Mounting up and participating in a polo match is preferred over merely pulling up a chair to watch others play. But if you had to watch, what would be your dream match? It likely would be some combination of the handful of 10-goalers in the world, past or present. So, that is why the Outback 40-goal Challenge continues to be the premier game of the year in the United States, attracting polo players and fans from across the United States and the world..

The Outback 40-goal Challenge is a benefit match for the Polo Players Support Group, founded by player Dave Offen. Offen, rated 5 goals outdoors and 8 goals in the arena, realized the need for a way to help seriously injured players when his friend and fellow player, former 8- goaler Rob Walton, was bucked off a horse while playing in a match in Malaysia in 1995. The resulting injuries left Walton paralyzed from the neck down. In an instant, Walton, known for his aggressive, never-say-die playing style, went from one of the best American players in the world to a patient struggling to survive.

Often, the perception of polo players, especially those at the highest levels of the sport, is that of wealthy playboys without a care in the world. The reality is there is a great expense to play polo and there are a large number of professional players who, in an effort to cut back, do not carry health insurance. This despite the great risk of injury associated with the sport.

With Walton unable to work and medical expenses mounting, Offen got together with others involved in the sport, including Tony Coppola, another friend of Walton’s, to hold a benefit match in 2000. They decided to organize a 40-goal event, featuring all the best players in the world. At the time, 40-goal matches had only been held twice before, in 1975 in Argentina and 1990 in Indio, California. When Offen contacted 10-goal players to see if they would be willing to help, they, and others, were eager to do so. Tom and Jack Oxley offered the use of their Royal Palm Polo Sports Club and Outback’s Tim Gannon offered to provide food.

The match more than met everyone’s expectations. The players put on a great show, and nearly $150,000 was raised. At the trophy presentation, Tom Oxley surprised Walton with a check for an additional $100,000.

Offen realized Walton would not be the last player to need financial help. This knowledge inspired him to form the Polo Players Support Group, a non-profit organization, as a vehicle to raise money for seriously ill and injured players and grooms. In 2002, the PPSG held the Outback 40- goal Rob Walton Challenge, again at the Royal Palm Polo Sports Club in Boca Raton, as its kickoff event. Gannon again donated the food. The following year it was renamed the Outback 40-goal Challenge, and it has been held annually since then. The venue was changed to International Polo Club Palm Beach in 2005. Since its inception, the Polo Players Support Group has assisted 25 players and grooms. An average of five or six new people receive assistance each year, and new applications have already been received this year.

Many of those who have been helped, like Walton, are well-known to the players who compete. Cambiaso’s half-brother Salvador Socas received financial assistance when he suffered a serious head injury in a polo accident a few years ago. Others who have been helped include former 9-goal player Esteban Panelo, whose head injury effectively ended his professional career; player Miguel Torres, groom Patricia Torres and umpire Bobby Barry, who all battled cancer; groom Ruben Repollo, who survived multiple stab wounds; and several other players and grooms whose broken bones, illnesses and injuries kept them out of work for extended periods.

To retain non-profit status, Internal Revenue Service regulations require awards to be proportionate across the board. Offen explains: “The money awarded must be based on medical criteria. It’s not a popularity contest. We can’t discriminate based on whether we like someone better than another.” Those in need apply for assistance through the Polo Players Support Group. The group’s board of directors, which consists of Gannon, Coppola, Ginny Orthwein, Todd Offen, David Offen and Brendon Moriarty, review applications that qualify for assistance, considering them on a case-by-case basis and decide how much assistance they will be awarded. The group does not provide money to pay for medical expenses, as one injury could effectively wipe out the fund. “We are not health-insurance replacement,” Offen says. “We help them survive while dealing with an injury or illness.” The group provides financial assistance for living expenses for those unable to work. The money might be used for mortgage payments, rent, truck payments or even to feed horses until a player can get back on his feet.

For the past several years Offen has scheduled the event the day after the Museum of Polo and Hall of Fame induction ceremony so visitors can come in for an exciting, polo-filled weekend. A delicious VIP dinner provided by Outback and silent and live auctions follow the match. Offen has done a remarkable job securing great auction items, which have helped raise impressive amounts of money for the cause. While $285,000 was raised in 2006, more than $400,000 was raised in 2007 and another $375,000 was brought in this year.

This year’s auction items included a box for the Kentucky Derby; a catered dinner for 100 from Outback Steakhouse; a Belleau Farm duck hunt; an Escape Ranch hunt; a dream-team match, where two bidders play with three 10-goal players; a week in Argentina for two with 10-goal Mariano Aguerre; a luxury apartment in Buenos Aires for a week; a future 10’s Game, where six lucky kids play a match with a 10-goaler on each team; a large collection of original artwork; jewelry; and polo equipment.

Cambiaso’s jersey is always a hot item. This year Las Monjitas patron Camilo Bautista was the high bidder at $9,000. He immediately donated it back to be auctioned off again, which brought in another $6,000. Aguerre’s week in Argentina was drawing so much attention he donated another week. The two weeks brought in more than $50,000. The Kentucky Derby package brought in an impressive $18,000.

The players continue to eagerly donate their time to participate in the match as a way to show off their skill and play without the pressure of holding together a team. “It’s a great cause,” said Mike Azzaro. “It’s a great opportunity to play with great players and raise money for a great cause.”

The match pits teams of players, all of whom hold a 10-goal rating somewhere in the world, against each other. Five of the players are rated 10 goals in the United States: Aguerre, Miguel Novillo Astrada, Cambiaso, Sebastian Merlos and Facundo Pieres. Gonzalo Pieres Jr. and Pablo MacDonough are 9 goals in the United States but 10 goals in Argentina, and American Mike Azzaro is 9 goals in the United States but holds a 10-goal handicap in England.

The Crab Orchard team of Cambiaso, Gonzalo Pieres, Astrada and Azzaro took on EFG Bank’s Facundo Pieres, Merlos, MacDonough and Aguerre. Professional umpires Rick Sears and Kevin Fawcett donated their services for the match. Coppola announced the match and served as auctioneer during the live auction.

Crab Orchard jumped ahead by two in the first period, but EFG bounced back with three unanswered goals in the second. EFG kept up the momentum in the third to end the half ahead 5-3. Crab Orchard came alive after the halftime break, scoring four unanswered goals to take the lead. EFG tied the match at 7 all after the fifth. Crab Orchard broke the tie early in the sixth. Trailing by one, Facundo Pieres scored two goals in a row to put EFG Bank ahead once again. But with less than two minutes left, Cambiaso split the uprights to tie the score. Gonzalito Pieres sealed the 10-9 victory for Crab Orchard in the waning moments of the match to give the team its second win in as many years. “It’s good, but I think it’s better to put the winning goal in the U.S. Open,” joked Pieres of his game-winning shot.

Facundo Pieres led all scorers with six goals for ERG, while Mike Azzaro led Crab Orchard with three. Azzaro and Crab Orchard’s Miguel Novillo Astrada were both named most valuable players, while Cambiaso’s chestnut horse, Cicatriz was honored as best playing pony.

This fund-raiser has consistently been more successful than most any other polo benefit. Offen says: “People think it is a good cause. The fact that 10-goalers generously donate their services without receiving a penny impresses people. And when they see that 25 different people have been helped, they realize the money is being used for what is advertised. Awareness builds within the polo family with the more people it touches. Every time we help someone new, those close to them become believers and supporters.”

The event continues to be a success thanks also to the number of people who volunteer their time, talents and services