The United States Polo Association® and Greenwich Polo Club Announce Teams Competing in 2015 East Coast Open, Aug. 23– Sept. 6, 2015
Historic USPA-sanctioned tournament takes polo to a new level:
Three public matches, luxury sponsors, event-packed matches, top polo stars streamed live on ChukkerTV, with finals televised by NBC Sports Network
The United States Polo Association® (USPA) and Greenwich Polo Club, in partnership with Audi, Town & Country, and Lancôme, announced today that six teams will compete for the Perry Cup, one of polo’s most prestigious trophies, at the USPA East Coast Open (#EastCoastOpen), on Aug. 23– Sept. 6, 2015. The public matches will take place over three consecutive Sundays at 3:00 p.m. at Greenwich Polo Club in Greenwich, CT.
The six teams competing at the East Coast Open are:
Airstream (20)
1 – Peter Orthwein (0)
2 – Guillermo Agüero (6)
3 – Matias Magrini (8)
4 – Michel Dorignac (6)
Audi (20)*
1 – Marc Ganzi (1)
2 –TBD **
3 – Nic Roldan (8)
4 – Gonzalo Garcia del Rio (5)
KIG (20)
1 – Bash Kazi (0)
2 – Valerio Zubiaurre (7)
3 – Mariano Obregon (7)
4 – Pelon Escapite (6)
Turkish Airlines (17)
1 – Bruce Colley (1) – Joseph Meyer (1)
2 – Joaquin Panelo (4)
3 – Tomas Garcia del Rio (8)
4 – Stevie Orthwein (4)
McLaren Greenwich (19)
1 – Christopher Brant (1)
2 – Nick Manifold (5)
3 – Joao Paulo Ganon (7)
4 – Tommy Biddle (6)
White Birch (20)
1 – Santino Magrini (0)
2 – Hilario Ulloa (9)
3 – Mariano Aguerre (9)
4 – Peter Brant (2)
* team handicap may change upon selection replacement player
** team member being replaced due to injury
The official event draw party hosted on Aug. 19 at Shreve, Crump & Low, located on Greenwich Avenue in Downtown Greenwich, CT, will determine the tournament brackets and match play schedule and officially kick-off the East Coast Open series of events.
The 20-goal tournament (played on a handicap level) will begin on Sunday, Aug. 23, continue on Sunday, Aug. 30, and conclude with the championship final on Sunday, Sept. 6. The USPA will live-stream preliminary matches on ChukkerTV.com, and NBC Sports Network will air a 60-minute national broadcast of the East Coast Open final on Sept. 13, 2015 at 7:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time.
“The East Coast Open will be the most competitive and spectacular polo tournament of the summer season,” said Peter M. Brant, Founder of Greenwich Polo Club. “Fans will experience high-goal polo played by the finest teams, players and ponies in the sport all competing to have their names added to the historic Perry Cup.”
The East Coast Open was founded in Rhode Island in 1905 and was played until World War I. It had a renaissance starting in 1978 when Donald Little, then President of the USPA and Captain of the Myopia Polo Club, resurrected the tournament and brought it to Myopia Polo Club in South Hamilton, Massachusetts where it was played until the early 2000’s.
Since 1905, the Perry Cup trophy has symbolized this high-goal championship and winners’ names are forever memorialized on the trophy. The Perry Cup has been restored and will make its debut this summer at Greenwich Polo Club for the East Coast Open.
“This historically-rich tournament is being played during the 125th anniversary year of the USPA and at one of the East Coast’s top polo clubs, just a short distance from the birthplace of polo in America,” said USPA CEO Duncan Huyler. “As one of our signature and most celebrated events of the year the excitement generated cannot help but be contagious as we expose this incredible sport to new audiences in both the New York metro area as well as through our live-streams and national television broadcast.”
“The evolution of polo in America can really be encapsulated in this historic USPA-sanctioned tournament played since 1905,” said Peter Rizzo outgoing USPA CEO and event host tournament committee member. “Polo has advanced while retaining many of the sports distinctive traditions. Changes in rules have made match play faster and more exciting and have also made it safer for player and horse. The USPA has incorporated leading-edge technology into the game ranging from video technology including drones to provide video coverage of the vast polo field, to instant replay, to live streaming and even more recently, to national television broadcasts of sanctioned tournaments. All of that, plus some of the best players and horses in the world will be showcased in this year’s USPA East Coast Open.”
Town & Country magazine will host a beautifully outfitted VIP hospitality tent, under which guests will enjoy an unprecedented experience while mixing and mingling with some of the world’s top luxury brands. East Coast Open tickets are also available for purchase at GreenwichPoloClub.com/ECO. In addition to general admission tickets, guests can opt for a private cabana or box seating. Gates open at 1:00 p.m. and East Coast Open matches start at 3:00 p.m. The field address is 1 Hurlingham Drive, Greenwich, CT 06831.