Palm Beach County, Fla. (February 23, 2022) Jointly hosting the GAUNTLET OF POLO® for the fourth consecutive season, the United States Polo Association (USPA), USPA Global Licensing (USPAGL), and International Polo Club (IPC) Palm Beach officially launched the GAUNTLET OF POLO for 2022 on Monday, February 7, with the C.V. Whitney Cup®. The GAUNTLET OF POLO brings together some of the finest horses and world’s best polo players for the next three months of American high-goal competition. Sponsored by U.S. Polo Assn., the finals of each tournament along with every Sunday 3:00pm ET game are played on the official U.S. Polo Assn. Stadium Field at the IPC in Wellington, Florida.
Established in 2019, the GAUNTLET OF POLO combines the three premier tournaments in the U.S. into a series that crowns one GAUNTLET Champion. The GAUNTLET OF POLO has already begun for 2022, with the C.V. Whitney Cup® from February 7-27. It will continue with the USPA Gold Cup® from March 1-27, and will conclude with the illustrious U.S. Open Polo Championship® from March 29-April 24.
Another exciting addition to the 2022 season includes Global Polo Entertainment (GPE), the entertainment and media subsidiary of USPA Global Licensing Inc. GPE and U.S. Polo Assn. have launched a partnership with ESPN to distribute the 2022 GAUNTLET OF POLO for the very first time. The final of each tournament will be aired on ESPN2, ESPN Sur, or livestreamed on ESPN3. All GAUNTLET games and official USPA events will also be streamed on Global Polo TV.
“Our partnership with the International Polo Club Palm Beach has brought the GAUNTLET OF POLO to players, fans, and enthusiasts around the globe, and has been a significant success for the sport,” said USPA Chairman and GAUNTLET competitor Stewart Armstrong. “We are thrilled that this year’s GAUNTLET OF POLO is record-setting, both with our historic partnership with ESPN and ESPN Sur, and having open enrollment to allow the most teams in the history of the U.S. Open Polo Championship.”
Unique from last year, this season’s competition accepted individual team entries for all three individual tournaments. The U.S. Open Polo Championship, the final tournament of the GAUNTLET, has a record number of twenty teams competing, which is the largest number of entries in the tournament’s history. Of the competitors, nine teams are competing in all three tournaments and fighting for the prestigious 2022 GAUNTLET OF POLO trophy, including the inaugural and reigning GAUNTLET Champion Pilot.
Alongside the illustrious title of being a GAUNTLET Champion, the prize money distribution for 2022 is similar to the previous season. Any team that wins all three tournaments will be crowned GAUNTLET Champion as well as a guaranteed total of $200,000 in prize money. The winners for the C.V. Whitney Cup and the USPA Gold Cup will be presented $50,000 per tournament, and the winner of the U.S. Open Polo Championship awarded $100,000.
The presenting sponsor, U.S. Polo Assn. will once again donate to both the winner and runner up of all three tournaments to be given to the polo charity of their choice, continuing the brand’s support of the polo community and the sport.
“We look forward to reaching more sports fans and attracting new audiences to the sport of polo, and to the U.S. Polo Assn. brand, as we celebrate this amazing polo series,” said J. Michael Prince, President and CEO of USPA Global Licensing, the worldwide licensor of the multi-billion-dollar U.S. Polo Assn. brand. “U.S. Polo Assn. continues its mission to support the sport in a variety of ways including key sponsorships as well as the meaningful philanthropic donations to polo causes.”
2022 GAUNTLET OF POLO TEAMS:
- Cessna (21): Miguel Novillo Astrada (9), Raul ‘Gringo’ Colombres (8), Edward ‘Camp’ Campbell (2), Will Johnston (2)
- Coca-Cola (22): Nicolas ‘Nico’ Pieres (9), Rufino Bensadon (8), Julian de Lusarreta (7), Nico Escobar (5), Gillian Johnston (1)
- Dutta Corp/Show+ (22): Tomas Garcia del Rio (8), Ignacio “Inaki” Laprida (7), Timmy Dutta (4), Joaquin Avendaño (3)
- La Fe (20): Francisco Elizalde (9), Lucas Diaz Alberdi (6), Robi Bilbao (5), Louis Devaleix (0), sub. Manuel Elizalde (7)
- La Indiana (21/22): Mariano Aguerre (7), Jeff Hall (6), Lucas ‘Luckitas’ Criado Jr. (5), Stewart Armstrong (3)
- Park Place (22): Hilario Ulloa (10), Juan Britos (9), Cody Ellis (3), Andrey Borodin (0), sub. Joshua Hyde (0)
- Pilot (22): Facundo Pieres (10), Matias Torres Zavaleta (7), Mackenzie Weisz (5), Curtis Pilot (0)
- SD Farms (22): David ‘Pelon’ Stirling (10), Peco Polledo (6), Lucas Escobar (4), Sayyu Dantata (2), sub. Sayyu Dantata Jr. (1)
- Scone (22): Adolfo Cambiaso (10), Poroto Cambiaso (9), Kristos ‘Keko’ Magrini (3), David Paradice (0), sub. Miki Astrada (0)
About the United States Polo Association® (USPA)
The United States Polo Association was organized and exists for the purposes of promoting the game of polo, coordinating the activities of its Member Clubs and Registered Players, arranging and supervising polo tournaments, competitions and games, and providing rules, handicaps, and conditions for those tournaments, competitions, and games including the safety and welfare of participants and mounts. Founded in 1890, the USPA is the national governing body for the sport of polo. The USPA is currently comprised of almost 200 member clubs with thousands of individual members and oversees 40 national tournaments. For more information, please visit www.uspolo.org.
About Global Polo EntertainmentTM and Global Polo TV™
Global Polo Entertainment™ (GPE) is a subsidiary of USPA Global Licensing Inc., charged to create, distribute and monetize content opportunities. Today, GPE is comprised of the GAUNTLET OF POLO® and Global Polo TV™, a digital television platform for mobile, web, smart TVs, and connected TVs; that features all USPA Official Events, international tournaments and polo lifestyle content. Additionally, GPE produces global broadcasts to bring the sport of polo to millions of consumers and sports fans around the world.
About U.S. Polo Assn. and USPA Global Licensing Inc. (USPAGL)
U.S. Polo Assn. is the official brand of the United States Polo Association (USPA), the nonprofit governing body for the sport of polo in the United States and one of the oldest sports governing bodies, having been founded in 1890. With a multi-billion-dollar global footprint and worldwide distribution through some 1,200 U.S. Polo Assn. retail stores, department stores, sporting goods channels, independent retailers and e-commerce, U.S. Polo Assn. offers apparel for men, women, and children, as well as accessories and footwear in 194 countries worldwide. Ranked the fifth largest sports licensor in License Global magazine’s 2020 list of “Top 150 Global Licensors,” U.S. Polo Assn. is named alongside such iconic sports brands as the National Football League, the National Basketball Association and Major League Baseball. Visit uspoloassnglobal.com.
USPA Global Licensing Inc. (USPAGL) is the for-profit subsidiary of the USPA and its exclusive worldwide licensor. USPAGL manages the global, multi-billion-dollar U.S. Polo Assn. brand and is the steward of the USPA’s intellectual properties, providing the sport with a long-term source of revenue.
