TOP PLAYERS. THREE TOURNAMENTS. ONE CHAMPION.
GAUNTLET OF POLO™

C.V. Whitney Cup

Originally known as the U.S. Handicap, the C.V. Whitney Cup was first competed for in 1979 by handicap, and played in conjunction with the CaptiveOne U.S. Open Polo Championship^®. Played at Retama Polo Center in San Antonio, Texas, it was won the first two years by Tulsa. Nine years later, in 1988, the tournament was renamed for C.V. (Cornelius Vanderbilt “Sonny”) Whitney, an avid polo player and three-time winner of the U.S. Open in 1928, 1937 and 1938, and son of 10-goal Hall of Famer Harry Payne Whitney. In its inaugural years in 1988 and 1989, Mr. Whitney was on hand in Lexington, Kentucky, to make the first presentations of the C.V. Whitney Cup. The winner of the cup those first two years was the Ft. Lauderdale team of Jack Oxley, Joey Casey, Ernesto Trotz and Bart Evans. The C.V. Whitney Cup is the first leg of the Gauntlet of Polo™ and has made its home at the International Polo Club Palm Beach (IPC) in Wellington, Florida since 2003.

USPA Gold Cup^®

The USPA Gold Cup^® is the second leg of the Gauntlet of Polo™. Established in 1974 at Oak Brook Polo Club in Oak Brook, Illinois, its first edition featured four teams. Inaugural winners Milwaukee (Tom Hughes, Tommy Wayman, Joe Barry, Robert Uihlein III) bested Houston 9-8, with a thrilling overtime victory. Wayman scored the golden goal three minutes into the sudden death chukker. The following year, the USPA Gold Cup^® was moved to the Milwaukee Polo Club in Wisconsin where it was played from 1975 to 1978. In 1979 it moved to Florida and became the crown jewel of the winter season. In its heyday at the Palm Beach Polo and Country Club, during the 80s and early 90s, the USPA Gold Cup^® was the tournament to win, attracting anywhere from 11-20 teams. After a 17-year stretch at the Palm Beach Polo and Country Club, the tournament was hosted by several clubs over the years including Royal Palm Polo Club (Boca Raton, Florida), Greenwich Polo Club (Greenwich, Connecticut) and New Bridge Polo & Country Club (Aiken, South Carolina), before landing at IPC in Wellington, Florida where it has remained since 2007.

CaptiveOne U.S. Open Polo Championship^®

Considered to be the most prestigious polo tournament in the United States, the CaptiveOne U.S. Open Polo Championship^® is the apex of the 22-goal tournaments held during the Florida high-goal season that attracts fans and polo enthusiasts from across the United States and around the world. The U.S. Open was originally conceived as a non-handicapped alternative to the Senior Championship tournament. The first U.S. Open had only two teams, the Wanderers and the Freebooters. It was held at Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx borough of New York City. Four 15-minute chukkers were played, with a seven-minute break between each chukker. After the inaugural U.S. Open in 1904, the tournament was not played again until 1910, when it grew to include six teams. It resumed at Narragansett Pier, 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 Retama Polo Center in San Antonio, Texas. In the late 1980s and into the 1990s, the tournament circulated among several clubs throughout the United States, including Eldorado, Lexington, Palm Beach and Royal Palm. In 2004, marking one hundred years since the tournament’s inception, the U.S. Open relocated to IPC in Wellington, Florida where it has been held ever since.

GAUNTLET OF POLO^™

The elaborate design of the Gauntlet of Polo trophy with three horses represents the three tournaments guarding a tower that supports the Gauntlet logo with an inlaid onyx polo horse head to recognize our equine partner. We’re confident that through this prize, future generations of competitors, fans, media, and sponsors will recognize the sacrifice, skill, and commitment it takes to have your name inscribed on this trophy and be crowned the Gauntlet Champion.