Park Place's Josh Hyde leads the pack during a polo match.
Photo by David Lominska via US Polo Association.
The U.S. Polo Association (USPA) has announced the schedule for the 2023 Gauntlet of Polo, which for the first time will be hosted at the new National Polo Center-Wellington.
This is the fifth year for the Gauntlet, which serves as the main spectacle of the polo season, premieres the highest level of the sport across the country and brings together some of the finest trained horses.
The 2023 Gauntlet of Polo is a three-part series beginning Feb. 12 to 26 with the C.V. Whitney Cup, continuing March 1 to 26 with the USPA Gold Cup and ending March 29 to April 23 with the U.S. Open Polo Championship.
Any team that wins all three tournaments earns the title of Gauntlet Champion and $200,000 in prize money. The winners of the C.V. Whitney Cup and the USPA Gold Cup will be awarded $50,000 per tournament, and the winner of the U.S. Open Polo Championship will receive $100,000.
The tournament is limited to 12 teams, but additional entries might be considered if the entries benefit the tournament format and if the schedule allows for flexibility. The three-month schedule is set to include an additional diverse set of events, including women’s and youth competitions.
The world’s most talented female players will compete March 9 to 19 in the U.S. Open Women’s Polo Championship. The final will take place Sunday, March 19, at USPA Field One. High-level youth will compete Sunday, Feb. 19, in the USPA Junior Open Final. The events will attract players and spectators from across the globe, giving the NPC a global stage to show off its new features.
Select tournaments will be livestreamed at uspolo.org and via social media platforms. The official schedule will be released this fall.
The NPC is in Wellington, the heart of South Florida’s historic horse country. Owned and managed by the USPA, the NPC showcases the finest and most talented competitors and horses the sport has to offer. The club entrance is a palm-tree-lined drive that brings guests past tennis courts leading to the steps of a great pool and Mallet Grille. The lush Florida terrain is magnified by a large lake, tropical landscaping and some of the world’s most carefully maintained polo fields.
Options to watch stadium events include private boxes, field-side tailgates and hospitality tents overlooking the fields.
Polo is considered to be one of the oldest organized sports and was introduced to the United States by England in 1876. The USPA was formed in 1890.
The USPA is the second-oldest sports governing body in the United States, after the U.S. Tennis Association, and was created to coordinate games, standardize rules and establish handicaps to ensure evenly matched teams. The USPA headquarters were originally in New York, home of the first U.S. club, the Westchester Polo Club.
For more information on season plans or individual tournaments, contact Jimmy Newman at 561-202-5185 or jnewman45tx@gmail.com or Haley Bryan at 803-215-3577 or hbryan2485@aol.com.
