On a beautiful day for remembrance, Pilot captured The Polo School Women’s Weekly Polo League monthly final Wednesday at Santa Rita Polo Farm.
By Sharon Robb
Photos by Candace Ferreira
Pilot (Maggie Smith, Valentina Villamil, Ana de la Fuente, Anna Palacios, Malicia von Falkenhausen) led from start to finish to defeat US Bank (Pearl Duncan, Megan Manubay, Ava Rose Hinkson, Jennifer Williams, Julia Kline), 5-3.
Five-goaler Anna Palacios was Most Valuable Player. Lucchese, an 11-year-old mare owned and played by Ava Rose Hinkson in the fourth chukker, was Best Playing Pony. “She’s amazing and new to the string,” Hinkson said. “Her father is Open Vicario.”
The oldest women’s league, along with the April WCT Finals at Grand Champions, honors Hall of Famer Sunny Hale, who died on February 26, 2017, in Norman, Okla. at age 48 from breast cancer. She was remembered throughout the world on Wednesday, her death anniversary.
Hale is the reason women’s polo is what it is today. Her passion for the sport was felt by all who knew her. Her warmth and tireless energy inspiring others throughout the world will live on through her legacy through women’s tournaments and leagues such as The Polo School Women’s Weekly Polo League.
The world’s greatest women’s polo player founded the Women’s Championship Tournament (WCT) that opened the door and broke down barriers for other girls and women to pursue their passion. She helped revive the U.S. Women’s Open in 2011. Because she helped promote and build the sport among women, it is now the fastest growing sector in polo with 50 percent membership in the USPA.
Hale was the first woman in polo history to win the U.S. Open in a male-dominated sport. In 2000, Hale, a member of Outback, was the first woman to win the 26-goal U.S. Open, and to achieve a 5-goal handicap rating, the highest handicap a woman has ever received among men players. She was later ranked 10 goals among women posthumously. She created a rating system for women at all levels. She also improved resources regarding polo ponies by starting the American Polo Horse Association, where players and owners can collect, preserve and record horses’ pedigrees. In 2018, she was inducted into the Polo Hall of Fame.
The women’s league annually awards SunnyShips, scholarships honoring the legacy of Hale. Ava Hinkson, Hope Arellano, Alyson Poor and Malicia von Falkenhausen are among past recipients.
Palacios has been playing polo for more than 20 years. She is based in Wellington for the winter and then heads to Aiken, S.C. for spring and fall and Maryland for the summer. She took time off from her digital marketing job a year ago to play polo full-time as a pro.
Palacios never got a chance to meet or play with Hale but is well aware of what she has done for the sport. They crossed paths in Saratoga during the summers when Palacios was a young girl.
“She was very inspiring,” Palacios said. “She was an absolute machine and also a great person on top of that. I would have loved the opportunity to play with her. Obviously, she is a legend and iconic. If I could be half as good I would be very happy.”
The weekly league is just what Hale, Alina Carta and Melissa Ganzi were hoping for: having fun and improving while attracting more women to the sport.
“It’s really a fun group this year,” Palacios said. “We have some diversity in the handicaps every week. We mix up the teams which is fun. Everyone gets along really well. It’s a good environment.
“Polo is unique because it’s one of the only, if not the only, equestrian sport where you are part of a team and that’s a lot of fun,” Palacios said. “You get to meet a lot of cool people. I’ve gotten to travel a lot to places I otherwise wouldn’t have gone. It’s a great community to network. It’s been really fun and rewarding.”
Palacios and her Pilot teammates had great chemistry throughout the game. She was thrilled with the MVP honor and her horses.
“The horses went really well, that’s always my No. 1 priority is making sure the horses are turned out and feeling good,” Palacios said.
Pilot jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the opening chukker on de la Fuente’s goal with 5:35 remaining. Duncan converted a 30-yard penalty to tie the game at 1-1 at the 4:17 mark. De La Fuente scored again through a crowd for a 2-1 advantage. Pilot never trailed after that.
Pilot pulled away for leads of 3-1 on von Falkenhausen’s goal; and 4-1 on Villamil’s goal after coming up with a steal with 2:02 left in the third chukker.
US Bank had scoring opportunities but could not convert until the fourth chukker when they started connecting. Kline scored with 5:06 left in the fourth chukker to cut the deficit to 4-2. Palacios converted a 30-yard penalty to extend Pilot’s lead, 5-2. Hinkson scored the final goal of the game with 5:02 left in the fifth chukker.
Pilot got balanced scoring from its lineup. Von Falkenhausen led with two goals. Villamil, de la Fuente and Palacios each had one goal. For US Bank, Kline and Hinkson each had one goal and Duncan converted a 30-yard penalty.
Ten players, some subbing in and out, competed over five chukkers. The teams were evenly-matched with players of all levels. Since it was the monthly final, players received gifts and goodie bags and MVP and BPP were chosen. The weekly league continues next Wednesday and runs through April.
The women’s polo league was created by Carta, one of the highest ranked women in the U.S. in the 1980s, and Ganzi, Grand Champions Polo Club President, World Polo League co-founder and avid player. All team entry fees from the weekly league benefit The Polo School, a stand-alone USPA-sanctioned club.
During the winter polo season, Grand Champions Polo Club, the nation’s largest and most innovative USPA-sanctioned polo club cradled in the heart of the world’s winter equestrian capital, hosts a wide range of tournaments: 6, 8, 12, 20, and 26-goal leagues, 26-goal World Polo League, The Polo School Women’s Weekly Polo League, WCT Finals, several Polo Training Foundation junior tournaments, World Polo League Pride and Sunset Chukkers & Cocktails at both Grand Champions and Santa Rita Polo Farm.
Grand Champions and Santa Rita Polo Farm is the largest and most unique private 102-acre polo facility in Wellington with 212 stalls in nine self-contained barns, two tracks, five climate-controlled tack rooms, vet room, staff quarters, guest house and four polo fields with state-of-the-art underground irrigation and short work arena. The club has 10 well-manicured world-class fields at GCPC and Santa Rita.
The Polo School, now located at the former Pony Express facility, operates in Wellington January through May and September through November. The stand-alone USPA-sanctioned polo club is dedicated to teaching polo to all ages, particularly grass roots youth. The Polo School has nurtured several junior, men and women polo players now playing in the pro and amateur ranks since its inception.
For more information on leagues or Polo School contact Juan Bollini at 561-346-1099 or Cale Newman at 561-876-2930.