Reigning champions, Park Place, and Pilot were the first winners of the much anticipated US Open Polo Championship, the most significant tournament in the United States and the highlight of the prestigious The Gauntlet of Polo, which commenced on Wednesday March 27. Like the CV Whitney Cup and the USPA Gold Cup, the tournament will be played entirely at the USPA-owned National Polo Center Wellington, set in Wellington, Florida, and sees nine teams up to 22 goals.
In the opening match, Pilot beat Dutta Corp 7-5, in a very hard fought match with a low scoring (a total of twelve). Andrey Borodin’s team bounced back in the fifth chukka, and although Dutta Corp tried to get into the score in the last chukka, the efforts didn’t pay off, and luck went to Park Place. Up next, Pilot – the only winners of the entire Gauntlet of Polo up-to-date, in the inaugural year, 2019 – defeated Coca Cola 16-12. The contest has a similar development as the previous one – by the start of the last chukka, Pilot had a one goal advantage (12-11), but in a blink of an eya, Curtis Pilot and his boys outscored Gillian Johnston’s lineup 4-1, which led them to a very important first victory. It is worth to notice the remarkable performance delivered by Pilot’s Antonio Heguy and Facundo Pieres – all of Pilot’s goals were produced by the two of them, five and eleven, respectively.
The U.S. Open was originally conceived as a non-handicapped alternative to the Senior Championship tournament. The first U.S. Open, in 1904, had only two teams, the Wanderers and the Freebooters, and was held at Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx borough of New York City. Four 15-minute chukkers were played, with a seven-minute break between each chukker. After the inaugural U.S. Open in 1904, the tournament was not played again until 1910. It resumed at Narragansett Pier, Rhode Island, where it was played for several years before relocating to what became its longtime home, Meadowbrook Polo Club in Old Westbury, New York. In 1954, the U.S. Open moved to Oak Brook, where it remained for 22 years, followed by an eight year stint at Retama in San Antonio, Texas. In the late 1980s and into the 1990s, the tournament circulated among several clubs throughout the United States, including Eldorado, Lexington, Palm Beach and Royal Palm. In 2004, marking one hundred years since the tournament’s inception, the U.S. Open relocated to Wellington, Florida where it has been held ever since. The U.S. Open Polo Championship trophy was first presented in 1910
TOURNAMENT FORMAT
All teams will play four preliminary matches each. Following the conclusion of preliminary play, all teams will be ranked 1-9. The top four ranked teams will draw for semifinal pairings with the winners of the semifinals advancing to the U.S. Open Polo Championship final.
Any ties between teams that played each other will be broken by who-beat-who. All other ties will be broken by a one-player shootout.
The championship match of the US Open Polo Championship is set to be played on Sunday April 21, at the National Polo Center.
US OPEN POLO CHAMPIONSHIP – WEDNESDAY MARCH 27
PARK PLACE 7-5 DUTTA CORP
Park Place: Andrey Borodin 0, Juan Britos 9 (1 goal), Hilario Ulloa 10 (5), Marcos Bignoli 3. Total: 22.
*1 goal on Penalty 1.
Dutta Corp: Timmy Dutta 4 (1 goal), Mariano Obregón 6, Joaquín Avendaño 4, Tomás García del Río 8 (4). Total: 22.
Score Park Place: 0-2, 2-2, 4-2, 4-3, 4-3, 6-3, 7-6.
Umpires: Jamie Mirikitani & Steve Dalton. Third man: Kimo Huddleston.
PILOT 16-12 COCA COLA
Coca Cola: Gillian Johnston 0 (1 goal), Kristos Magrini 6 (1), Polito Pieres 9 (9), Torito Ruiz 7. Total: 22
Pilot: Curtis Pilot 0, Santiago Torres 6, Antonio Heguy 6 (5 goals), Facundo Pieres 10 (11). Total: 22.
Score Pilot: 2-1, 4-5, 7-6, 10-9, 12-11, 16-12.
Umpires: Julian Appleby & Gastón Lucero. Third man: Danny Juarez.
The US Open Polo Championship will resume through Thursday March 28 and Friday March 29, as follows:
Thursday March 28
11am: Clearwater vs. La Fe
Friday March 29
4pm: Tamera vs. Valiente
US Open Polo Championship – Teams & Fixture
Cover photo, by Agustina Fonda.
2024 THE GAUNTLET OF POLO CALENDAR
CV Whitney Cup: February 9 – 25 (Winner: Valiente)
USPA Gold Cup: February 28 – March 24 (Winner: La Dolfina/Tonkawa)
U.S. Open Polo Championship: March 27 – April 21.
Utilizing the same prize money distribution for the 2023 Gauntlet of Polo, the format guarantees a total of $200,000 in prize money. $50,000 will be awarded to each of the winning teams of the C.V. Whitney Cup and USPA Gold Cup. Similarly, $100,000 in prize money will be presented to the winner of the U.S. Open Polo Championship and any team that wins all three tournaments will be crowned the Gauntlet Champion. In keeping with the spirit of philanthropy, U.S. Polo Assn. will provide a $2,500 donation to the winner and runner-up teams of all three finals to be donated to a polo charity of their choice.
All Sunday games are due on the National Polo Center main ground