Polo is a ball game played on horseback, a traditional field sport and one of the world's oldest known team sports. The game is played by two opposing teams with the objective of scoring using a long-handled wooden mallet to hit a small hard ball through the opposing team's goal. Each team has four mounted riders, and the game usually lasts one to two hours, divided into periods called chukkas or "chukkers".
Wellington is a village just west of West Palm Beach in Palm Beach County and 66 mi (106 km) north of Miami. As of 2019, the city had a population of 65,398 according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates, making it the most populous village in the state. It is the fifth largest municipality in Palm Beach County by population. Wellington is part of the Miami metropolitan area.
Palm Beach Pumas was an American soccer team based in West Palm Beach, Florida, United States. Founded in 2000, the team played in the USL Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, until 2008, when the franchise folded and the team left the league.
Mariano Aguerre, is a professional polo player in Argentina and the United States. He achieved a 10-goal handicap in the United States in 1994 and in Argentina in 1998. He is currently rated at 9 goals in both countries. He is a nine-time winner of the Argentine Open at Palermo, winning with three different teams: Ellerstina, Chapa I and La Dolfina. The Museum of Polo and Hall of Fame announced that Mariano was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2017.
Mike Azzaro is an American professional polo player from San Antonio, Texas. Azzaro's current handicap is 6 goals, but he held the sport's highest handicap of 10 goals for over ten years. Azzaro was awarded Polo Magazine's Polo Excellence Award for Young Player of the Year in 1987 and 1990, and the award for Player of the Year in 1994. Known for his aggressive forward style of play, he has always been a crowd favorite. Playing with five-time Player of the Year winner Memo Gracida, they formed one of the most powerful duos in polo. Azzaro and Gracida both reside in Wellington, Florida.
Arena polo is a fast-paced version of polo played outdoors on an enclosed all-weather surface, or in an indoor arena. Hurlingham Polo Association and US Polo Association have established their own rules for arena polo, and these rules are often used in other countries as well.
Guillermo "Memo" Gracida Jr. is a Mexican polo player whose international career includes several record-setting achievements, including the most U.S. Open victories (16) and the most consecutive years as an American 10-goaler (21). These feats and dozens of major tournament wins led to Gracida's selection as Player of the Centennial Era in 1990 and his induction into the National Polo Hall of Fame in 1997 while still an active player.
The United States Polo Association (USPA) is the national governing body for the sport of polo in the United States.
The US Open Polo Championship is an annual polo championship in the United States. It is organized since 1904 by the United States Polo Association (USPA).
John B. Goodman, a Houston, Texas native is a multi-millionaire and polo player whose wealth originates in the family appliance and air conditioning businesses and became more widely known in the United States for his legal difficulties stemming from a manslaughter conviction in 2012.
Summerfield Johnston III, a.k.a. Skeeter Johnston, (1954-2007) was an American businessman and polo player.
John Thurman Oxley was an American businessman and polo player.
The sport of polo is played in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Greenwich Polo Club is a polo club and event venue in Greenwich, Connecticut that was established in 1981. It is one of only three polo venues in the United States offering high-goal polo. The club hosts high goal polo matches throughout the summer, tournaments typically beginning in June and concluding in September.
The Gulfstream Polo Club was a polo club in Lake Worth, Florida. Since 1923, Gulfstream Polo Club was one of the most prominent polo clubs in North America, particularly during the Florida season (December–April). Gulfstream was managed by Marla Connor for 18 years until it closed in May 2016 at the end of the polo season. Throughout its long history it offered a wide array of tournaments, with 4, 6, and 10 Goal Leagues as well as Ladies Tournaments.
The Gay Polo League is an organization of LGBT polo players in the United States.
The Empire Polo Club is a 78-acre polo club in Indio, California in the Coachella Valley of Riverside County, approximately 22 miles southeast of Palm Springs. Founded in 1987, it has hosted international polo tournaments. It leases out its polo grounds for Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival and Stagecoach Festival annually for the last three weekends in April.
The Grand Champions Polo Club is a polo club in Wellington, Florida.
Murray H. Goodman is an American real estate developer, philanthropist, and founder of Goodman Properties. He is Lehigh University's most generous living benefactor, and the Goodman Campus and 16,000-seat Goodman Stadium are named in his honor.
The 2019 U.S. Open Polo Championship was the 103rd installment of the U.S. Open Polo Championship and was held at the International Polo Club Palm Beach in Wellington, Florida from March 27 to April 21, 2019.
