Top women players make polo history
Wellington Forum April 5, 2006
By Liz Petruzzi
With the swing of a mallet, Outback Polo club becomes enmeshed in polo history as host of the Women’s Championship Tournament Finals, the highest-rated U.S. Polo Association- sanctioned women’s tournament in the country.
The tournament kicks off today at Outback Polo Club in Wellington.
The organizer is Sunny Hale, who is also the top-ranked professional woman polo player in the world and part-time Wellington resident, who wants women player to be recognized.
Matches run through Sunday in Wellington.
“The USPA got behind the idea 100 percent,” according to Hale. “To have the support of polo’s officiating body was a key to the success of this tournament.”
And while more than 1,000 women are registered with the USPA, their opportunities are limited. Hale hopes the finals will change that.
The tournament started to take shape last year, when Hale presented her idea at the USPA’s April 2005 annual meeting.
At 37, Hale is at the top of her profession – and often the only woman on a team. Some call polo a man’s sport and Hale, the first woman to win the U.S. Open in 2000, might just prove them wrong.
Hale’s mother, Sue Sally Hale, was the first woman accepted into the USPA. Hale grew up watching her mother and sister Stormie play, and knew polo was her destiny.
To participate in the WCT, players must have a rating of 2 goals or higher or have played in one of four qualifying U.S. matches. The first match was in June 2005 at Goose Creek Polo Club in Middleburg, Va.
Subsequent matches were at Houston Polo Club in Houston, Gulfstream Polo club in Lake Worth, and Royal Palm Polo club in Boca Raton.
Teams competing in the WCT are composed of some of the top professional women polo players worldwide and include Argentina’s 2-goaler Mummy Bellande, playing for team Houston, Jamaica’s 2- goaler Leslie Masterton, playing for team Catena and the Dominican Republic’s 1-goaler Alina Carata, who plays for Audi/La Victoria.
3-goaler Hale will play for Panera Bread with teammates zero-goaler Maureen Brennan, 1-goaler Dawn Jones and 2-goaler Clarissa Echazeretta.
Awards and a celebratory Argentine asado will follow Saturday’s match. Asado is a traditional Argentine barbecue, where meat is cooked over coals and served with French bread.
Wellington’s Panera Bread is a sponsor of the WCT and will provide food. Tournament prizes include watches from Catena, mallets from Nan’s Polo Mallets, silk belts from Singapore’s PoloGirlsClub.com, and items from La Martina, official WCT supplier. “Women organized this tournament, so you know the prizes will be good,” Hale said.
During the party, a committee will select the top eight players and give them jerseys. On Sunday, the eight compete against each other in a WCT All-Star Match.
This season, Hale played for New Bridge/LaDolfina in the International Polo Club’s 22-goal tournament; Mokarow Farms in the 26-goal C.V. Whitney Cup;: Team Outback in Outback Polo Club’s 8-goal tournament; and Longfield in a 14-goal tournament.
After the WCT, Hale plans to relax before heading to her farm in Norman, Okla. In June, she plays in an international women’s exhibition in England, and in July and August, she competes with team Mindful in Sheridan, Wyo.
Mindful teammate Angela York Plays in the WCT Finals for Catena. Hale said: “She’s really good – I better beat her.”
Outback Polo Club, 12600 35th Street S., Wellington, is waiving admission for the inaugural tournament. Call 561-312-7539
WCT Schedule
Today: 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. – elimination matches. Outback Polo Club
Thursday: 10 a.m – elimination match. Outback Polo club
Friday: 11 a.m. – elimination match, International Polo Club Palm Beach
Saturday: 10 a.m. – subsidiary finals (round-robin), Outback Polo Club
Sunday: All –Star Match (call for schedule)
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