2011 US Open Women’s Championship winner Goose Creek. L-R: Kristy Outhier, Sunny Hale, Dawn Jones, Maureen Brennan.

This November, some of the most talented women in the sport of polo will converge in Houston, Texas to compete for the nation’s only National Level USPA title in women’s polo – the USPA U.S. Open Women’s Polo Championship. In conjunction with the 6-goal U.S. Open, the week will feature three additional leagues with over 50 players competing from the 2-goal to 0-goal level. Lucchese Boot Co., the iconic Western boot maker, has been selected as the tournament’s presenting sponsor, and joins Range Rover, St. Regis Hotels, Hendrick’s Gin, and several other corporate sponsors in supporting the week-long event.

At the Women’s U.S. Open level, some of polo’s well-known teams including San Saba, Goose Creek, ERG, and BTA will compete for the 2012 title. Sunny Hale, Caroline Anier, Mumy Bellande, Lesley Masterton Fong-Yee, Lia Salvo, Kristy Outhier and other top players will lead the teams during the week-long tournament, which will culminate at the Sunday, November 11^th Championship Finals.  “We are excited to return to Houston to play in the Open for the second time.  One look at the team rosters tells me the bar has been raised and that this event will showcase some of the best women’s polo in the world,” says Maureen Brennan, whose Goose Creek team defeated BTA in the 2011 Women’s  U.S. Open Finals.

The winners’ names will be engraved on the USPA U.S. Open Women’s Polo Championship perpetual trophy, which was created by the Houston Polo Club last year. The 2011 tournament marked the event’s resurrection after a 21-year hiatus, and is another sign of the continued growth of women’s importance in the sport of polo worldwide. The resurgence has been spearheaded by the Women’s Championship Tournament (WCT) series, which was founded in 2005 to consolidate women’s polo into a common format and promote high-quality competition worldwide.  In addition, a Women’s Tournament Committee was created to encourage and increase the participation of women in the U.S. Polo Association, polo’s national governing body, to improve the standard of women’s polo throughout the US and to facilitate the communication and networking of women in polo. Both the USPA U.S. Open Women’s Polo Championship and the Women’s U.S. Handicap, which will host eight teams at the 2-goal level during the same week, are qualifier events for the 2013 WCT Championship Finals, to be held in Wellington, Fla. in April.

BTA receives their awards as runner-up from Cartier, the 2011 Presenting Sponsor. Luxury boot maker Lucchese will step in as the 2012 Presenting Sponsor for the event.

The USPA U.S. Open Women’s Polo Championship will also mark the historic start point of American Polo Horse Association’s (APHA) efforts to formally recognize the use of American Quarter Horses in polo through an awards program. APHA will be presenting two Special Recognition awards to registered American Quarter Horses competing in the upper flights. “As the American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA) is the world’s largest breed registry organization, the American Quarter Horse is all over America in polo and this new program presents an incredible opportunity to recognize a breed whose talent in polo has been proven at all levels, but until now was never identified. I am really excited for the first one to be presented at the Women’s U.S. Open,” says Sunny Hale, founder of the American Polo Horse Association. APHA’s initiative to recognize Quarter Horses at this particular tournament will serve as the kickoff to APHA’s new awards program at polo clubs across the country.

The event’s host club, the Houston Polo Club (HPC), was founded in 1928 and has become one of the largest USPA clubs in the nation. The club hosts 0 through 14-goal polo tournaments during the fall and spring seasons. HPC is a recognized USPA Regional Polo Center (RPC) and provides a full-service polo school, junior polo events, and year-round boarding and riding lessons. The USPA established the RPC program as a network of the most prominent polo centers around the country that train polo players, umpires, managers and others. They also support other clubs nearby and provide resources in an effort to enhance USPA membership. For more information about the upcoming USPA U.S. Open Women’s Polo Championship or about the Houston Polo Club, visit www.thehoustonpoloclub.com, or contact the following:

Tournament Information and Team Entries:

Pam Mudra – Houston Polo Club Executive Director

polomanager@thehoustonpoloclub.com

Polo Lessons and Learning Opportunities:

Fill out the online form at http://www.playpoloinhouston.com/ and a Houston Polo Club representative will contact you with more details.

TEAM  LIST – USPA U.S. Open Women’s Polo Championship Division (6 Goal)