Historically the sport of polo has been highly male dominated. Due to the fact that polo was brought to western society as a way to train cavalry units early in the 19th century, men were the only people who were able to benefit from the growing popularity of the sport. Therefore, the United States Polo Association didn’t officially include women until 1972 even with the U.S. Open Women’s Polo Championship dating back to the 1930s. Prior to this acceptance, female players like Sue Sally Hale were known to dress as men in order to compete alongside their male counterparts in various early polo competitions. Because of the diligent efforts of players like Hale who believed that all women should have the chance to play polo, today’s female players have been able to carry on her vision and continue to raise the bar for all competitors across the world.
Women’s Polo Today
The U.S. Open Women’s Polo Championship is one of the oldest women’s tournaments and one of the most prestigious cups in the United States. This tournament nearly fell away with the onset of World War two due to so many women dedicating their time to the jobs left behind by the men who went to the war effort. But the tournament survived and was reinstated in the early 1990s at the Empire Polo Club in California. The competition later moved to Florida and has been played there since 2019 at the Port Mayaca Polo Club with the final in Wellington, Florida at the USPA National Polo Center-Wellington.
This tournament always brings out the most talented female players from across the globe with the most recent winner being team Buena Vibra whose player, Valentina Tarazona, broke the long held record of youngest player to win the tournament at only 13 years old. The original record setter for the youngest player to win the tournament was set by Hope Arellano at the age of 14 in 2017.
Arellano is also known for being the first woman to compete for the U.S. in the FIP World Polo Championship and was integral to bringing the USA team to the international polo stage, and becoming the first American to win the Argentine Women’s Open in 2023.
This year’s victory for Buena Vibra is the perfect testament to the efforts made by players in the past to increase the growth and awareness of the sport, which has had a successful impact on the next generation of athletes.
Recent Accomplishments
Beyond the accomplishments fostered in historic women’s polo tournaments, female players are also working to establish more clubs and associations to continue the rise in popularity around equestrian sports.
A critical piece of this effort came in 2018 when the Federation of International Polo invited female players to serve as representatives for their countries to continue the growth of polo on a global scale.
Since the extension of this invitation, the United States representative, Dawn Jones, a polo powerhouse on and off the field, has made considerable efforts to help FIP push for a Women’s Cup of the Nations in order to create the global waves that the Polo Nations Cup has had.
These efforts and the continued support from female players across the globe has resulted in more female students registering as USPA polo members than male students, which represents the bright future for women’s polo that so many iconic women’s polo pioneers fought for.
Written in collaboration with Lily Brennan