HERITAGE CUP™
TOURNAMENT HISTORY
The Heritage Cup™ is a 14-goal national tournament. Founded in 1986, the Heritage Cup™ has been held at venues such as Chicago International Polo Club (Oswego, Illinois), New Bridge Polo & Country Club (Aiken, South Carolina), Santa Barbara Polo & Racquet Club (Carpinteria, California), with Arranmore capturing three consecutive titles from 2003-2005. In 2017 the tournament moved to the fields of Port Mayaca Polo Club (PMPC) (Okeechobee, Florida) where it remains today.
In 2021, BTA (Nacho Badiola, Steve Krueger, Juan Martin Obregon, Kelly Beal) and Postage Stamp Farm (Annabelle Gundlach, Brandon Phillips, Santino Magrini, Mariano Gonzalez, sub. Leon Schwencke) rose from a competition of ten teams to reach the final. BTA’s explosive start with six unanswered goals ultimately set the tone, withstanding the late pressure from Postage Stamp Farm and riding to the 10-6 victory.
The 2022 Heritage Cup™ features eight teams vying for the title that include defending champions Steve Krueger, Kelly Beal and Juan Martin Obregon returning for BTA, and Nacho Badiola joining Tonkawa.
A strong contingent of youth talent are competing in the Heritage Cup™ featuring an exciting lineup of active Team USPA Members including, Harrison Azzaro, Hope Arellano, Lucas Arellano, Santino Magrini, Nico Diaz Alberdi and brother duo Lucas and Nico Escobar. Recently competing in the 2022 season, Hope Arellano has found early success at International Polo Club (IPC) in Wellington, Florida in the inaugural U.S. Open Junior Open Test Match, while Lucas Escobar and Santino Magrini will be competing in the Ylvisaker Cup Final at the 18-goal level. Both Escobar brothers and Magrini will also be seen in 22-goal action in the GAUNTLET OF POLO®. Team USPA has been assembled to serve as training and preparation in anticipation of the final roster selection for the XII Federation of International Polo (FIP) World Championship which will take place in Palm Beach County, Florida, from October 26 through November 6.
Photo: 2021 Heritage Cup™ Champions: BTA - Kelly Beal, Juan Martin Obregon, Steve Krueger, Nacho Badiola. ©David Lominska
