And the „Polo Oscar“ goes to…

The Board of Directors of the Museum of Polo and Hall of Fame is pleased to announce that the Nominating Committee has made its selection of exceptional individuals to be inducted into the Hall of Fame for 2013.

Michael V. Azzaro, a former 10-goal player (a rating he held for 14 years) with six U.S. Open Championships, three Silver Cups, Butler Handicap, Iglehart, and World Cup to his credit, will be honored for his outstanding record as a player for many years. A 9-goaler who played for Myopia teams in the late 19th century and early 1900s, Robert Gould Shaw, II (1872 – 1930) was the committee’s choice for the posthumous award. Shaw won all the major tournaments of the era in his time as an active player.

For the Hall of Fame Iglehart Award, Tim Gannon, well known for his selfless generosity to polo and other charitable causes and a three-time winner of the U.S. Open will be honored for his outstanding lifetime contributions to the sport. To be recognized as the posthumous Hall of Fame inductee for the Iglehart Award is Bill Gilmore, who is remembered as a powerful force in the revival of the game in California after World War II. In the Horses to Remember category the committee elected Fairy Story a celebrated mare bred in England and later owned and played by Stephen “Laddy” Sanford. Fairy Story was one of the top polo ponies in the 1920s, sweeping an unprecedented number of the major awards given at that time.

Ever Ready, a chestnut mare, trained and played by Ray Harrington (Hall of Fame 1993), was also selected to be honored in this category. Ever Ready was Ray’s “war horse” on whom he depended throughout his extraordinary four consecutive wins in the U.S. Open, 1966 – 1969. She was awarded the Hartman Award for Best Playing pony of the Open in 1969and also that year played with distinction in Argentina in the 1969 Cup of the Americas at Palermo.

Committee Chairman Horacio Laffaye states “The Class of 2013 represents the best of American polo. The Committee selected 10 and 9-goal players with outstanding records, a pair of supporters of the game which made lasting contributions to polo in this country, and two polo ponies which were at the top of their respective generations. I wish to express my gratitude to all the Committee members who worked hard and long in selecting these inductees from a large pool of highly qualified nominees.”

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