The US Open Polo Championship, the most significant tournament of The Gauntlet Of Polo as well as one of the three Grand Slams of polo, alongside the Argentine Open and the British Open for the Cowdray Gold Cup, resumed on Sunday April 12, with double action at the National Polo Center (NPC), in Wellington, Florida, United States. The competition sees eleven teams up to 22 goals, partake. Teams are split in two leagues.
In the first match La Delfina Tamera lost to Clearwater by a 13-12 score, following a very close contest that ended in OT, with a golden goal by Nicolas Escobar. Up next, and in another tight game that was also decided on extra chukka, La Fe Eastern Hay claimed a 12-11 victory over the previously unbeaten Coca Cola. Lucio Fernandez Ocampo produced the winning goal in OT.
THE US OPEN POLO CHAMPIONSHIP WILL CONTINUE ON MONDAY APRIL 13 AND WEDNESDAY APRIL 15, AS FOLLOWS:
Monday April 13
11am: Park Place (1-2) vs. Pilot (0-2)
1,30pm: DUS (2-0) vs. La Dolfina Scone (1-1)
4pm: Clinova The Sandbox (0-2) Vs. BTA (1-1)
Wednesday April 15
12pm: Coca Cola (2-1) vs. The Dutta Corp (2-1)
The US Open Polo Championship is indeed the crown jewel of polo in the United States. The tournament was played for the first time in 1904, at Van Conrtlandt Park, in the Bronx borough of New York City, and showcased only two teams partake, The Wanderers and The Freeboters. Four 15-minute chukkers were played, with a seven-minute break between each chukker. After a pause, the US Open resumed in 1910, when six teams played at Narragansett Pier, Rhode Island; it remained there for several years until it was relocated it what would be the tournament’s longtime home, Meadowbrook Polo Club in Old Westbury, New York. In 1954, the US Open moved to Oak Brook, where it remained for 22 years, followed by an eight year-stint at the Retama Polo Center in San Antonio, Texas. In the 1980s and the 1990s, it was held in several clubs throughout the United States, until 2004, which marked the centenary of the US Open. By then, the contest was relocated to Wellington, Florida, where it has been held ever since. The U.S. Open Polo Championship perpetual trophy was first presented in 1910. Stolen in 2002, it was recovered a few weeks later and is currently kept in the care and custody of the Museum of Polo and Hall of Fame in Lake Worth, Florida.
THE CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH OF THE US OPEN IS SET TO BE PLAYED ON SUNDAY APRIL 26.
US OPEN POLO CHAMPIONSHIP – Teams & Fixture
2026 GAUNTLET OF POLO – FULL CALENDAR
CV WHITNEY CUP
February 13-March 1
Winners: The Dutta Corp.
USPA GOLD CUP
March 4-April 5
Winners: Pilot.
US OPEN
April 1-26
Cover photo by Agustina Fonda.