By Alex Webbe
It appears that headway has been achieved, as efforts to stage the Westchester Cup in Florida next year appear to be looking up.
In a meeting at the Museum of Polo on Tuesday it was decided that the Westchester Cup would take place on Saturday, February 21 at the International Polo club in Wellington.
The British team has asked for two “test” matches before the Westchester Cup game, with the same umpires that will be used for the Westchester Cup itself. They are not asking to meet the US team for those test matches but want to familiarize themselves with the horses and the officiating.
A poolside party will be arranged for both teams on Thursday, February 19 allowing for socializing between the rival teams and selected guests.
The Brits are expected to be sending a 29-goal team while the US contingent is expected to be drawn from Adam Snow, Mike Azzaro, Tommy Biddle, Jeff Blake, Julio Arellano, Nick Roldan and Jeff Hall. Former 10-goaler Owen Rinehart will coach the US team.
The horses for the British team have been graciously donated by Melissa Ganzi, and the IPC stadium has been donated by John Goodman.
There was some indication that the American International Polo Foundation (a 501 C-3 charitable organization created to help fund American teams going to international competitions), would be offering some form of financial assistance
The cup was offered for competition in 1886 by the members of the Westchester Polo Club of Newport, Rhode Island, and became the game’s first international competition.
The February Westchester Cup match marks the first time the international cup has been played for since 1997 and marks the 100th anniversary of the first US victory (1909).