New Players Bring Strong Commitment to Program As Organization Aims to Grow the Sport
Jan. 13, 2010 (Wellington, Fla.) – The U.S. Polo Association, the national governing body for the sport of polo, is pleased to announce the selection of 12 new members for Team USPA. The organization established the team in 2009 to grow and sustain the sport of polo by identifying talented young American players and providing opportunities to grow their abilities.
The new Team USPA players, who bring the team’s roster to 34, will attend specialized clinics and receive training and competition opportunities that aim to develop them to their fullest. As part of this training, players will learn from and compete alongside current high-goal stars such as Julio Arellano, Tommy Biddle, Jr., Jeff Blake, Luis Escobar, Sunny Hale, Hector Galindo, Adam Snow, Owen Rinehart and Jeff Hall.
The 12 new Team USPA members include:
· Brett Gearwar, a 19-year-old 1-goal player based in East Patchogue, N.Y. Gearwar, who currently attends the University of Connecticut studying horse training, has worked and played at various clubs in New York state, including Country Farms Polo Club, Southampton Polo Club and Las Pampas Polo Club. He enjoys working with green horses has been an Interscholastic North East All-Star and winner of the Billy Linfoot Award honoring the most improved player at Krazy Horse Polo Club in Black Canyon City, Ariz.
· Danielle Travis, a 23-year-old zero-goal player from Maui, Hawaii, who is currently based in Fort Worth, Texas. Travis won the 2008 USPA Intercollegiate Western Regional Championships while attending Santa Barbara City College in California, was named All-Star three years in a row, and made it to the quarter finals of the USPA National Intercollegiate Championships. Recently, she took home MVP honors in the Barbara Magruder Women’s Cup and the USPA Wahine Challenge Tournament.
· Felipe Viana, a 20-year-old 3-goal player based in Charlottesville, Va. At age 13, Viana was the youngest player ever to win the Uruguayan National Handicap. He has played all over the globe, winning the most prestigious children’s tournament in the world, Copa Potrillos in Argentina. Viana played for the University of Virginia in 2010, earning the USPA Intercollegiate Eastern Regional Championship and USPA National Intercollegiate Championship runner-up honors. During the summers of 2009 and 2010, he also played in 6-, 8- and 12-goal tournaments at Virginia International Polo Club in Upperville with the Goose Creek polo team.
· Herndon Radcliff, a 20-year-old 1-goal player based in Fairhope, Ala. Currently a junior at the University of Kentucky studying equine management, Radcliff is captain of the polo team and was named Southeastern All-Star at Regionals 2010. He has trained green horses off the race track since he was 15, and recently trained a horse that played in the 2010 U.S. Open. For the past three summers, Radcliff has been playing outdoor polo with the Lexington Polo Club in Kentucky, while playing arena polo during the winter.
· Isabella Wolf, a 19-year-old 1-goal player based in Middleburg, Va. Wolf is currently in her second year playing polo for the University of Virginia. She has played in various tournaments up to 16-goal, including the Grand Champions Tournament in Wellington. She has participated in events up and down the East Coast as well as a 12-goal tournament in Argentina. Wolf uses her jumping and dressage background to train her green polo ponies.
· Jesse Bray, an 18-year-old three-goal player based in Indio, Calif. In the winter of 2010, Bray was a part of the Eldorado Polo Club team that won the USPA National Interscholastic Championship. Bray is a four-time winner of the Western Regional Interscholastic Championships. He was also a league winner at Eldorado Polo Club in March. During the summer, Bray won several 8-goal tournaments including the USPA Rossmore Cup and Fernando Gutierrez Memorial Cup.
· Jesse Weaver, a 23-year-old 1-goal player based out of Peoria, Ill., where he has competed in nearly every zero- to 8-goal regional tournament. Weaver won the USPA Governor’s Cup, USPA Officers Cup and numerous other tournaments in the area. Previously, he competed in Intercollegiate Polo with New Mexico State, making it to the USPA National Intercollegiate Championship in 2007. Weaver has also competed abroad, playing in Argentina, Mexico and Russia, winning Moscow Polo Club’s local Argentine Open in 2008.
· Jorge Estrada, III, a 22-year-old 2-goal player based in Phoenix, Ariz. Estrada won the Billy Linfoot Award at age 16 in 2004. Estrada began making green horses at age 14 and all of his horses in his current string are homemade. He has since participated in USPA tournaments in many states including Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico, Oregon and Texas.
· Neil Osburg, a 22-year-old 1-goal player based in Wellington. Osburg started playing polo as a child in Colorado and went to school for two years at the University of North Florida. He now works in polo full time making green horses and has played in tournaments and ridden green horses in Argentina.
· Pedro Lara, a 20-year-old 1-goal player based in Wellington. In January of 2008, Lara won the 8-goal finals at Culu Culu Polo Club in Argentina. Lara won 6- and 8-goal tournaments in Florida and South Carolina during the 2009 season and also participated in a 14-goal event at Haviland Hollow Farms in Patterson, N.Y. Lara has trained horses for other players and is currently training young horses for to add to his own string.
· Reme Muller, an 18-year-old 1-goal player based in Santa Barbara. Muller has been playing polo since the age of 10 and is currently a freshman at the University of California at Santa Barbara, where he hopes to begin an intercollegiate polo team. Muller has played interscholastic polo for the last six years and has made it to the USPA National Intercollegiate Championship tournament twice. In the winter of 2010, Muller was an alternate for the Zacara polo team in the 20-goal USPA Iglehart Cup in Wellington.
· Ty MacCarty, a 19-year old 1-goal player based in Wellington. MacCarty played in 14-goal matches in Big Horn, Wyo., this year where he won the 2010 Don King Days event. MacCarty also won the USPA Western Regional Intercollegiate Championship in Santa Barbara this year. MacCarty is currently in Wellington where he is learning to become a better rider, how to make the ideal horse and how to manage a polo operation. After the winter season he will be located in Nashville, Tenn., pursuing his polo career.
“We are thrilled to have these players as a part of our program,” said Kris Bowman, Director of Team USPA. “Their dedication to polo and overall enthusiasm will be a valuable component for us as we strive to expand the sport as well as the level of competition in the United States. I look forward to working with each of them.”
Team USPA players will compete in international events for the United States as well as various national and circuit USPA tournaments. To learn more about Team USPA, its players or sponsorship opportunities, please visit www.uspolo.org.
About U. S. Polo Association
The U.S. Polo Association was organized and exists for the purposes of promoting the game of polo, coordinating the activities of its Member Clubs and Registered Players, arranging and supervising polo tournaments, competitions, and games, and providing rules, handicaps, and conditions for those tournaments, competitions, and games including the safety and welfare of participants and mounts. For more information, please visit, www.uspolo.org.