U.S. Open Polo Championship Begins

The highly anticipated U.S. Open Polo Championship, the granddaddy of them all, began April 1 at National Polo Center (NPC).

The Gauntlet of Polo’s final leg features eleven teams, including La Fe making its high goal debut, competing over four weeks for both prestige of winning the coveted title and the prize purse of $100,000.

In the opening games on Wednesday, Pilot plays reigning C.V. Whitney champion Dutta Corp at 1 p.m., and Park Place plays La Fe at 4 p.m. at NPC.

The U.S. Open Polo Championship is the most prestigious and oldest polo tournament in the United States, and is the culmination of the winter polo season in Wellington.

The Gauntlet of Polo has already featured an exciting finish to its opening tournament, the C.V. Whitney Cup. In one of the biggest upsets in Gauntlet of Polo’s eight-year history, Dutta Corp won with a 14-9 victory over La Dolfina Scone on U.S. Polo Assn. Field One.

The Gauntlet’s second leg, the USPA Gold Cup final pitting La Dolfina Scone against Pilot, was rescheduled for Easter Sunday at 4 p.m. due to heavy rain.

All ten teams that competed in the USPA Gold Cup will return for the U.S. Open. Granting individual entries for a fifth consecutive year, the elite field will also include La Fe featuring Louis Devaleix, Pipe Vercellino, Joaquin Panelo, and Robbie Bilbao. Teams are eligible to receive one handicap credit if they have qualified American players on their rosters.

All six USPA 10 goalers will compete. The top-rated players that have delighted fans all season long include 10-time winner Adolfo Cambiaso (La Dolfina/Tamera), who has won in 1999, 2000, 2001, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2015, 2017, 2021, and 2025 with various teams; four-time champion Hilario Ulloa (Park Place), who won in 2010, 2014, 2018, and 2023; Poroto Cambiaso (La Dolfina/Scone) chasing his third title (2021, 2024); and Tommy Panelo (BTA) going after his second (2024).

Reigning Argentine Open champions and brothers Barto Castagnola (DUS) and Jeta Castagnola (Pilot) round out the top-ranked players. Their father Lolo, a former 10-goaler won the title in 1999 and 2000 with Outback.

Defending champion La Dolfina/Tamera will try to repeat with Adolfo Cambiaso, who turns 51 on April 15. Last year, La Dolfina/Tamera defeated La Dolfina Catamount (Scott Devon, Rufino Merlos, Poroto Cambiaso, Jesse Bray), 12-8. Patron Ale Poma was Most Valuable Player. Matt Coppola and Diego Cavanagh rounded out the winning team. The game pitted father against son.

“I never stop dreaming,” Cambiaso said after the win. “I never thought I would be at 50 winning the U.S. Open and so I’m going to keep dreaming. Being involved in the final was a dream. This is amazing. Whoever won we were going to be happy anyway. In this case I won so I am happy.”

Added Poma, “It’s inspiring to play alongside Adolfo, the greatest player of all time. He makes the whole team play better. He really motivates you and asks you to give 150 percent.”

The U.S. Open was originally conceived as a non-handicapped alternative to the Senior Championship tournament. The first U.S. Open, played in 1904, had only two teams, Wanderers and Freebooters. It was held at Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx. Four 15-minute chukkers were played, with a seven-minute break between each chukker.

After the inaugural U.S. Open, the tournament was not played again until 1910, when it grew to include six teams. It resumed at Narragansett Pier in Rhode Island, where it was played for several years before relocating to what became its longtime home, Meadowbrook Polo Club in Old Westbury, New York.

In 1954, the U.S. 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 late 1980s and into the 1990s, the tournament was held at several clubs including Eldorado, Lexington, Palm Beach Polo and Country Club, and Royal Palm Polo Sports Club in Boca Raton. In 2004, the U.S. Open moved to Wellington, where it has been held ever since.

The tournament’s perpetual trophy was designed by artist Sally James Farnham and inspired by a seventeenth century tureen. The tall silver cup features horses and riders in relief around the top perimeter and bottom bowl of the cup, as ornate rearing horses rise from the base of the cup. Stolen in 2002, it was recovered a few short weeks later and is currently kept at the Museum of Polo and Hall of Fame in Lake Worth.

In partnership with USPA Global, each team will select a charity from a group of 12 nonprofit organizations. At the end of the tournament, the charities selected by both the winning team and runner-up will each receive a $2,500 donation.

The U.S. Open will be livestreamed on the USPA Polo Network via watch.uspolo.org and major streaming platforms. Premium subscriptions include all games, and USPA Member Free Core Subscriptions will have access to the mini quarters, semifinals, and final. Non-subscribers may also access the semifinals and final via pay-per-view.

The U.S. Open final will also be available on multiple ESPN platforms, including ESPN2 in May. Check local listings for specific airtimes.