It is well documented that women have played the sport of polo for almost as long as it has been in existence, from references in 6th century Persian manuscripts to figurines from the Tang Dynasty. But it has not always been easy. When polo was first played in the United States, women played the sport but weren't officially recognized by the United States Polo Association.

An article in the March 1901 edition of the New York Times describes a game between two women's teams played in Aiken, South Carolina. One line reads, "... Those who rode 'man fashion' seemed quite at home." Mrs. Thomas Hitchcock captained the Reds while Miss Langhorn captained the winning Blues team. According to the report, the game attracted a large number of spectators.

Louis Hitchcock, the mother of the famous 10-goaler Thomas Hitchcock Jr., was an accomplished horsewoman and continued to encourage other women to play the sport she thoroughly enjoyed. She taught the game to the wives and children of her neighbors both on Long Island and in Aiken, and organized a junior polo club, offering polo to both boys and girls.

While Mrs. Hitchcock enjoyed polo as a past time and taught it to so many others, she was not recognized by the polo association. Several women were registered with the United States Polo Association, dating back to the 1920s when Pansy Ireland was listed. An article on the increased number of women playing on the Pacific Coast in the July 1935 edition of Polo Magazine indicated three women were registered with the United States Polo Association at the time. A month after the article came out, the USPA officially removed them from handicap roles, writing in its minutes that it was not the policy of the association to handicap women.

Women were denied membership until 1956 when Elizabeth Dailey was allowed to join. Some 15 years later, the names of Jorie Butler Kent, Sue Sally Hale and Virginia Merchant were given handicaps. Still, the idea of women playing was not embraced by everyone. A 1977 newspaper clipping from Chicago Tribune Magazine, shows how shocked the polo world was: "There may be one thing worse than death out in California. Someone named Sue Sally Hale has been given a 1-goal rating and is playing with the men's team out of Sleepy Hollow Polo Club in Carmel."

Later, when Hale went to 2-goals, she was the highest rated women player at the time. She encouraged and taught numerous women to play, not least her daughters Stormie and Sunny. Stormie reached a 2- goal handicap, while Sunny, at 5-goals, became the highest rated women player in the U.S. That rating has been matched by only one other woman, England's Claire Tomlinson. Sunny was also the first woman to win a U.S. Open when, in 2000, arguably the world's best player, Adolfo Cambiaso, asked her to play on the Outback team.

Sue Sally, Stormie and Sunny, together with Caroline Anier, won the first U.S. Women's Open at Empire Polo Club in Indio, California in 1990.

Following in her mother's footsteps, Sunny has blazed new trails for women in the sport. In 2005 Sunny founded the Women's Championship Tournament to increase the level of women's polo competition played in the U.S. and showcase the skill level and accomplishments of women players. Proud of the fact that her mother was one of the first women to be registered with the USPA after so many years of resistance, Sunny requires all WCT participants to be registered with the USPA.

I saw the need for a top-level tournament for women who wanted to compete against other women at the top of the sport that were at the top of their game or aspiring to be," explained Sunny. "Now, six years in, the concept and vision of the WCT, the enthusiasm the tournaments have created among players in sportsmanship and a general good time has inspired a lot of additional small businesses around the country as a result of people traveling to places they maybe wouldn't have without this unique opportunity. And on a note for all the gentleman out there thinking they may want to play, bring it on, but we may have costume requirements for you!"

Clubs around the country are encouraged to hold qualifier tournaments, with anyone who participates, regardless of win/loss results, eligible to compete in the national final held during the U.S. Open Championships in Florida. In the WCT's first year, four qualifiers were held. Last year, 17 qualifiers were held including four international qualifiers in Italy, Calgary, South Africa and Australia.

Since the WCT was founded, Sunny has seen tremendous growth not only in USPAsanctioned women's tournaments played at all levels but in the amount of women interested in playing women's polo as well. Women players have grown to 39 percent of the USPA membership.

When I started the first season of WCT, I don't think there was one ladies' tournament played above the 0- to 2-goal level sanctioned by the USPA. Today, the level of polo has improved, as have the skills and frequency women get together and compete. As [more] polo clubs add a WCT ladies tournament to their season schedules, the quality of games consistently improves, as was witnessed in the U.S. Women's Open held in Houston, Texas," said Sunny.

[Tournaments like the one played] in Houston help bring well-organized women's polo to a whole new level. Thanks to the quality of fields and very professional umpiring, the games were absolutely fantastic and wide open."

Growing up, Sunny always dreamed of playing in the highest level of the sport among the professionals. She dedicated her youth pursuing opportunities to improve and get her closer to her dream. When she was asked to play on teams with the likes of Cambiaso, she knew she had earned the opportunity to be there. She says she reached 5-goals by putting in the hard work, lots of practicing and not getting wrapped up in partying.

Sunny believes it is possible for more women to be handicapped over 2-goals. "There are a few gals out there that definitely have the talent. Time will tell if they are driven to do it. As women's polo becomes more visible through the WCT, and with the growth in international ladies' events, the will to do it will be turned up a notch."

In 2006 Sunny founded the American Polo Horse Association and holds an annual National Polo Pony Show for breeders, including several women, to showcase their horses. All the while Sunny has maintained her 5-goal arena rating, and a 3-goal rating outdoors, and tirelessly promotes women's polo around the world. She will introduce a WCT women's rating system this year, similar to the one used in Argentina.

After hearing from many clubs that wanted to hold WCT qualifiers, but only had an arena, Sunny decided to add an arena polo segment of the WCT. "I felt, why dilute the importance by just adding more tournaments, why not give arena its own separate venue to grow and promote the best arena talent and clubs, upcoming and existing," explained Hale. "As clubs become more aware of the concept and how easy it is to be a part of it, it may become even larger than the WCT outdoor season. Arena clubs with polo schools and collegiate teams now have a place to showcase what they have.

"I see it as huge, positive step to provide collegiate players a way to stay in polo during or after college. Currently we lose a lot of participation once they graduate. This should also help create more USPA sanctioned arena ladies tournaments."

Considering that 29 women's teams competed for the National Intercollegiate Championships and another eight girls teams played for the Girls' National Interscholastics, finding a way to hold on to some of these players after they graduate will certainly be a plus.

The first WCT arena final will be held at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California this March. Empire held an arena qualifier over Thanksgiving weekend with eight teams competing in two levels.

In the Women's B final, Fresh & Easy made it look easy as it downed Sutter Buttes 11-4. Kendra Clark had the hot stick for Fresh & Easy with a game-high seven goals.

The 0- to 3-goal level had Empire taking the honors in a close game over Ocean Mist. Empire gave Ocean Mist two goals on handicap but it didn't take long for Empire to even the score. It pounded in a total of six goals before the chukker ended. Heather Lake scored three goals, Carla Gallichote two and Roxy Keyfauver one.

When Empire scored a goal in the opening minute of the second chukker, it looked like Ocean Mist wouldn't have a chance. But, Ocean Mist bounced back with four unanswered goals to come within one, 7- 6, at the half. Julie Empey scored two while Savannah Broderick and Megan Judge each contributed one.

Judge traded goals with Gallichote early in the third but Gallichote split the uprights again and Keyfauver added another for Empire to pull ahead 10-7 going into the final period. Ocean Mist had another strong chukker, outscoring Empire 4-3, but it wasn't enough to take the trophies. Empire held on for the 13-11 win.

Hale is unsure how many teams will participate in the final in March, however she expects participation to grow each year as more clubs and players learn about it.

Sunny also was instrumental in bring back the U.S. Women's Open after two decades when it was played at the Houston Polo Club in Houston, Texas in November as part of the club's 17th Annual Ladies Championship Tournament. The Women's Open, played at the 4- to 6-goal level, saw Goose Creek, led by none other than Sunny Hale, defeat Ralph Lauren Blue Label. The event drew 16 women's teams playing in one of four levels.

Interest in women's polo continues to grow worldwide. The quality of games, team organizations and club support, crucial to the success of any good tournament, continues to improve as well.

Clubs are drawing more players and teams not just with the promise of competitive polo, but with top quality facilities, amazing parties and local tours. "In Singapore, they held an actual red carpet trophy presentation with the health minister, and that was after the St. Regis Hotel butlers delivered water to the mounted players at centerfield," said Sunny. "The WCT has become a season filled with polo destinations to play really fun and competitive polo where you meet a whole new group of friends at each stop.

This was my point in creating the WCT concept. What would the face of women's polo look like if I could create a way to network all of the female players I saw that wanted to play competitive women's polo, and it were played on the main fields during the main season with the sanctioning of each country's governing body," said Sunny.

A lot of gratitude is owed to John Goodman at International Polo Club, Tim Gannon and Phil Heatley at Outback Polo, and Tommy Lee Jones at San Saba Polo who were brave enough in the first year when I approached them to step up and support the idea with their main fields during the U.S. Open. That support has helped change the face of women's polo forever. It raised the bar among host clubs to make sure they have the best party or local entertainment, such as surfing, golf, stampedes, costume parties, or the like, planned during the event."

It is not unusual for the high-goal male professionals to come out and support the WCT final, watching the action from the sidelines. The participants are treated to several social events and receive armfuls of gifts, including shirts, equipment bags, trophies and more.

Women have also made dramatic inroads in Argentina's polo community, which has traditionally seen the women delegated to the sidelines. Due to the growing popularity of women's polo, and the fact that many of the women were not rated with the Argentine Polo Association, a separate women's handicap system was created.

The idea is catching on around the world. As a matter of fact, the WCT has been assisting the polo association in France with its ladies' handicap system so that it will match the one being unveiled in 2012 for WCT tournaments," explained Sunny. "Deciding to go ahead with [a WCT rating system] was due to the fact that I had the ability through the WCT to provide the opportunity for women, who may never otherwise move up in handicap their entire career because of a compression issue across the board, to be able to achieve a 0-10 rating among their female peers worldwide. What an opportunity to walk away from if I did nothing," said Sunny.