 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.