The U.S. Open Arena Polo Championship will take place at Country Farms Polo Club in Medford, N.Y. from July 8 – 12. With roots dating back to 1926, arena polo’s premier national tournament will feature America’s top polo players in this high-speed, fast-action sport as they compete for America’s most coveted arena polo trophy. This marks the third year scores of fans will travel to Country Farms Equestrian Center to watch preliminary matches as teams vie for a spot in the final on Saturday, July 12, at 7:00 pm Eastern.
The championship is played at the highest level of competition in the U.S. with pro-am teams that include America’s top arena polo players. Making up this year’s teams will be the highest-rated arena player in the world, Tommy Biddle, looking to claim the national title that eluded him last year. Coming back to defend
the title is Kris Kampsen, who led the Cedar Croft/Zoetis team (photo caption below) to victory last year in an overtime penalty shootout. Additionally, an Intercollegiate team of up-and-coming talent will be competing with returning team member, Nik Feldman (Cornell University), who also played for the winning U.S. Arena Handicap team last year, along with Todd Thurston (! University of Virginia) who is a member of Team USPA, a program designed to provide Olympic-level caliber training for the sport’s most promising future talent. August Scherer (Southern Methodist University) rounds out the team with experience on the international stage representing the USA in the 2014 Intercollegiate International Challenge Cup held in England. Additionally, all players were three of the four All-Stars selected in the 2014 USPA National Intercollegiate Championship, contributing to their earned spot on this year’s U.S. Open Arena team.
(Photo caption: Country Farms Polo Club owner, Bobby Ceparano, Felipe Viana, Robert Ceparano, USPA CEO Peter Rizzo and Kris Kampsen celebrating Cedar Croft/Zoetis team’s 2013 U.S. Open Arena Polo Championship victory!)
Cedar Croft
Robert Ceparano
Felipe Viana
Kris Kampsen
$D Ranch (pronounced “Dollar D”)
Dan Coleman
Will Tankard
Tommy Biddle
Equuleus
Joe Dimenna
Rob Yackley
Joao Paulo Ganon
I/I Polo
August Scherer
Todd Thurston
Nik Feldman
“We are proud to see the U.S. Open Arena Polo Championship offer both Long Island locals and visitors an up close and personal experience with the players and horses,” said Peter Rizzo, CEO of the United States Polo Association (USPA). “We invite the public to attend this historic event to discover the arena style of the sport, which is growing in popularity across the country.”
The United States Polo Association will sponsor a live stream of the tournament semi-finals and the championship final in partnership with the PoloNow Network at http://www.chukker.tv/. The Florida-based PoloNow Network is an independent media company that produces content for the internet and television, operates instant replay and develops technology.
