NEWS

The Texas Arena League (TAL) heads into the finals of eight USPA tournaments and TAL games for points after wrapping up the semifinals at Brookshire Polo Club (Brookshire, Texas) over the weekend of February 25-27.

Inclement weather pushed back start times, with the C-Flight kicking off Friday’s games. In the first 6- to 9-goal Southwestern Circuit Delegate’s Cup game, Bar-Spur emerged victorious with a 12 point lead. Following suit, Dallas Polo Club also won their match by a 12-point margin. On Sunday, March 6, the shootout between Horsegate and Straussfeld Realty sent the latter team into the final.

“It is with great pride that I find myself competing in the finals of the Texas Arena League this year,” said Catena USA Sportsmanship winner Michael Farah of Horsegate. “It is my second year participating in the tournament which has grown by leaps and bounds. One of the best things about this game is the camaraderie between teams and players, and the willingness to help each other out even if you are on different teams.”

On Saturday, players and spectators enjoyed a mix of four 0- to 3-goal tournaments. After two thrilling games, Los Tres Ingleses and Bar-Spur will face off in the Southwestern Circuit General George S. Patton, Jr. Final.

“Making it to the final with Don [English] and James [Glew] is so exciting!" commented Catena USA Sportsmanship winner Verity Cameron, who plays for Los Tres Ingleses. “Throughout TAL they have been playing incredibly well, and I’ve learned so much from them strategically. Despite both being 2 goals, their styles are very different, and this wide range in the arena has converted into a lot of goals for both of them.”

“Bar-Spur is a formidable team; they have strong players and fast horses,” Cameron continued. “We’re going to have to bring our all against them, but we couldn’t be happier to play such great people in the final to round out what has been a fantastic league.”

“I am very excited to be playing in the 0- to 3-goal Southwestern Circuit General George S. Patton Jr. Final at Legends Polo Club next weekend,” said Galvin Agency MVP Brady Williams, playing for Bar-Spur. “Making it to the final of this tournament also puts us in contention to win the 0- to 3-goal TAL league. This is my fourth year playing with Mark Osburn in this league and we have been unsuccessful in the past at having a chance to win the league. We are playing with his wife, Amanda, this year and it has been fun watching her improve over the season.”

In the Southwestern Circuit Admiral Nimitz Cup, Polo InterActive and Auour Polo Team won against tough competition to progress to the final. Elite Spicy Senoritas and Hondo Polo triumphed in the Southwestern Circuit Arena Amateur Cup, and Patton Legacy Sports and Horsegate prevailed in the Southwestern Circuit Sportsmanship Cup.

“This past weekend was a great opportunity for my team to learn more about the game and have fun,” commented Catena USA Sportsmanship winner Ally Vaughn. “Even though we didn’t come out on top all the horses in our string played well including Peppy who got her third Best Playing Pony for the TAL season.”

Sunday’s competition commenced with the 3- to 6-goal Southwestern Circuit General Lewis B. “Chesty” Puller, with PSL Polo edging out LeasePlan by one goal. Dallas Polo defeated Herk’s Store and Grill to also progress to the final.

In the 3- to 6-goal Southwestern Circuit Sherman Memorial, Bar-Spur won their game against Auour Polo in a shootout, and Legends defeated Visage.Jobs to continue on to the final. In the ​​3- to 6-goal Southwestern Circuit Arena Masters final, GK Farms and Horsegate will face off.

“Winning the Nutrena Best Playing Pony award is always special to me because the horses are my favorite part of polo,” commented Brady Williams. “I was able to win BPP in the recent third TAL event with Platinum in the 3-6 goal and Carly in the 0-3 goal. This is Platinum's second BPP in the 2022 TAL season and she has been playing spectacularly for me this year. I was really glad to have Carly receive the award because I believe this is her first TAL BPP. She is always one of my better horses, but she really stepped it up this past weekend.”

The Texas Arena League finals will be held on the weekend of March 11-13 at Legends Polo Club (Kaufman, Texas), just outside of Dallas.

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

6- to 9-Goal Southwestern Circuit Arena Delegate’s Cup

1. Bar-Spur (7): Mark Osburn (2), Brady Williams (2), Chad Bowman (3)
2. Legends (9): Megan Rahlfs (2), Nacho Estrada (2), August Scherer (5)
3. Dallas Polo Club (8): Michael Farah (1), Joaquin Arguello (3), Will Walton (4)
4. Horsegate (8): Lance Stefanakis (2), Anson Moore (3), Ariel Mancebo (3)
5. Straussfeld Realty (9): Megan Flynn (2), Tiamo Hudspeth* (3), Cody Woodfin (4)

Friday, February 25
Bar-Spur defeated Legends 25-13
Dallas Polo Club defeated Horsegate 17-5

0- to 3-Goal Southwestern Circuit Arena Amateur Cup

1. Save Water Polo (0): Katie Anderson (0), Jan-Pieter Zweegers (0), Kim Vaughan (0)
2. Elite Spicy Senoritas (3): Lisa Yanskey (0), Amanda Massey (1), Stephanie Massey Colburn* (2)
3. Visage.Jobs (3): Dani Gibson (-1), Joss Leufrancois (2), Trey Crea (2)
4. Hondo Polo (3): Kyle Greenwood (-1), Beverly Greenwood (1), Tiamo Hudspeth (3)

Saturday, February 26
Elite Spicy Senoritas defeated Save Water Polo 17-7
Hondo Polo defeated Visage.Jobs 15-8

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

1. Los Tres Ingleses (3): Verity Cameron (-1), James Glew (2), Don English, Jr. (2)
2. Blue Star (3): Serena Belsby (-1), Ashley Owen (2), Megan Flynn (2)
3. Legends (2): Marcus Murphy (0), Taylor Hooten (0), Nacho Estrada (2)
4. Bar-Spur (3): Amanda Osburn (-1), Mark Osburn (2), Brady Williams (2)

Saturday, February 26
Los Tres Ingleses defeated Blue Star 11-9
Bar-Spur defeated Legends 10-7

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

1. Polo InterActive (3): Jose Velez (-1), Tanner Kneese (1), Javier Insua (3)
2. Eagles Landing (0): Alisha Clark (-1), Gustavo Toro (0), Ally Vaughn (1)
3. Gulf Coast Fence (3): Jason Atkins (1), Andrew Richardson (1), Zain Saud (1), Sub. Rehan Kumble (1)
4. Auour Polo Team (3): Lindsay Bellack (0), Molly Hosler (1), Megan Rahlfs (2)

Saturday, February 26
Polo InterActive defeated Eagles Landing 17-6
Auour Polo Team defeated Gulf Coast Fence 10-8

0- to 3-Goal Southwestern Circuit Sportsmanship Cup

1. Patton Legacy Sports (3): Gal Shweiki (1), Rehan Kumble (1), Jack Crea (1)
2. Creekside (3): Trent Florey (-1), Tess Pimsner (1), Karen Reese (3)
3. Horsegate (3): Nick Stefanakis (0), Lauren Sterr (0), Ariel Mancebo (3)
4. Coast to Coast (1): Emily Andrade (0), Samantha Leach (0), Sydney Morris (1)

Saturday, February 26
Patton Legacy Sports defeated Creekside 14-6
Horsegate defeated Coast to Coast 15-12

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

1. PSL Polo (4): Sarah Morelli (-1), Carolyn Stimmel (2), Russell Stimmel (3)
2. Lease Plan (5): Lisa Yanskey (0), Megan Rahlfs (2), Tiamo Hudspeth (3)
3. Dallas Polo (6): Michael Farah (1), Lindsay Bellack (1), Will Walton (4)
4. Herk’s Store and Grill (6): Megan Flynn (2), Wendy Stover (2), Ashley Owen (2)

Sunday, February 27
PSL Polo defeated Lease Plan 10-9
Dallas Polo defeated Herk’s Store and Grill 14-11

3- to 6-Goal Southwestern Circuit Sherman Memorial

1. Auour (6): Rehan Kumble (1), Molly Hosler (1), Rob Payne (4)
2. Bar-Spur (6): Mark Osburn (2), Don English, Jr. (2), Brady Williams (2)
3. Legends (5): Jonathan Winson (-1), Hailey Winson (-1), Nacho Estrada (2), August Scherer (5)
4. Visage.Jobs (5): Jack Crea (1), Joss Leufrancois (2), Trey Crea (2)

Sunday, February 27
Bar-Spur defeated Auour Polo 9-8
Legends defeated Visage.Jobs 22-7

3- to 6-Goal Southwestern Circuit Arena Masters Cup

1. Texas Military (5): Gal Shweiki (1), Karl Hilberg (1), Javier Insua (3)
2. GK Farms (5): Jessica Keneally (0), Audry Persano* (2), Nadir Khan (3)
3. Phipps Polo (5): Rob Phipps (0), Thomas Phelps (2), Chris Jones (3)
4. Horsegate (4): Joe Bob Lequerica (1), Will Mudra (1), Lance Stefanakis (2)

Sunday, February 27
GK Farms defeated Texas Military 12-9
Horsegate defeated Phipps Polo 26-3

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
Will Walton
Lisa Yanskey
Don English
Javier Insua
Brady Williams (MVP in two divisions)
Rehan Kumble
Megan Rahlfs
Sydney Morris
Kyle Greenwood
Tiamo Hudspeth
Ashley Owen
Chad Bowman
Audry Persano
Joe Bob Lequerica
August Scherer

Catena USA Sportsmanship Award Recipients
Anson Moore
Jan Pieter Zweegers
Serena Belsby
Marcus Murphy
Ally Vaughn
Rehan Kumble
Jason Atkins
Nick Stefanakis
Carolyn Stimmel
Rob Payne
Michael Farah
Megan Rahlfs
Gal Shweiki
Thomas Phelps
Joss Leufrancois

Nutrena Best Playing Pony
Katniss - Will Walton
Boone Sugar Whiz – Stephanie Colburn
Uncle Lucious – Megan Flynn
Carly – Brady Williams
Peppy – Ally Vaughn
Forstero – Gal Shweiki
Zama – Megan Rahlfs
Hollywood – played by Ariel Mancebo, owned by Horsegate
Marlboro – Joss Leufrancois
Delta – Russell Stimmel
Platinum – Brady Williams
Uncle Lucious – Megan Flynn
Romeo – played by Chad Bowman, owned by Wyatt Myr
Willie Nelson – Nadir Khan
Ponderosa – Lance Stefanakis
Frijolita – played by August Scherer, owned by Katie Anderson

*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.