Grand Champions Polo Club will host the prestigious International Cup pitting England against Team USA, Sunday, Nov. 25th at 3 p.m.
It is the first time the six-year-old polo facility has hosted a major international men’s game.
The 20-goal men’s championship game features some of the top players from England and the U.S. The international game is sanctioned by both the United States Polo Association and Hurlingham Polo Association.
The U.S. will field a 19-goal lineup that features 8-goal rated player Nic Roldan; 7-goaler Jeff Hall; 3-goaler Carlos Gracida Jr. and 1-goaler Marc Ganzi.
The British roster includes Jack Richardson, ranked at 4 goals; Max Routledge, 5 goals; Tom Morley, 6 goals and Richard Le Poer, 5 goals.
A women’s seven-goal game between the U.S. and England will be held before the men’s game at 1 p.m.
The opening game of the polo doubleheader will feature some of the world’s top polo players including Brit Nina Vestey Clarkin, rated at 4 goals and regarded as the world’s top women’s player.
The U.S. women’s roster reads like a Who’s Who is women’s polo with Sunny Hale, rated at 3 goals; Gillian Johnston, 1.5 goals; Tiffany Busch, 1.5 goals and Melissa Ganzi, 0-goal, and co-host of the holiday weekend event along with her husband.
In May, 2011 Grand Champions hosted the U.S. women playing the British Armed Forces team where Hale, Busch, Lauren Biddle and Ganzi knocked off the men’s team.
Grand Champions Polo Club is fast becoming one of the nation’s top polo venues.
The six-year-old club was built by Marc and Melissa Ganzi.
It’s been a labor of love for the Ganzi family to have a polo club in their backyard to not only enable their top-level polo teams, Audi and Piaget, to practice on, but to watch their children, Grant and Riley, grow up playing polo.
“We started Grand Champions to have off-season polo during the academic year for our children in order for them to stay in school,” said Ganzi, one of the sport’s top women players.
“We wanted to stay home with our kids and we also wanted to play polo year-round, so we play all of May here and October and November.”
The club features two regulation-size polo fields (each big enough to fit nine football fields), room in the middle for stick-and-ball practice, restrooms and plenty of room for tailgating, parking and horse trailers.
The club has a relaxed atmosphere and an easily accessible location near the intersection of Lake Worth Road and South Shore Boulevard. Fans and locals come to watch and play in weekend tournaments. Families with kids and dogs on leashes are always welcome.
“It’s like having a baseball or football field in your backyard only better,” Ganzi said.
Grand Champions Polo also hosts the annual Women’s Championship Tournament; Gay Polo League Tournament; Challenge Cup; Spring Classic; USPA Eastern Challenge; USPA Sun Cup and USPA National Twenty-Goal Championship Tournament that concluded on Sunday with Audi (Marc Ganzi, Carlos Gracida, Nic Roldan and Carlos Gracida Jr.) defeating Piaget (Melissa Ganzi, Jeff Hall, Juan Bollini and Juan Badiola) 10-9 for the title. Audi won the 20-goal USPA North America Cup a week earlier.
Melissa Ganzi, board member and vice president of the Board of Directors for the National Museum of Polo and Hall of Fame in Lake Worth, said all proceeds from the international polo doubleheader will benefit the museum and its expansion plans for a new annex.
USPA International Cup
England vs. United States
Players from Hurlingham Polo Association and United States Polo Association compete to win the coveted International Cup.
Proceeds to benefit The National Museum of Polo & Hall of Fame, a non-profit educational organization, dedicated to fostering an appreciation of the development, history and tradition of the sport of polo by collecting, preserving, exhibiting and interpreting its collections as well as honoring those who have made outstanding contributions to the sport.
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Fast Facts:
Where: Grand Champions Polo Club
Located at the corner of Lake Worth Road and South Shore Boulevard
When: Sunday, November 25, 2012
Time: 1:00 Women’s Match-United States vs. England
3:00 Men’s Match-United States vs. England
For Tickets: Call (561)644-5050 or go to gcpoloclub.com
$20 General Admission Includes admission for one carload and a field side view of the exciting polo match between the USA and UK. Be sure to bring your own seating. The gourmet food truck, Stocked N Loaded, with delicious snacks and drinks will be at the field, and tented seating will be available to enjoy your meal.
$200 Reserved Tailgate Space includes admission for one carload and a field side view of the exciting polo match between the USA and UK. Reserved Tailgate Space comes with a 10 X 10 tent, but be sure to bring your own table and chairs. A gourmet food truck with delicious snacks and drinks will be at the field, and tented seating will be available to enjoy your meal.
$250 Reserved Museum Tailgate Space includes admission for one carload and a field side view of the exciting polo match between the USA and UK. Reserved Tailgate Space comes with a 10 X 10 tent, one table and 4 chairs. A gourmet food truck with delicious snacks and drinks will be at the field, and tented seating will be available to enjoy your meal.
VIP Pavilion Tickets:
- $150 Single Ticket Includes single VIP admission ticket to the comfortable Grand Champions Lounge with a field side view of the exciting polo match between the USA and UK. Enjoy specialty cocktails and fabulous bites from Oli’s Fashion Cuisine, and relax to the DJ music.
- $250 Couples Ticket Includes two VIP admission tickets to the comfortable Grand Champions Lounge with a field side view of the exciting polo match between the USA and UK. Enjoy specialty cocktails and fabulous bites from Oli’s Fashion Cuisine, and relax to the DJ music.
- $1,000 Corporate Sponsor Includes table and 8 VIP admission tickets to the comfortable Grand Champions Lounge with a field side view of the exciting polo match between the USA and UK. Enjoy specialty cocktails and fabulous bites from Oli’s Fashion Cuisine, and relax to the DJ music.
Sponsorships: Available by calling (561)644-5050 or email mbg@phelpsmediagroup.com
Sponsors:
Grand Champions Polo Club
Braman Audi, Palm Beach
Champagne Perrier-Jouet
Hurlingham Polo Association
Gay Polo League
International Polo Club Palm Beach
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Museum of Polo & Hall of Fame
Nespresso
Palm Beach Illustrated
Piaget
Phelps Media Group, Inc. International
Polo Gear USA
Tiffany & Co., Palm Beach
Tito’s Handmade Vodka
Oli’s Fashion Cuisine
United States Polo Association
The Wanderers Club
www.wanderersclubwellington.com
Wellington Preservation Coalition
www.wellingtonpreservationcoalition.org
