116 SIDELINES FEBRUARY 2012
FOR HORSE PEOPLE • ABOUT HORSE PEOPLE
Polo as a collegiate sport at
USC Aiken
? Count on
it! The United States Polo Association has granted
collegiate club status to USCA Aiken’s new polo
initiative.
Craig Fraser
was picked for team coach and
club manager and since he was a collegiate all-star,
who played on two NCAA championship teams at Texas
A&M, he knows the game from all sides. Craig was also
a member of the Zambian national team, making the
squad at age15 and playing as a part of the roster for
six years.
The Gay Polo League
is back for a third year in
Wellington, Florida. The GPL Tournament will take
place April 14th at the
Grand Champions Polo Club
at the corner of Lake Worth Road and South Shore
Boulevard. The tournament will field four teams,
each of which is to be comprised of GPL players and
anchored by a high-goal professional. Don’t miss it –
another wild festive weekend.
Steve Williams
is promoting
The Player’s Club
big
Sunday night parties this season. Steve kicked off the
season with a surprise 30th birthday party for USET
Grand Prix jumping rider and daughter of
Lynn Little
,
Marilyn Little-Meredith
. All of Wellington’s hot young
equestrians were on the guest list.
Three members of
Team USPA
will be playing their
inaugural high goal season at the
International Polo
Club
at Palm Beach.
Mason Wroe
will join
Gillian
Johnston’s
Bendabout team,
Nick Snow
will play on
Bob Daniel’s
Pony Express Team and
Jake Stimmel
will join the
Mannix brothers’
team, The Hawks.
A
S
I
D
E
S
Carlos Galindo
and
Steve Kreuger
will also be playing in the
IPC 12 and 14 goal leagues, so be on the lookout for all our
young American talent during the 2012 season.
Also making his high goal debut in 2012,
Jeff Hildebrand
of
Houston, Texas, will take his Tonkawa Farms team to IPC for
the first time to try his hand at the winter polo scene in Florida.
Good luck Jeff!
Former Cal Poly intercollegiate player
Francesca Fianato
has joined forces with Erik Wright in California at the
Bel Air
Polo Club
to manage and promote arena polo at the Los
Angeles Equestrian Center.
Audi
took home the
Snow Polo World Championship
title
for the third consecutive year in Aspen, Colorado.
Yvette
Biddle
, who was in attendance with husband Tommy, said it
was as always a great event, with plenty of polo, skiing and
fun for everyone!
There’s a new restaurant in
Hotel Aiken – Chaugan
, which
means polo mallet in India – is serving (surprise!) Indian food
and yummy, too. Now you can go from the
Polo Bar
to dinner
without ever leaving the hotel.
Bumps and bruises:
Polo player
Rick Fine
is on the mend
after heart valve surgery in November. We wish him a speedy
recovery and hope to see him back on the playing fields in
Aiken and Maryland this coming season!
Engagements:
Team USPA member
Steve Kreuger
proposed to longtime girlfriend and fourth generation polo
player KC Beal. Nuptials will be in April, with rumored bridal
• Unique 8.3 acre equestrian property, US Hwy 441,
15 min south of Wellington Showgrounds.
• Beautifully customized 3Br + Loft, 3 Ba main house.
• 1 Br/1 Ba guest cottage.
• 12-stall stable, tack, feed, office. Automatic water
feeders.
• Large training arena 245' x 120' w/ excellent
footing.
• Completely fenced and cross-fenced, with 6
paddocks.
• Helicopter landing area.
• Lease purchase/owner financing.
• $1,699,000
Call
Michael Kovacs
Realtor®, MBA CDPE
Re/Max Prestige Realty
301 Clematis Street, West Palm Beach, FL 33401
561.512.7668
michaelkovacs@remax.net
8.3 acre Training Facility
Equestrian Ranch