The 2015 defending Butler Handicap championship White Birch polo team-L to R-Peter Brant, Mariano Agujirre, Hilario Ulloa and Santino Magrini.
With the dust of the recently completed Monty Waterbury Cup barely settling in the rear view mirror, five teams are saddling up to compete in the 2016 Butler Handicap at the Greenwich Polo Club with play scheduled to begin on Sunday, June 26th.
The Butler Handicap was created by Paul Butler in 1954 at his Oak Brook Polo Club. The Butler Handicap served as a complimentary tournament to the United States Open Championship which was relocated to Oak Brook (IL) that same year. The US Open would remain at the Oak Brook Polo Club until it was moved to the Retama Polo Center in Texas in 1979.
The White Birch polo team (Santino Magrini, Hilario Ulloa, Mariano Aguerre and Peter Brant) will be returning intact to defend their 2015 title and will be joined by Airstream (Benjamin Avendano, Matias Magrini, Kris Kampsen and Guille Aguero), Postage Stamp (Annabelle Gundlach, Brandon Phillips, Nick Manifold and Joao Paolo Ganon), Northwood (Louis Bacon, Gonzalo Garcia Del Rio, Tomas Garcia Del Rio and Mariano Gonzalez) and Tupungato (Luis Rinaldini, Juan Martin Zubia, Naco Taverna and Tommy Biddle).
Tournament play is scheduled to begin on Sunday with White Birch facing Tupungato in a 10am game followed by a 3pm featured match between Postage Stamp Farm and Airstream.
White Birch, Airstream and Postage Stamp Farm will all be returning to the field following their participation in the Monty Waterbury Cup with Northwood and Tupungato replacing Goose Creek and Beluga for the second 20-goal tournament of the summer.
The Butler Handicap tournament will run from June 26 thru July 17 with the week of July 3rd being a bye week. The final is scheduled to be played on Sunday, July 17th.