NEWS

The United States Polo Association (USPA) is proud to announce the 2024 Intercollegiate/Interscholastic (I/I) Lifetime Achievement Award, Service Award and Young Alumni Award recipients. Recognizing those who have dedicated their time and efforts to growing and developing the game while inspiring youth athletes across I/I polo, the USPA proudly adds Tom Goodspeed, Carol Jean “CJ” Schnier and Ryan Saul to a select list of individuals who have made a profound and lasting impact on the sport.

The awards for I/I Lifetime Achievement, Service Award and Young Alumni are tentatively scheduled to be presented during the 2024 USPA Fall Committee, Board of Governors and Annual Member Meeting in October in Denver, Colorado.

To be awarded only in exceptional circumstances to an individual who exemplifies the spirit of I/I by providing many years of service and commitment to growing young players in the sport and providing an outstanding example of dedication to the continued advancement of the I/I program.

Goodspeed began his polo career at the age of 11 at the Joy Farm Polo Club in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, with Donald “Mac” McCarrol. He went on to graduate from the University of Connecticut (Storrs, Connecticut) with a degree in Animal Science and two National Intercollegiate Championships. Goodspeed achieved a 9-goal arena handicap (5-goal outdoor handicap) and holds the current record of seven U.S. Open Arena Polo Championships and a total of 17 national USPA arena tournament titles over five different playing levels.

Goodspeed was captain of both the Los Angeles Colts and the Los Angeles Stars in the late 80s in the Pro Arena Polo Leagues at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center in California. In 1995, he won POLO Magazine’s award for “Arena Player of the Year.” Goodspeed has managed both polo clubs and polo schools throughout his career and has coached both interscholastic and intercollegiate teams. He coached the men’s and women’s teams at Culver Academies in Culver, Indiana, for four years and the men’s and women’s teams at Southern Methodist University (Cross Roads, Texas) for 13 years. Goodspeed was presented with the Russ Sheldon Award for outstanding contributions to arena polo in 2018.

Goodspeed currently serves as Chairman of the Arena Handicap Committee, operates a therapeutic riding program, Helping on Horseback, Inc. in Dallas, Texas, and continues to work with the Polo Training Foundation (PTF) in offering polo clinics across the country.

In 2023, courtesy of PTF, Goodspeed joined forces with Megan Judge’s “Mustang Madness” and Robin Sanchez’s “Fall Fandango” in helping young I/I players improve their play from across the country.

To be awarded annually to an individual who in the last calendar year has exemplified the spirit of I/I by demonstrating commitment to growing young players in the sport, provided an outstanding example of selfless contribution to the sustainability of their local club(s) and the I/I program as a whole.

Carol Jean “CJ” Schnier’s first experience with polo took place while attending a Madison Polo Club (Fitchburg, Wisconsin) fundraising match in the early 90s. Watching the polo ponies play up close with their beauty, speed and power had her hooked from the start. Schnier learned to groom, leased ponies, sought out her own string one by one, acquired a truck and trailer and played! Fast forward to 2013, when Madison Polo Club had enough members and ponies to support the start of a University of Wisconsin-Madison Polo Club (Madison, Wisconsin). That original group of dedicated college students worked diligently to get things off and running and even had the varsity team make it to regionals.

Along with Ruth Dumesic and Claudio Nestor Gauana, Schnier was one of the founding coaches. Now starting its twelfth year, Wisconsin has made two Division II National Intercollegiatie Championship appearances. Her students say, “The word coach doesn't cover all the hats that she wears. CJ is the life of the party, a generous benefactor, THE snack lady, poop scooper, pony provider, a home away from home for all of us college kids, and an all-around gift to this program.”

To be awarded annually to a young alumnus who in the last calendar year has exemplified the spirit of I/I by giving back to the sport, by demonstrating commitment to growing young players in the sport, provided an outstanding example of selfless contribution to the sustainability of their local club(s) and/or the I/I program as a whole. A young alumnus is defined as someone who has graduated within the last 10 years. 

In 2019, Saul began his career as a Firefighter/EMT for the City of Ithaca Fire Department, all while continuing to help with the Cornell (Ithaca, New York) polo teams as a volunteer assistant coach and started to develop his skills as an arena umpire with Umpires, LLC. Saul has been able to keep playing polo during the summer months at his local club, the Central New York Polo Club in Ithaca, New York, largely due to the generous support of Jan Suwinski (Cornell, ’64).

​As an umpire, Saul has been able to develop his skills under Arena Umpire Director Bradley Biddle, starting with a few Interscholastic preliminary tournaments in 2019 and growing through the years to an invitation to join the national interscholastic umpire team in 2023 and the DI National Intercollegiate Championships umpire team in 2024 along with other many other I/I and USPA arena tournaments as a Professional Arena Umpire.

Saul enjoys continuing his involvement in I/I and working alongside some great arena umpires to  help foster a safe and competitive environment for future generations of I/I players to enjoy and develop just like he did in the I/I program.  Saul also serves on the Arena Rules Subcommittee as well as the I/I Tournament  and Regular Season  Committee and is also the Northeastern  Circuit Arena Handicap Chair.