Greenwich Polo Club

The Greenwich Polo Club is a polo club in Greenwich, Connecticut that was established in 1981. It is one of only three polo venues in the United States offering high-goal polo (20 goals or above).

Location

The Greenwich Polo Club is located on North Street in the wealthy neighborhood of Conyers Farm in Greenwich, Connecticut.[1][2][3][4][5] It is surrounded by the Babcock Preserve, Rockwood Lake the Mianus Reserve State Park Scenic Reserve to the South, and Converse Lake and the Mianus Reservoir to the North.[2]

Current Management

It is currently managed by Nick Manifold and Leighton Jordan.[6]

Players currently in residence

Players in residence at the club include:

History

Beginnings

It was established in 1981 by Peter M. Brant, who started the White Birch Polo Team.[5][8][9] In 2015, Brant honored Peter Busch Orthwein, co-founder of Thor Industries and the Patron of the Airstream polo team, by naming one of the polo fields at the Greenwich Polo Club in his honor.[10]

America's Polo Championship

In September 1987, it organized the America's Polo Championship.[11] According to author Horace A. Laffaye, "Because of its high rating, it was the most important match of the 1980s."[11] However, the match was not recognized by the Argentine Polo Association nor by the United States Polo Association.[11] The trophy was a George III silver cup made by silversmiths John Wakelin and William Taylor in London in 1784.[11] The Argentine team (Benjamin Araya, Alfonso Pieres, Gonzalo Pieres and Ernesto Trotz) won 11-10 against the American team (Tommy Wayman, Carlos Gracida, Memito Gracida, and Owen Rinehart).[11] The following year, in 1988, Argentina won again 11-8, with Mike Azzaro replaccing Tommy Wayman on the American team.[11] In 1989, Argentina won again, 11-8; while the Argentine team remained the same, the American team was composed of Mike Azzaro, Tommy Wayman, Owen Rinehart and Dale Smicklas.[11] The championship only last three years, and it was never played again.[11]

Tommy Glynn Cup

It is home to the Tommy Glynn Cup, first started at the Fairfield County Hunt Club in Westport, Connecticut in 1975.[4]

U.S.P.A. Gold Cup

It hosted the U.S.P.A. Gold Cup from 2002 to 2005.[11] The White Birch Polo Team won the trophy those three years.[11]

Sentebale Royal Salute Polo Cup

On May 15, 2013, Greenwich Polo Club hosted the Sentebale Royal Salute Polo Cup, a charity match which raised US$1 million for Sentebale.[12] Prince Harry co-founded the charity Sentebale with Prince Seeiso of Lesotho to benefit the impoverished children of his small African country. The Sentebale Land Rover team was captained by Royal Salute Ambassador Malcolm Borwick with team members Marc Ganzi, Michael Carrazza and Prince Harry, one of the founding Patrons of Sentebale. The St. Regis polo team was captained by Sentebale's Ambassador Nacho Figueras with team members Peter Orthwein, Steve Lefkowitz and Dawn Jones.[13]

East Coast Open

On Aug. 23 - Sept. 6, 2015 Greenwich Polo Club hosted the USPA-sanctioned East Coast Open. Six teams competed in the 20-goal tournament. Audi Polo’s Marc Ganzi, Miguel Novillo Astrada, Nic Roldan and Juancito Bollini, defeated White Birch, consisting of Santino Magrini, Hilario Ulloa, Mariano Aguerre and Peter Brant by 14-13 in overtime to win the USPA East Coast Open championship. The East Coast Open at Greenwich Polo Club was live-streamed on Chukker TV and the final match of the East Coast Open was broadcast on NBC Sports Network on Sept. 13, 2015. The East Coast Open was originally founded in Rhode Island in 1905 and was played until World War I. It had a renaissance starting in 1978 when Donald Little, then President of the USPA and Captain of the Myopia Polo Club, resurrected the tournament and brought it to Myopia Polo Club in South Hamilton, Massachusetts where it was played until the early 2000's. Since 1905, the Perry Cup trophy has symbolized this high-goal championship and winners' names are memorialized on the trophy. The 2016 East Coast Open is scheduled to be played at Greenwich Polo Club from Aug. 28 – Sept. 11, 2016.[14][15][16]

References

  1. ↑ Greenwich Polo Club: Contact Us
  2. 1 2 Google Maps
  3. ↑ Scott Gargan, At the Greenwich Polo Club, crowd has a flair for high society fashion, Connecticut Post, September 5, 2013
  4. 1 2 Horace A. Laffaye, Polo in the United States: A History, Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, 2011, pp. 286
  5. 1 2 Clint Willis, 'America's Cadillac Polo Championship', New York, September 14, 1987, p. 80
  6. ↑ Greenwich Polo Club: Management
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Greenwich Polo Club: Players
  8. ↑ Greenwich Polo Club: History
  9. ↑ Greenwich Polo Club: Peter Brant
  10. ↑ Brant honored Peter Busch Orthwein, co-founder of Thor Industries, by naming one of the polo fields at the Greenwich Polo Club in his honor.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Horace A. Laffaye, Polo in the United States: A History, Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, 2011, pp. 256-257
  12. ↑ Nadia Sorocka, Ganzi has a royal game as Prince Harry's teammate, Sun-Sentinel, May 29, 2013
  13. ↑ http://www.greenwichtime.com/news/article/Greenwich-Polo-Club-preps-for-royalty-4446454.php
  14. ↑ http://poloist.net/six-teams-to-contest-2015-uspa-east-coast-open/
  15. ↑ http://greenwichfreepress.com/around-town/us-polo-association-greenwich-polo-club-gear-up-for-east-coast-open-46456/
  16. ↑ http://www.poloplus10.com/east-coast-open-2015-final-audi-57643/

External links

Coordinates: 41°07′47″N 73°38′27″W / 41.1298°N 73.6408°W / 41.1298; -73.6408

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