Sport of Polo

North America, Polo News

Oak Brook Polo Club Announces 2022 Summer Schedule, New Field Location, and Centennial Season

23. May 2022

OAK BROOK, IL (May 16, 2022) – It’s a year of celebration for the Oak Brook Polo Club (OBPC) who is proud to announce its 2022 summer schedule, a new field location, the launch of ticket sales on June 1^st and the club’s 100^th Anniversary! The Cecil Smith Field will mark Oak Brook’s centennial season of polo in addition to being one of the nation’s oldest polo clubs in operation today and the fourth oldest sports property in Chicago. On select Sundays, from June 26^th –September 25^th, fans can expect to experience adrenaline-fueled matches between some of the sport’s top players from local neighboring teams as well as from abroad.

Located at Butler National Golf Club’s practice golf range (at 700 Oak Brook Road), the Cecil Smith Field is widely known in the sport of polo as an historic and beautiful space located just 17 miles from downtown Chicago. It was referred to as a “masterpiece” by Oak Brook Polo founder and visionary Paul Butler in a 1962 Sports Illustrated article and embodies the Village of Oak Brook’s long and storied advocacy for sport and outdoor recreation, while being one of the nation’s best residential, commercial and entertainment destinations.

“Oak Brook Polo is undeniably the best secret of Chicago’s western suburbs and the Churchill Downs of polo,” explains Jim Drury, President of the Oak Brook Polo Club. “Oak Brook Polo gives people the opportunity to enjoy the outdoors while watching a thrilling sport with friends and family. We are excited to continue to offer spectators a safe and fun activity. It is our mission to make our matches accessible, affordable, and memorable for everyone who attends, and to reestablish Oak Brook as Chicago’s home for the sport of polo.”

Oak Brook Polo was privatized from the Village of Oak Brook in 2016 and is led and supported by Drury whose passion and ongoing commitment to polo is what’s kept the sport alive in Chicagoland for so long. With many iterations over the years, the first season dates back to 1922 when Butler first established the Oak Brook Polo Club. He expanded his polo operation to fourteen fields, plus built the necessary horse stables to serve visiting teams. Eventually, Oak Brook became one of the “polo capitals” of the world with Butler’s son – famed producer Michael Butler, and daughter -philanthropist Jorie Butler Kent, acting as the club’s stewards throughout the years. The summer polo seasons were not only the stomping ground for celebrities and notables alike for decades but also the destination for American Polo players and enthusiasts. Oak Brook was often referred to as “the town that polo built.”

Oak Brook’s team, led by Drury (position #4, handicap A) includes Tommy Colingwoode (position #3, handicap-5), Horacio Onetto (position #2, handicap-4), and Herdon Radcliff(position #1, handicap-3).

Oak Brook Polo’s 2022 summer schedule includes the following dates:

Sunday, June 26^th – Centennial Challenge (Season Opener)
Sunday, July 17^th – Chicago Polo Invitational (Intra Circuit Cup)
Sunday, July 24^th – General George S. Patton Jr. Cup
Sunday, July 31^st – General George S. Patton Jr. Cup Championship
Sunday, August 14^th – Midwest $50,000 Midwest Cup
Sunday, August 21^st – Oak Brook Polo Open*
Sunday, August 28^th – Oak Brook Polo Open*
Sunday, September 11^th – Butler Challenge/Coronation Cup
Sunday, September 18^th – Butler International Cup
Sunday, September 25^th – Butler International Cup Championship

*matches and tournament names are subject to change

New and returning sponsors include U.S. Polo Assn., Heineken, Beyond Shades, NeverAsh, Continental AutoSports, Northern Trust, One Oak Brook Commons, Hilton Chicago | Oak Brook Hills Resort, Tapville Social, Boodles Gin, and 1800 Tequila. Matches will include team “meet and greets,” team parade with introduction, National Anthem singer, and contests for both “best tailgate” and “best hat.” In addition, Oak Brook Polo Club will host a Centennial Celebration Gala on Friday, September 23, 2022, at Hilton Chicago/Oak Brook Hills Resort.

“Jim Drury (Pineoak Partners) have done a tremendous job preserving the legacy of polo in Oak Brook,” explains Gopal Lalmalani, Village of Oak Brook President. “Polo is such significant part of our history, and we are very excited to be celebrating 100 years of this illustrious sport in our Village. I would like to personally invite everyone to experience the grandeur and excitement of Polo in Oak Brook during this commemorative season!”

Oak Brook Polo Club ticket sales will begin on Wednesday, June 1^st and will include a variety of ticket options starting at $15/pp and include lawn seating; tailgating, VIP Saddle Club (elevated), and reserved field-side tables for 4 to 6 people. For groups of 20 or more, the Club offers small and large private field-side tented areas ideal for large families, corporate outings, birthday parties and other special events. For more information, including sponsorships, please visit www.oakbrookpoloclub.com or call 847.653. 6242 for details and availability. Ticket prices for special events may differ from traditional pricing. Subscribe to the e-bulletin for season updates and announcements or follow at Facebook -@oakbrookpoloclub or Instagram – @oakbrookpolo.

About Oak Brook Polo Club

Founded in 1922 by legendary businessman, Paul Butler, the Oak Brook Polo Club is an American Polo treasure and one of the oldest polo clubs in the United States. It was once the sport’s epicenter for elite professional polo in the United States and served as home to the U.S. Open Polo Championship for twenty-four straight seasons and other prestigious international and national polo tournaments. For decades, the Club has been a popular Sunday tradition and social scene known for entertaining Hollywood celebrities, dignitaries, royalty, and Chicago’s distinguished. Today, Oak Brook Polo Club hosts several Sunday matches and continues to attract thousands of fascinated spectators who marvel at the athleticism and majesty of this timeless sport.

OAK BROOK, IL (May 16, 2022) – It’s a year of celebration for the Oak Brook Polo Club (OBPC) who is proud to announce its 2022 summer schedule, a new field…

North America, Polo News

U.S. Polo Assn. and USA TODAY High School Sports Awards (HSSA)

6. August 2021

U.S. Polo Assn. and USA TODAY High School Sports Awards (HSSA) Announce Nation’s Top Student Athletes in the Star-Studded Student Awards Program

The Sport of Polo is Included for the First Time in the 2021 Awards Event

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (August 6, 2021) The USA TODAY High School Sports Awards (HSSA), presented by U.S. Polo Assn., the official brand of the United States Polo Association (USPA) has announced the nation’s top athletes in a first-of-its-kind, national student awards show which aired on August 5.

As part of the partnership with U.S. Polo Assn., the ESPY-style award show included for the first time, the country’s top female and male athletes in the sport of polo. Unlike many sports, female and male polo players of all ages play on the same fields together, and at all levels, including professional. In addition, many of today’s great polo players began in their youth, like those being recognized here at this special award event.

The USA TODAY High School Sports Awards, hosted by Michael Strahan and Rob Gronkowski, along with red carpet hosts DJ Khaled and Charly Arnolt, featured top professional athletes like Aaron Rodgers, Shaquille O’Neal, Kerrie Walsh Jennings, Chipper Jones, Laurie Hernandez and many others.

USATODAY High School Sports Awards, one of the most extensive high school sports recognition programs in the country, honors talented high school athletes, coaches and teams. This year, 104 regional and statewide programs culminated to set the stage for the first ever national show, highlighting more than 1,000 honorees in 27 sports categories from 50 states, all vying for the opportunity to be named the top athlete in their sport. The regional honorees and winners were revealed in June and state winners were announced in July. Winners from the state level, chosen from a base of more than 60,000 student athletes and 24,000 schools, made up the honorees for the national show.

All honorees received a special gift box from USA TODAY with commemorative items, including a keepsake co-branded trucker hat from U.S. Polo Assn., the show program and other sponsor gift items.

The national award winner in the girls’ high school polo category was Hope Arellano, featuring finalists, Sophie Grant and Summer Kneece. The national award winner in the boys’ high school polo category was Mackenzie Weisz, featuring finalists Lucas Escobar and Winston Painter.

“On behalf of U.S. Polo Assn., I’d like to congratulate all of the participating athletes and recognize the outstanding winners,” said J. Michael Prince, President and CEO of USPA Global Licensing, the worldwide licensor of the multi-billion-dollar U.S. Polo Assn. brand. “It’s been an honor for U.S. Polo Assn. to be the presenting sponsor for this star-studded event where we had the tremendous excitement of introducing the sport of polo to this year’s roster of awards. As an authentic, sport-inspired global brand, we love the opportunity to support up and coming student polo players as well as the amazing athletes from so many other sports.”

Finalists and winners for the category of polo were selected through a stringent process that was conducted by the USPA and included acommittee of internal experts and a diverse group of representatives from within the USPA, Polo Training Foundation and the Interscholastic/Intercollegiate Committee. Ultimately, the winners were selected for being the highest performing and most qualified candidates.

“The USPA is proud to have this opportunity to be included in this prestigious student athlete recognition event and to be able to put forth our best student polo players from around the U.S. on this stage,” said Stewart Armstrong, Chairman of the USPA. “It’s the USPA’s mission to support youth polo players through our interscholastic and intercollegiate programs, and we hope to see these deserving athletes on the professional stage in the coming years. Congratulations to all!”

Among the other 27 sport categories for these elite high school athletes, coaches and teams were baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, gymnastics, hockey, lacrosse, soccer, softball, swimming and diving, track and field, tennis, volleyball, wrestling and more. The national broadcast showcased stories and highlights of the nation’s top athletes in each sport and their stellar performances from the past year.

“We were thrilled to partner with a sport-inspired brand like U.S. Polo Assn. and to include polo in our awards this year,” said Crystal Costa, the program’s event director. “Polo is an amazing sport that many people don’t get a chance to see in person. It’s great that we can draw more attention to the sport of polo by including it in an event of this stature for such deserving kids.”

The on-demand awards show can be viewed at Global Polo TV and at USA TODAY, USA TODAY News and USA TODAY Sportswire channels, available on Amazon Fire TV, the Roku Channel, Samsung TV Plus and most Smart TVs. It’s also available on Amazon Prime Video Direct and at SportsAwards.USATODAY.com. Stories about the honorees and more program information can also be found at https://sportsawards.usatoday.com/national/honorees/.

For more information, please visit uspolo.org.

U.S. Polo Assn. and USA TODAY High School Sports Awards (HSSA) Announce Nation’s Top Student Athletes in the Star-Studded Student Awards Program The Sport of Polo is Included for the First…

Polo News

beIN SPORTS partners with the Sport of Polo and U.S. Polo Assn. to broadcast monthly series

26. May 2021

beIN to broadcast monthly programmes from the Sport of Polo in 12 markets, including USA

London, Miami, Istanbul, Singapore – 21 May 2021: beIN SPORTS, the global sports broadcaster, has announced a new partnership with the global sports brand, U.S. Polo Assn., the official licensed brand for the United States Polo Association, that will see beIN broadcast 8 new monthly programmes in 2021, including in the organisation’s domestic market of USA. beIN has also acquired the rights in 11 other markets across its international network, including Canada, Turkey, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, East Timor, and Hong Kong.

The agreement will see beIN SPORTS broadcast the new “World of Polo Series” from May to December with each 26-minute episode consisting of top-class polo action from around the world. Fans of polocan gain access to thousands of hours of content such as ‘Inside the Boards’ and ‘Best of the Week’ content series as well as extensive programme archives in ‘The Vault’ show all for free on Global Polo TV, globalpolo.com.

J. Michael Prince, President and CEO of USPA Global Licensing said: “We are delighted to be partnering with beIN SPORTS to reach more polo fans globally and attract new audiences in our key markets. This is an outstanding partnership for U.S. Polo Assn. as the core markets of beIN Sports perfectly align with our global apparel footprint.”