Team USPA was created to identify talented and motivated young players from around the country and offer them opportunities to enhance their skills in an effort to sustain the sport and grow the next generation of American polo players. The association provides these individuals with mentoring, training, networking and playing opportunities. They in turn use their newly honed skills at clubs across the country, not only helping to enhance the level of polo at these clubs, but sharing their skills with participants in junior programs and clinics, umpiring and organizing.

Members of Team USPA have benefitted greatly from the opportunities provided to them through this program. It is evident in the numerous trophies members of Team USPA are adding to their collections. The most recent win came in the 12-goal USPA National Copper Cup, which dates back to 1975 and has the names of many prominent polo families etched in its base, including Bostwick, Fortugno, Biddle, Walton and Orthwein.

For the last two years, the honor of winning the Copper Cup has gone to Team USPA members 4-goal Nick Snow and 3- goal Will Tankard. This year, the pair teamed up with 4-goal John Gobin and 1- goal Joe Meyer on the High Ground team. The team battled three other quartets over 10 days to reach the final on October 27. The final pitted them against Skaneateles after both teams ended with 3-1 records.

High Ground's only loss had been to Skaneateles, 9-8, just two days prior. But High Ground managed to flip the score when it counted most, edging Skaneateles 9- 8 for the victory.

John Gobin, who has mentored Team USPA members in other events such as the FIP World Cup, led the team with five goals and took MVP Pro, while Joe Meyer took MVP Amateur. Meyer's pony Sweetwater took Best Playing Pony Amateur while Pelone Escapite's Madonna took Best Playing Pony Pro.

Snow, an inaugural member of Team USPA, credits the win to preparation and teamwork. "Our team spent time together away from the field watching game tapes, discussing different strategies and making horse lists to prepare for each team we played. I have also played with Will, John and Joe on many other teams and I believe this chemistry proved to be an important aspect of our success."

Snow and Tankard also had success in the 12-goal National Chairman's Cup this summer at Myopia Polo Club.

Meyer said, "These young Americans just need an opportunity to play medium- and high-goal polo so they can improve, others can see them and then they will get a chance to play more medium- and high- goal polo. That is what I have tried to do when I have helped young professionals like Nick, Mason [Wroe], Neil [Osburg] and now Will."

Other Team USPA members have found themselves on the winning stage as well. Jesse Bray won the 12-goal Intra-Circuit Cup this summer in Santa Barbara with Jonathan Burrows' Can-Can team and the 12-goal Vic Graber with Antelope; Patrick Uretz, Kylie Sheehan and Isabella Wolf won the National Intercollegiate Championship in April; and Felipe Viana celebrated a 20- goal victory with George Rawlings' Crab Orchard team in the Joe Barry Memorial at International Polo Club early this year.

The success of members of Team USPA is shared by many. Just as important as the wins are the 69 polo clubs across the country that had Team USPA members playing with them.

The preparation and teamwork needed to have success on the field is also true for critical areas of polo development off the field, such as organizing and teaching polo clinics, raising the level of club umpiring and training young horses.

These clubs have experienced emerging players who are knitted into the fabric of the clubs giving back to the sport by sharing horsemanship and other polo skills that Team USPA mentors like Julio Arellano, Jeff Hall, Owen Rinehart, Adam Snow, Hector Galindo and many others instill in these young professionals.

Tom Skaggs, delegate of the Tacoma Polo Club in Tacoma, Washington credits Team USPA player Lucas Reid for many dimensions of overall improvement in his circuit this year.

He explained, "We were lucky to have Lucas Reid in the Pacific Northwest this summer. His impact was felt in so many facets of our circuit. Sometimes, we feel detached from the rest of the polo world as we are geographically so far removed from the polo centers like California and Florida. We look forward to more players like Lucas. Around here, the term Team USPA has become synonymous with a player who represents the sport with poise and class."

Team USPA players like Isabella Wolf in Aiken, South Carolina; Kylie Sheehan in Sheridan, Wyoming; and Nick Snow and Will Tankard in Boston, Massachusetts ran polo programs in their areas and helped improve polo at their local clubs.

Players like Jared Sheldon, Patrick Uretz, Josh Shelton, Jesse Bray, Steve Krueger, Mason Wroe, Neil Osburg, Jake Stimmel and many more conducted Junior Clinics throughout the United States this year, working side by side with USPA instructors and mentors in a concerted effort to grow the sport.

Kris Bowman, who leads the Team USPA program with Charles Smith and Amanda Snow, said, "I believe that the entire membership, as well as polo club managers and team organizers, are responsible for cultivating our young American players and giving them opportunities.

We saw the drastic decline in high-goal American players five years ago and we put rules and programs in place to support them. We have had great leadership from the older American pros, as well as dedicated affiliate players, and most importantly from the USPA membership. It seems that everyone has gotten behind the movement. There is more that we can do together, and we have a long way to go, but we are on the right path. We are beginning to see the resurgence and we all need to roll up our sleeves and give a hand-up to the deserving players in order to make a difference!"

It is clear, the USPA investment in these young players is beginning to pay off, not just in the number of trophies these players are amassing but in the number of players and clubs across the country benefitting from their time and talents.