OUTBACK CUP | U.S. POLO ASSN.

March 19 - April 8, 2024

OUTBACK CUP

OUTBACK CUP

TOURNAMENT HISTORY

The Outback Cup, formerly the Outback Invitational, made its debut at Patagones Polo Club (Wellington, Florida) in 2022 as part of the Wellington Polo Tour. In the inaugural final, Palm Beach Equine (Raul "Gringo" Colombres, Kristos "Keko" Magrini, Dylan Rossiter, Scott Swerdlin, Lucas Criado Jr.) defeated Tonkawa (Ignacio "Nacho" Badiola, Matt Coppola, Jeff Hildebrand, Ezequiel "Gallego" Martinez Ferrario, Kylie Sheehan) 15-12. Originally held as a USPA-sanctioned event, the Outback Cup was elevated to a national tournament for 2024, joining the ranks of the most prestigious Association tournaments.

The Outback Cup will serve as the fourth qualifying leg of four prestigious national tournaments (Joe Barry Memorial, Ylvisaker Cup, Iglehart Cup) culminating in the NPC 16-Goal Championship. Qualifiers have been played across multiple clubs, with the championship final hosted on Sunday, April 14, at the National Polo Center – Wellington (NPC). Participating clubs include Port Mayaca Polo Club (Okeechobee, Florida) and the Wellington Polo Tour (WPT) led by Patagones Polo Club (Wellington, Florida) and a series of private fields falling under the WPT umbrella.

Each of the four national tournaments serve as a qualifier for the NPC 16-Goal Championship, with each winning team (Forbes Plunkett, Clearwater, BTA) moving on to the final event. Should a team win more than one qualifier, that team will automatically advance to the NPC 16-Goal Championship final.

To reinforce the idea that all participation is encouraged, players may compete in as many events as they would like on either the same team or on different teams. Yet, if a player triumphs in more than one event but on different teams, that player must choose which team he or she would like to represent in the NPC 16-Goal Championship and the other team may use a substitute. Qualifying teams must maintain at least two of their original members in order to play in the Championship.

In 2023, G-String Polo Ponies (Will Johnson, Milo Dorignac, Kristos "Keko" Magrini, Julian de Lusaretta) faced-off against La Fe (Wil Ballhaus, Dylan Rossiter, Francisco Elizalde, Louis Devaleix). Exploding in the third chukker, G-String Polo Ponies took an impressive five-goal lead into the break. Holding La Fe to just two goals in the second half, contributions from leading scorers de Lusarreta from the field and Magrini at the penalty line sealed G-String Polo Ponies' impressive victory 14-5.

Hosted and managed by the WPT and Patagones Polo Club, this year's competition will feature a deep field of 10 competitive teams vying for the prestigious title. Newcomers Senvest will join seven teams (90210 Polo, Copperline Farm, Flying H, La Fe/Dazos, Mayer Ranch, Pilot, Tonkawa) competing in the Iglehart Cup for the opportunity to advance to the Championship. Clearwater, the winner of the Ylvisaker Cup and BTA, the winner of the Iglehart Cup have already secured their spots in the final event.

Representing Team USPA is Active Member Lucas Escobar (Copperline Farm), Graduating Member Nico Escobar (Copperline Farm) and alumni Jesse Bray and Geronimo Obregon (90210 Polo), Steve Krueger (BTA), Santino Magrini (Flying H) and Costi Caset, Matt Coppola and Jared Zenni (Mayer Ranch).

Patagones Polo Club will be taking advantage of the USPA's Bridge to High Goal Initiative (B2HG) for the Outback Cup, which provides eligible USPA Member Clubs three USPA Professional Umpires (two mounted officials and one third man) at 50% of the regular cost to the club.

The Bridge to High Goal Initiative (B2HG) has been created to support polo between 12 and 16 goals. The goal of the program is to build a bridge from low-goal polo to high-goal polo that provides a safe environment for competition which will allow for the cultivation of team owners and the advancement of aspiring professionals.

2023 Outback Invitational Champions: G-String Polo Ponies - Julian de Lusaretta, Kristos 'Keko' Magrini, Milo Dorignac, Will Johnston. ©Agustina Fonda

TEAMS AND ROSTERS

Bracket I

Copperline Farm (5-0)

player photo
Ben Ketchum
Outdoor: 0
player photo
Nicolas 'Nico' Escobar
Outdoor: 5
player photo
Felipe 'Pipe' Vercellino
Outdoor: 7
player photo
Lucas Escobar
Outdoor: 4

BTA (3-1)

player photo
Ignacio 'Nachi' Viana
Outdoor: 6
player photo
Alfonso Pieres
Outdoor: 5
player photo
Steve Krueger
Outdoor: 5
player photo
Kelly Beal
Outdoor: 0
player photo
Tommy Collingwood
Substitute
Outdoor: 5

La Fe/Dazos (0-3)

player photo
David Farache
Outdoor: 0
player photo
Roberto 'Robi' Bilbao
Outdoor: 6
player photo
Francisco Elizalde
Outdoor: 9
player photo
Louis Devaleix
Outdoor: 1
player photo
Hope Arellano
Substitute
Outdoor: 3
player photo
Hilario Figueras
Substitute
Outdoor: 5
player photo
Benjamin Daniels
Substitute
Outdoor: 1

Bracket II

Mayer Ranch (1-2)

player photo
Kenneth Mayer
Outdoor: 0
player photo
Matt Coppola
Outdoor: 5
player photo
Costi Caset
Outdoor: 5
player photo
Jared Zenni
Outdoor: 6
player photo
Cody Ellis
Substitute
Outdoor: 5
player photo
Santiago Llavallol
Substitute
Outdoor: 5

Clearwater (1-2)

player photo
Joaquin "Pelo" Vilgre La Madrid
Outdoor: 0
player photo
Raul 'Gringo' Colombres
Outdoor: 8
player photo
Lucas Diaz Alberdi
Outdoor: 6
player photo
Camp Campbell
Outdoor: 2

Pilot (1-2)

player photo
Curtis Pilot
Outdoor: 0
player photo
Jason Wates
Outdoor: 4
player photo
Ignacio Arbelbide
Outdoor: 5
player photo
Lucas James
Outdoor: 7
player photo
Santos Merlos
Substitute
Outdoor: 6

Bracket III

90210 Polo (3-2)

player photo
Sarah Siegel-Magness
Outdoor: 0
player photo
Geronimo Obregon
Outdoor: 5
player photo
Jesse Bray
Outdoor: 7
player photo
Louis Hine
Outdoor: 4

Tonkawa (3-1)

player photo
Jeff Hildebrand
Outdoor: 0
player photo
Rufino Merlos
Outdoor: 3
player photo
Ignacio 'Nacho' Badiola
Outdoor: 5
player photo
Jeronimo Del Carril
Outdoor: 8
player photo
Santiago Zubiaurre
Substitute
Outdoor: 5

Senvest (1-2)

player photo
Richard Mashaal
Outdoor: 0
player photo
Evan White
Outdoor: 2
player photo
Facundo Llosa
Outdoor: 7
player photo
Pedro Falabella
Outdoor: 7

Flying H (0-3)

player photo
Will Johnston
Outdoor: 1
player photo
Miguel 'Miki' Novillo Astrada Jr.
Outdoor: 2
player photo
Miguel Novillo Astrada Sr.
Outdoor: 8
player photo
Santino Magrini
Outdoor: 4

Bracket IV

Bracket V

Bracket VI

Bracket VII

Bracket VIII

Bracket IX

Bracket X

OUTBACK CUP

TOURNAMENT GAMES

Tuesday, Mar 19, 2024

March 19

Final

Outback Cup

Patagones Polo Club

Tonkawa logo

Tonkawa (3-1)

12

Senvest logo

Senvest (1-2)

9

Wednesday, Mar 20, 2024

March 20

Final

Outback Cup

Patagones Polo Club

Clearwater logo

Clearwater (1-2)

12

La Fe/Dazos logo

La Fe/Dazos (0-3)

11

Thursday, Mar 21, 2024

March 21

Final

Outback Cup

Patagones Polo Club

Copperline Farm logo

Copperline Farm (5-0)

15

Pilot logo

Pilot (1-2)

10

March 21

Final

Outback Cup

Patagones Polo Club

BTA logo

BTA (3-1)

10

Mayer Ranch logo

Mayer Ranch (1-2)

9

March 21

Final

Outback Cup

Patagones Polo Club

90210 Polo logo

90210 Polo (3-2)

13

Flying H logo

Flying H (0-3)

9

Monday, Mar 25, 2024

March 25

Final

Outback Cup

Patagones Polo Club

Tonkawa logo

Tonkawa (3-1)

13

Flying H logo

Flying H (0-3)

10

March 25

Final OT

Outback Cup

Patagones Polo Club

BTA logo

BTA (3-1)

11

Pilot logo

Pilot (1-2)

10

Tuesday, Mar 26, 2024

March 26

Final

Outback Cup

Patagones Polo Club

Senvest logo

Senvest (1-2)

9

90210 Polo logo

90210 Polo (3-2)

14

March 26

Final

Outback Cup

Patagones Polo Club

La Fe/Dazos logo

La Fe/Dazos (0-3)

10

Mayer Ranch logo

Mayer Ranch (1-2)

12

March 26

Final OT

Outback Cup

Patagones Polo Club

Copperline Farm logo

Copperline Farm (5-0)

11

Clearwater logo

Clearwater (1-2)

10

Friday, Mar 29, 2024

March 29

Final

Outback Cup

Patagones Polo Club

Tonkawa logo

Tonkawa (3-1)

11

90210 Polo logo

90210 Polo (3-2)

10

March 29

Final

Outback Cup

Patagones Polo Club

Clearwater logo

Clearwater (1-2)

9

BTA logo

BTA (3-1)

11

Saturday, Mar 30, 2024

March 30

Final

Outback Cup

Patagones Polo Club

La Fe/Dazos logo

La Fe/Dazos (0-3)

9

Pilot logo

Pilot (1-2)

12

March 30

Final

Outback Cup

Patagones Polo Club

Copperline Farm logo

Copperline Farm (5-0)

11

Mayer Ranch logo

Mayer Ranch (1-2)

10

March 30

Final

Outback Cup

Patagones Polo Club

Flying H logo

Flying H (0-3)

9

Senvest logo

Senvest (1-2)

10

Wednesday, Apr 3, 2024

April 03

Final

Outback Cup

National Polo Center - Wellington

BTA logo

BTA (3-1)

8

Copperline Farm logo

Copperline Farm (5-0)

11

April 03

Final

Outback Cup

National Polo Center - Wellington

Tonkawa logo

Tonkawa (3-1)

10

90210 Polo logo

90210 Polo (3-2)

11

Monday, Apr 8, 2024

April 08

Final

Outback Cup

National Polo Center - Wellington

Copperline Farm logo

Copperline Farm (5-0)

11

90210 Polo logo

90210 Polo (3-2)

10

OUTBACK CUP

HOST CLUB

Founded by Gonzalo Avendaño in 2004, Patagones Polo Club is located in the heart of Wellington, Florida, with a second club in Argentina. Hosting 16-goal polo as part of the Wellington Polo Tour (WPT), Patagones Polo Club fields some of the top players in the world on their grounds, but the family organization provides the soul of the club. Avendaño's sons Benjamin and Joaquin compete regularly under the Patagones name on the high-goal stage.


4656 125th Ave South
Wellington, FL 33449
View Map
WPT Website Club Profile