Eldorado Polo Club in Indio, California, hosted the first National Youth Tournament Series (NYTS) Qualifier of the 2018 season. Three teams featuring players from a variety of clubs including Eldorado Polo Club, Empire Polo Club, Santa Barbara Polo Club, Lakeside Polo Club and Being the Change entered the two-day tournament held in conjunction with the launch of the Player Performance Analysis (PPA) Clinic. Players competed in two tournament matches and had the opportunity to participate in the PPA Clinic which included the pre-game warm-up and having their swing and riding pattern analyzed.
Lakeside Polo Club took home the prize, defeating Antelope and Alegria over the course of the tournament. Cory Williams, Riley Jordan, Alonso Andrade, Grant Palmer and Garrett Bankhead were named All-Stars. Riley Jordan’s horse, Kewpie Doll, was named Best Playing Pony, the first official Best Playing Pony of the NYTS program. She is a homebred mare raised by Mickey and Graydon Britton.
The NYTS Program was established to provide youth players the opportunity to compete against their peers in USPA sanctioned outdoor tournaments. At each qualifier, All-Stars are selected by an appointed committee. All-Stars are then eligible to be selected for one of the four open zone teams or two female regional teams to compete in the NYTS Championships and East vs. West Invitational over Labor Day weekend. The NYTS qualifier has been designed for upper-intermediate to advanced youth players, those capable of holding a minimum of a B handicap. For more information, please email NYTS@uspolo.org.
Lakeside
Cory Williams A
Riley Jordan B
Garrett Bankhead B
Thomas Phelps B.5
Alegria
Cassidy Wood A
Hope Kerley B
Piers Bossom B
Alonso Andrade 1
Antelope
Maya Tantuwaya B
Charlie Walker A.5
Grant Palmer A
Zack Coleman B.5
Results
Winner: Lakeside defeated Antelope 4-3, defeated Alegria 10-2
All photos ©Kaylee Wroe