By Alex Webbe
The Museum of Polo and Hall of Fame, the organizing body behind the 2009 Westchester Cup to be held at the International Polo Club in Wellington on Saturday, February 21, 2009, has announced the ticket pricing for the international event. The tickets are available through the box office at the International Polo Club (561) 204-5687, ext. 107. Box seats, $50.00 per seat; Reserved Lawn Seating, $25.00; General Admission, $10.00; and Tailgate Spots, $100.00 per car. We are reminded that seating is limited and it will be on a first come first serve basis. For further details you are asked to contact Brenda Lynn at the Museum of Polo and Hall of Fame at (561) 969-7015, or (561) 969-3210. The Museum’s e-mail address is polomuseum@att.net and the website can be found at westchestercup.org or www.polomuseum.com.
The Museum of Polo and Hall of fame has organized the 2009 Westchester Cup to commemorate the 100th Anniversary of the United States’ first win in the historic series in 1909, a win, which revolutionized the world of polo.
The first international Polo Challenge Cup, known as the Westchester Cup, was played in 1886, at the Westchester Polo Club in Newport, RI. The cup was won and defended by teams from Great Britain periodically for 23 years, a sign-at that time-of world supremacy in polo. It was in 1909 that a United States team, later to be known as the “Big Four” changed that. With Harry Payne Whitney collecting the top polo ponies in America and Great Britain for four years leading up to the 1909 series, the foursome of Whitney, brothers J. Monty and Lawrence Waterbury and Devereux Milburn traveled to England with a string of 28 of the finest polo ponies ever to be assembled. The introduction of the offense-minded Back play of Milburn and the fast and accurate shooting of the Waterburys was commanded by Whitney, and in two games, the cup was awarded to the Americans to finally return home with them. The 2009 Westchester Cup match will mark the first time since 1939 that the British have traveled to the United States to play for the 122-year-old trophy and will feature some of the top polo players from Great Britain and the United States in a single match at the 30-goal level.