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G L A D I A T O R P O L O L E A G U E , W E L L I N G T O N , F L O R I D A , U S A , A P R I L 2 0 1 7
A C T I O N
DAVID LOMINSKA/POLOGRAPHICS.COM
G L A D I A T O R P O L O
The ground-breaking new arena-polo series is drawing crowds to watch top
players compete for a record-breaking $250,000, reports Alex Webbe
Mark Bellissimo made a name for himself
in the equestrian world by purchasing the
Palm Beach International Equestrian Center
in Wellington and turning a money-losing
proposition into one of the world’s most
successful hunter/jumper and dressage
competition venues.
Not content with staging satellite shows
in Central Park or at Mar-a-Lago, Bellissimo
put a group together to purchase a property
in North Carolina, where he created a facility
for equestrian disciplines such as hunter/
jumper, dressage and eventing, which then
landed the 2018 World Equestrian Games.
His group also acquired the 148-acre
Colorado Horse Park in Parker, Colorado, but
what’s caught the eye of Wellington’s polo
clan this season is his creation of an arena
series he calls Gladiator Polo.
The inaugural Gladiator Polo Arena
League consisted of four teams rated 21 to
25 goals each, all named after top Roman
gladiators: Spartacus, Crixus, Priscus and
Spiculus. The Equestrian Village’s arena,
which had featured top dressage
competitions, was transformed into the
‘Colosseum’ and the players were paraded
around a crowded stadium in chariots before
leaving to mount up for the match.
Bellissimo had initially put together four
teams of the game’s top players to compete
in a three-a-side competition for a record
arena-polo purse of $150,000 in a three-
game series. The response he received from
players and sponsors led him to recalculate
the format and expand the series to seven
games, upping the purse to the highest in the
history of polo – $250,000. And it could grow
to as much as $500,000 in 2018.
The teams’ line-ups were a who’s who of
polo elite, with former 10-goalers Mike Azzaro,
