Back-to-Back Champs Claim United States Arena Handicap Polo Victory

In recent arena polo competition, Prestonwood/Broken Taco stays on top with back-to-back winning streak.

HOUSTON, TX, UNITED STATES, March 19, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- On Sunday, December 15, the United States Arena Handicap concluded at Brookshire Polo Club in Brookshire, Texas. Played as a subsidiary to the U.S. Open Arena Polo Championship, reigning champions Prestonwood/Broken Taco (Vance Miller III, Andrew Scott, Vaughn Miller Jr.) saddled up against challengers Equus Hotel Waikiki/McFaddin Ranch (Tiamo Hudspeth, Devon Dailey, Steve Krueger). Relying on a strong connection forged through years of competition, Prestonwood/Broken Taco’s familiarity and determination propelled it to a second consecutive United States Arena Handicap title and $10,000 in prize money presented by U.S. Polo Assn.

Established in 2006, Brookshire Polo Club (BPC) in Brookshire, Texas, welcomes players of all levels looking for a family-friendly and casual atmosphere to share a love of polo, horses and the outdoors. Nestled between the pecan groves are four full-size polo fields, one full-size covered polo arena, three covered barns, multiple outdoor paddocks, a small swimming lake and a tennis court for recreational use. Brookshire Polo Club also proudly serves as one of four co-hosts of the Texas Arena League (TAL), uniting arena players from across the state. Located just 10 miles west of Katy, Texas, and 36 miles west of downtown Houston, BPC’s mission is to share its passion for polo with all people in a welcoming environment that promotes polo as a sport and family-friendly lifestyle.

“This win is fantastic! It’s a great tournament run by the USPA. It’s the second highest USPA arena tournament in the country and to get to put your name on that trophy and win it. We’re really happy to have a great subsidiary. Even though we didn’t get to be where we wanted to be, we still got to come here, have a good time and do something meaningful.”
– Vaughn Miller Jr., Prestonwood/Broken Taco.

Arena polo, also known as hockey on horseback, is a ball and mallet sport played on horseback. Arena polo is played in an enclosed arena with two goal mouths set into either end of the 300 by 150-foot dirt or sand arena. The game is played with teams of three players all mounted on horseback. All players are equipped with bamboo cane mallets and attempt to move the ball into their respective goals to rack up points.

Periods of play last for 7.5 minutes and are known as chukkers. At the end of a game, consisting of four chukkers, the team that has the highest number of goals wins. Teams must abide by all rules to ensure the safety of players and horses. Teams that commit any infraction upon these rules may be subject to penalty as dictated by the umpire officiating the match. Many players start off in arena polo during college, known as intercollegiate polo, and compete for a shot at the national title throughout their years of study. Several universities coast-to-coast host arena polo clubs for students of all experience levels. Though many clubs are co-ed, varsity men's and women's teams compete annually for a shot at their own national titles.

Finding success in multiple facets of the sport, the Miller brothers and Scott have earned multiple titles together, including the 2023 Division I Men’s National Intercollegiate Championship for the University of North Texas (UNT). After falling just short of reaching the semifinals of the 2023 U.S. Open Arena Polo Championship then winning the United States Arena Handicap, Miller III expressed Prestonwood/Broken Taco’s desire to return to the competition. “We knew last year after losing the Open and winning the Handicap we wanted to run it back with the same team. We’ve been preparing all year.” Sharing their strategy entering Sunday’s showdown, Miller III relayed, “We knew going into today’s game that Steve Krueger is one of the best arena players to play the game and one of the best, most experienced I/I [Intercollegiate/Interscholastic] players.”

2024 United States Arena Handicap Roster:
Bar-Spur LLC
Mark Osburn
Chad Bowman
Patrick Uretz

Traveller’s Rest
Juan Jose Gonzalez
Robert Orthwein
Nicolai Galindo

Prestonwood/Broken Taco
Vance Miller III
Andrew Scott
Vaughn Miller Jr

Equus Hotels Waikiki/McFaddin Ranch
Devon Dailey
Steve Krueger
Tiamo Hudspeth

Texas Arena League
James Glew
Ariel Mancebo
Niklaus Felhaber

Igniting the action, Equus Hotel Waikiki/McFaddin Ranch’s Krueger struck first, but two quick goals off the mallet of Scott established an early rhythm for Prestonwood/Broken Taco. Doubling their opponents in the first chukker, the team in green established a 4-2 edge. Three combined goals from Krueger and Dailey in the second period applied pressure, but the Miller brothers answered back, matching Equus Hotel Waikiki/McFaddin Ranch to maintain the lead 7-5 at the half.

Kicking off the third period with momentum, Equus Hotel Waikiki/McFaddin Ranch pulled ahead 8-7 with a goal from Hudspeth and a two-pointer from Krueger. After Miller Jr. and Krueger traded penalty goals, one final push from Scott ended the chukker tied 9-all. Driving the attack for Equus Hotel Waikiki/McFaddin Ranch, Krueger delivered a standout performance with five goals in the fourth chukker. “That was the whole challenge,” Scott shared. “Steve is an incredible player. Vance and I were trying to double team him and he was still getting away from us! We were working the whole time to get to him and make positive plays.” “We played our best horses in the end,” said Miller Jr. “In the arena you want a fast horse that can dive into the tight plays. With that being said, they weren’t quite calm on the penalty line, so we missed two easy penalties with horses that were squirrelly at the line.” Tied 14-all in the final moments of the match, Miller Jr. made the most of a missed Penalty 2, scrambling to regain possession and score the winning goal, 15-14 in favor of Prestonwood/Broken Taco.

Leading Prestonwood/Broken Taco with six goals in the final, Andrew Scott was named Most Valuable Player. “I love being back in Texas because I played intercollegiate here!,” said the MVP. The Sportsmanship Award was presented to Texas Arena League’s Luis “Ariel” Mancebo for his continued positive attitude, fairness and support for his peers.

The Best Playing Pony award in polo is given to the horse (pony) that is deemed to have performed the best during a match. It's a prestigious recognition since polo is a team sport where the relationship between player and pony is crucial to success. The award takes into account the pony's skill, agility, endurance, and overall performance during the game. It is a way of honoring the important role that the horses play in the sport as they are central to the players’ ability to execute maneuvers, control the ball, and maintain speed throughout play.

Best Playing Pony was awarded to Mariposa (Marisol x Lucero), played by Steve Krueger and owned by McFaddin Ranch. “I played her in the second half of the first chukker and the first half of the fourth,” said Krueger. “She’s a very complete mare, my style. Good size to her, has a really good mouth. Good power, there’s not much I can fault on that mare.” The Jockey Club Thoroughbred Incentive Program Best Playing Pony was awarded to Party with Marty, played and owned by Equus Hotel Waikiki/McFaddin Ranch's Devon Dailey.

In addition to the best playing pony award, The Galvin Agency Horse of the Match Award specifically honors the equine athletes that stand out for their exceptional performance during featured polo matches. Awards such as this shed recognition on the importance of polo ponies and their contribution at even the most rigorous levels of play.

Similarly, the PoloGear USA Player of the Match Award recognizes the individual player who has demonstrated outstanding skill, strategy, and performance throughout gameplay. Recipients of this award are recognized for their athletic contribution and showcase of ability in the sport of arena polo. The Galvin Agency Horse of the Match Awards and PoloGear USA Player of the Match Awards for the 2024 US Arena Handicap are listed as follows:

United States Arena Handicap Specialty Awards
Galvin Agency Horse of the Match:
Puma – Niklaus Felhaber
Sahara – James Glew
Sierra – Tiamo Hudspeth

Polo Gear USA Player of the Match:
Patrick Uretz
Steve Krueger
Andrew Scott
Steve Krueger

Looking forward to the future of Prestonwood/Broken Taco’s growing arena legacy, Miller III noted the ultimate goal for the two-time Arena Handicap champions, simply stating, “running it back next year and winning the Arena Open.”

The United States Arena Handicap is now available On-Demand. Guest commentator and arena legend Tom Goodspeed joins the broadcast alongside USPA Polo Network’s Toby Wayman, providing in-depth knowledge and insights into the sport.
The 2024 Arena Handicap Final can be viewed at the following web address:
https://youtu.be/yXAV-PFIfGs?si=a5uWhTvRuFvlRe0M

U.S. Polo Assn. is the official brand of the United States Polo Association (USPA), the largest association of polo clubs and polo players in North America, founded in 1890 and based at the USPA National Polo Center in Wellington, Florida. With a multi-billion-dollar global footprint and worldwide distribution through more than 1,100 U.S. Polo Assn. retail stores as well as thousands of additional points of distribution, U.S. Polo Assn. offers apparel, accessories, and footwear for men, women and children in more than 190 countries worldwide. Historic deals with ESPN and Star Sports in India now broadcast several of the premier polo championships in the world, sponsored by U.S. Polo Assn., making the thrilling sport accessible to millions of sports fans globally for the very first time.

U.S. Polo Assn. has consistently been named one of the top global sports licensors in the world alongside the NFL, NBA and MLB, according to License Global. In addition, the sport-inspired brand is being recognized internationally with awards for global and digital growth. Due to its tremendous success as a global brand, U.S. Polo Assn. has been featured in Forbes, Fortune, Modern Retail and GQ as well as on Yahoo Finance and Bloomberg, among many other noteworthy media sources around the world. For more information, visit uspoloassnglobal.com and uspashop.com, and follow @uspoloassn.

Robin Sanchez
US Arena Polo
+1 717-645-8778
robin@usarenapolo.com
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2024 Arena Handicap Finals