NEWS

Chosen to lead the U.S. Military Polo Team in 2006 to compete in the International Military Polo Tournament, decorated Lt. Colonel Steven Walsh, USMC, has served both his country and the military polo community well, actively working to ensure their future for over 25 years. Recognized for his dedication as a member of the USPA Armed Forces Committee to engage players with this traditional military sport, Walsh was honored with the 2018 General George S. Patton Jr. award which he will receive at the upcoming USPA Board of Governors And Annual Member Meeting at Oak Brook Polo Club in Oak Brook, Illinois. This national award is presented to the USPA member who has gone above the call of duty to create opportunities for military members and their families to become involved in the sport of polo.

An officer in the United States Marine Corps, Walsh began on the path to his distinguished career in early 1974 when he enlisted in the U.S. Navy. Serving in a variety of conventional and special operations assignments in Latin America, Europe, the Middle East and South West Asia, Walsh has been awarded the Bronze Star with “V” Device, the Navy Commendation Medal with “V” Device, the Purple Heart, and four combat action ribbons. In 1991 he was first introduced to polo while serving in El Salvador as a Senior Marine Advisor in the cavalry regiment during the Salvadoran Civil War. Schooling his officers with the objective of producing well-rounded riders, the regimental commander required them to participate in jumping, dressage and cross-country riding, later adding the team dynamic of polo. “I picked it up and really enjoyed it,” Walsh said of his first polo experience. “I thought it was a very traditional and exciting equestrian sport.” To express his appreciation for saving the country, local polo club owner Enrique Rice allowed Walsh to use the facilities and train with his 5-goal Argentine pro after the war ended.

Returning to the United States, Walsh had the opportunity to play in tournaments worldwide on the U.S. Military Polo Team from 1992 until his first retirement in 1999, leading teams to India, Chile, the United Kingdom and France. His polo career culminated in 2006 when Walsh was recalled to active duty to captain the U.S. Military Polo Team to Kano, Nigeria. “I feel very honored to have had that distinction,” Walsh shared. “I want to do whatever I can to recruit the next generation of players so we can keep the tradition of polo in the military and keep the spirit alive. I’m very blessed to receive this award.”

Most recently, he organized and ran the 2017 U.S. Military Polo Championships held at the Virginia Polo Center in Charlottesville, Virginia, where he also serves on the Board of Directors. Expanding the global polo community has been integral to Walsh’s mission both in active duty as well as retirement, functioning to connect more military families from all corners of the world with the game. “United States Military Polo is known around the world because of Steve’s constant, unrelenting effort while on active duty, to authorize, recruit active duty and reserve players, and arrange games with Foreign Nations Military, overseas and at military bases in this country,” fellow Armed Forces Committee member, Daniel Colhoun, expressed.

More than just a game, polo teaches strategy, teamwork and the ability to think and act quickly and decisively under pressure, all qualities highly valuable to military personnel. “We play polo in the U.S. military the same way that we fight wars,” Walsh revealed. “We don’t care if you’re an officer or enlisted, a man or a woman, so from that stand point it’s a good reflection of how we do joint operations. I think it also allows you to be an integral part of a very small team. It’s also a great family activity and unites different branches and services representing different military occupational specialties and puts them together to have some fun.” Preserving a piece of the military’s history, Walsh continues to be instrumental in supporting and leading the charge in this effort.

Along with Walsh’s announcement during the 2018 USPA/Polo Training Foundation (PTF) awards ceremony, Allen Hoe was presented with the 2017 General George S. Patton Jr. award at the International Polo Club Palm Beach in Wellington, Florida. Embodying a similar passion after serving in the Army as a combat medic during Vietnam, Hoe was unable to receive his award last year. “This is a significant milestone for me; being one of the original proponents of establishing the Armed Forces Polo Committee nearly a decade ago,” said Hoe, Armed Forces Committee member and club president of Honolulu Polo Club in Honolulu, Hawaii. “As a U.S. Army Vietnam Combat veteran and an admirer of General Patton, a man who has legendary accomplishments on the polo grounds here in Hawaii as well as on the battlefield, the recognition and award is very personal. The history of polo and its ties to the Army’s legacy in the formative years must not be lost on the young players of today.”