NEWS

Annually during the Texas Arena League (TAL) season, several tournaments honoring military service members are hosted at varying levels of play. Texas Arena League has been fortunate to host several military tournaments, including the Southwestern Circuit General Lewis B. “Chesty” Puller, Southwestern Circuit Admiral Chester W. Nimitz and the Southwestern Circuit General George S. Patton Jr. There has been no shortage of action-packed play with the continuation of the 0- to 3-goal Classic Division.

This year’s edition of the Southwestern Circuit General George S. Patton Jr. drew a record-breaking number of 12 teams, generously sponsored by Patton Legacy Sports, an organization dedicated to preserving General Patton’s enduring impact. “It’s amazing playing in a tournament where you have 12 teams. TAL is about sportsmanship and camaraderie and this year repeated previous successes,” noted participant Karl Hilberg.

Host sites spanned across the Lonestar State, featuring four venues including the San Antonio Rose Palace (San Antonio, Texas), Dripping Springs Ranch Park Event Center & Arena, (Hays Country, Texas), Brookshire Polo Club (Brookshire, Texas) and Legends Polo Club (Kaufman, Texas.) Held across four weekends of play from January to March, the talented rosters included:

Patton Legacy Sports (Gal Shweiki, Karl Hilberg, Jocelyn Leufrancois)
Legends Polo Club (Matthew Schloemer, Lindsay Bellack, Megan Rahlfs)
Scuderia San Antonio (Lauren Sterr, Fabian Osses, Wesley Alston)
Elite Motion & Performance (Amanda Massey, Stephanie Colburn*, Benjamin Colburn)
Eagles Landing (Gustavo Toro, Victor Aguilar III, Whitney Walker)
Grand Central Polo (Kimberly Vaughan, Sydney Morris, Luciano Retana, Gracie Brush, Jair de la Pena)
Diamond Y (Tatijana Mirsky, Emrey Owen, Ashley Owen)
Polo InterActive (Jose Velez, Kate Howe, James Glew)
Tequila Time (Megan Flynn, Brady Williams, Christina Cantu)
Bar-Spur (Amanda Osburn, Mark Osburn, Tanner Kneese)
Horsegate (Alice Russo, Nick Stefanakis, Anson Moore)
Proton Polo (Stephen Stout, Javier Insua, Ariel Rodriguez)

Played in a series of single elimination matches, the tournament began Saturday, January 27 at Brookshire Polo Club. Kicking-off the action, Proton Polo defeated Horsegate 17-11. Five additional games followed, ending with a showdown between Scuderia San Antonio and Elite Motion & Performance., with Elite Motion & Performance emerging victorious 8-3. Feeling confident following their first-round win, Stephanie Colburn shared, “I absolutely loved being able to play and compete in the TAL with my husband, Ben, and sister, Amanda. Our dream of finally competing with an all-family team in the TAL came to fruition this year!”

The second bracket saw six teams advance to the next round at the San Antonio Rose Palace. Elite Motion & Performance, Polo InterActive and Diamond Y all advanced to the third and final round. For the third leg of the tournament, a wildcard choice, Proton Polo was introduced for the first time. Teams set to compete would battle it out at Legends Polo Club for their opportunity to make it to the final. After hard-fought semifinals, Polo InterActive secured the first spot in the final, with Proton Polo advancing over Elite Motion & Performance.

The final round of the Southwestern Circuit General George S. Patton Jr. was held at Dripping Springs Ranch Park in Dripping Springs. Polo InterActive took a powerful lead in the first chukker. Proton Polo put on a valiant fight in the second chukker, closing the gap and ending the half with a 9-6 advantage. Battling in the third, penalties and tough play evened the score at 11-all. The back-and-forth competition continued as scores ebbed to end regulation 13-all. Requiring a shootout to determine the winner, Insua successfully sank the ball to secure the 14-13 victory for Proton Polo.

Reflecting on Proton Polo’s exhilarating overtime triumph, Stout expressed, “It was my first success at TAL, and it felt great to win, but it was perhaps more special because we fought so hard to beat the best team in the division- Polo InterActive, who had been the only team to beat us during the tournament. James Glew was practically unstoppable, Kate Howe was tremendous on defense and Jose Velez always seemed to be in the right place at the right time. It was an amazing feeling to contribute winning such a tight and hard-fought game, but perhaps more so because of the respect and camaraderie we had all season with James, Kate and Jose, and the other teams cheering and supporting all of us in the stands.”

The Southwestern Circuit Admiral Chester W. Nimitz was played as a subsidiary to the Southwestern Circuit General George S. Patton Jr. The finale hosted by Dripping Springs Ranch Park featured a match-up between Bar-Spur and Tequila Time. Keeping the score tight throughout the match, neither team was able to establish more than a two-point lead until Tequila Time broke out in the fourth chukker to earn the 12-7 victory.

In addition to USPA circuit events, each game played in the Classic Division counted towards points in TAL’s End-of-League awards. TAL also awards a Galvin Agency Most Valuable Player and Nutrena Best Playing Pony at the end of each game, with end-of-league prizes to be awarded following the conclusion of the season.

Receiving the Polo Training Foundation’s Most Improved Player Award, Ben Colburn reflected on the completion of first arena season, “It is really nice to be recognized as the most improved player. I attribute this award to my time spent learning the arena rules, reviewing all of our game tapes to learn from my mistakes, and practicing both my hitting and defensive techniques with drills. TAL is really just sink or swim. It is so competitive that if you want to hang with the group you have to strive to improve, get better, and figure it out- which is what I did.”

The Jockey Club Thoroughbred Incentive Program Best Playing Thoroughbred was awarded to Kiki, played and owned by Stephanie Colburn and purchased in 2023 through the TAL. Expressing her gratitude for the recognition, Colburn stated, “Kiki is consistently at the top of our string and has the ability to give both myself and Ben, my husband, our 'best' chukkers. She is a fierce competitor, but also takes incredible care of her rider. Kiki is a jewel to play, and she gives me the utmost confidence."

Kate Howe, recipient of the Jackrabbit Tack Horsemanship Award, reflected on the success of earning Best String, “James Glew and I have recently started our U.S. string since moving from the U.K., and we’ve been eager to have a string that both of us can play to suit our strengths. The horsepower really shone through each week, where we would rotate horses to play to the best of our abilities against our opponents. [That] was recognized throughout the league, where our ponies were awarded Best Playing Pony throughout the tournament.

Team Awards
1^st Place - Polo InterActive
2^nd Place- Elite Motion & Performance
3^rd Place- Proton Polo
4^th Place- Patton Legacy Sports
5^th Place- Bar-Spur

Individual Awards
Galvin Agency Most Valuable Player - James Glew
Nutrena Best Playing Pony - Yamin, played and owned by Horsegate Ranch
The Jockey Club Thoroughbred Incentive Program Best Playing Thoroughbred - Kiki, played and owned by Stephanie Colburn
Best String - James Glew
Catena Sportsmanship Award - Alice Russo
Aubone Mallets Best Offensive Player - Javier Insua
Royal B Threads Best Team Player - Stephanie Colburn
High Point Intercollegiate/Interscholastic Alumni Player - Ashley Owen
Jackrabbit Tack Horsemanship Award - Kate Howell
US Arena Polo Sharp Shooter Award - Whitney Walker
Casablanca Best Defensive Player - Victor Aguilar
Polo Training Foundation Most Improved Player - Ben Colburn

*Stephanie Colburn is Team USPA alumna. 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.