102 SIDELINES APRIL 2014
FOR HORSE PEOPLE • ABOUT HORSE PEOPLE
The Making of Young American Polo Players
By Lauren R. Giannini
Team USPA began in 2010 as a purpose-designed program to
remedy the decline of young Americans in the sport by providing
exceptional players, male and female, 18-23, from across the
USA with unique training, mentoring and playing opportunities.
To date, 55 players have participated in Team USPA, fulfilling its
mission to grow their abilities under the tutelage of some of the
best players ever to swing a mallet.
The 2014 Team USPA players, announced in February, include:
Sebastian Aycinena (Wellington, Florida) Grand Champions
Polo Club; Cody Ellis (Norman, Oklahoma) Fancourt Polo Club;
Gates Gridley (Southbury, Connecticut) University of Kentucky
Polo Club: Wyatt Harlow (Warrenton, Virginia) Great Meadow
Polo Club; Max Langlois (Bedford, New York) Mashomack Polo
Club; Loreto Natividad (Midland, Texas) Midland Polo Club; Carly
Persano (Somers, Connecticut) UCONN Polo Club; Brandon
Rease (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) Cowtown Polo Club; Julia
Smith (Haverford, Pennsylvania) Virginia International Polo Club;
Branden Van Loon (Ithica, New York) Maryland Polo Club; Russell
Stimmel (Bryan, Texas) Midland Polo Club; and JimWright (Menlo
Park, California) Menlo Polo Club.
The selection process requires that each player submit a
detailed application, complete with photos, videos of them playing,
and letters of recommendation. To be selected is huge, because
involvement in Team USPA continues for as long as each player
wants to teach, mentor, umpire and give back to others who were
and are just like themselves: passionate about polo.
Mason Wroe, now 28 and rated 4-goals, started at Midland Polo
Club where his father Jud Wroe played and managed the club for
11 years. Mason was 14 when he started playing in tournaments,
17 when he played his first professional match. “I had a normal life,
I went to school and to college – we played polo on weekends,”
said Mason, who earned a degree in business marketing at Texas
A&M. He played on the team that won the 2007 USPA National
Intercollegiate Championship and in 2009 received the Polo
Training Foundation Collegiate Player of the Year Award.
“Take everything that people give you, all the advice, all the
knowledge, and use what you need. Always be professional –
you never know where your next job will come from,” said Mason,
who in February played 14-goal polo in Florida before returning to
Texas for the season. “I tell people that you have to have your own
style, that you can’t just copy somebody. Do what works for you.
Be professional and stay organized.”
Visibility is also a major benefit of being on Team USPA. Will
Tankard, another first year veteran, now 29, rated 3-goals, cited
visibility not just for the high goal professionals and officials of
USPA, but especially for the aspiring players in the program. “For
me, the single best thing about Team USPA was the amount of
awareness that was raised by the U.S. Polo Association,” Will
said. “They were open to discussion, they had the resources and
they said let’s do something about developing young American
players. They connected me with people like Adam Snow (former
10-goal player), who has given me the tools to achieve more than
I would have if I was still selling insurance in Gainesville, Texas!”
Will has spent plenty of time in accordance with the Team USPA
philosophy of giving back to up-and-coming players by coaching,
teaching and mentoring. He has been nominated for the 2014
Team USPA Equus & Co. Award. This winter he trained horses
and played professionally for Joe Meyer in Aiken, South Carolina.
Last year, he received a Team USPA opportunity to spend the
2013 winter season riding and playing in Argentina.
“It was incredible – that’s the best country for polo – and I went
there thinking that, as a second-generation rider, I knew a lot,”
Will said. “But those guys have more generations as horsemen
and as polo players. They gave us a lot of tools and the way they
see the game. It’s important when you’re on Team USPA to reach
out to all the officials, to the players, to the organization, which is
growing so quickly and has so many resources. Connect to those
Continued on page 104
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Polo – Team USPA
The 2014 Team USPA members (left to right): Julia Smith, Gates Gridley, Cody Ellis, Max Langlois, Brandon Rease, Russell
Stimmel, Branden Van Loon, Carly Persano, Wyatt Harlow, Sebastian Aycinena. Not Shown: Loreto Natividad and Jim Wright.
Photo by Kaylee Scherbinski
