National Arena Delegate's Cup Champions Reclaim Arena Polo Title Two Years Running

"Roxstars" arena polo team earns USPA National Arena Delegate's Cup championship title for second year in a row.

AUSTIN, TEXAS, USA, April 30, 2024 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Spanning across three months of competition, the National Arena Delegate’s Cup hosted by Brookshire Polo Club (Brookshire, Texas) came to a close on Friday, March 15, at Dripping Springs Ranch Park Event Center and Arena. Concluding a jam-packed Texas Arena League (TAL) schedule, reigning champions Roxstars (Roxy Mounter, Megan Flynn, Shane Rice) went head-to-head against Bar-Spur LLC (Mark Osburn, Stephanie Colburn, Chad Bowman).

Arena polo, sometimes referred to 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” or “chukkas”. 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. Arena polo is a unique sport because men and women and players of all ages compete on the same teams and on the same field of play. With highly trained, athletic horses as the most important teammates, the action is fast and reaction times are quick. The arena aspect brings the action up close to spectators who can feel the thunder of hooves and hear the players communicate with their teammates.

Starting in 2018, Texas Arena League (TAL) has expanded exponentially in team participation, spectator attendance and locations across the state of Texas. With the addition of two United States Polo Association (USPA) national tournaments to the roster of events, TAL is experiencing a level of prestige and participation that makes the league the biggest polo event outside of the nationwide collegiate and interscholastic competition.

Every Friday over the course of four weeks, the 6- to 9-goal tournament featured three games played across multiple locations including Legends Polo Club (near Dallas) and San Antonio Rose Palace, Brookshire Polo Club (near Houston) and Dripping Springs Ranch Park (near Austin). After 3 rounds of preliminary play between Christian Brothers (Kylie Matthews, Garrett Bankhead, Tiamo Hudspeth), Bar-Spur LLC (Mark Osburn, Stephanie Colburn, Chad Bowman), La Luna Polo (Oscar Chacon, Johann Felhaber, August Scherer), Texas A&M (Victor Aguilar, Zak Coleman, Aiden Meeker, Will Mudra), Prestonwood (Marcus Murphy, Joss Leufrancois, James Glew) and Roxstars (Roxy Mounter, Megan Flynn, Shane Rice). Texas A&M, Bar-Spur and Roxstars were each tied with 3-0 records. Based on tournament conditions, the tie was broken on net goals, sending the reigning National Arena Delegate’s Cup champions Roxstars up against a proven Bar-Spur LLC team.

Striking quickly, Bar-Spur’s Stephanie Colburn found the goal mouth. Putting up a strong effort on both sides of the ball, Rice gave the Roxstars a 4-3 lead at the end of the first chukker. Chad Bowman kept Bar-Spur in striking distance, but a pair of two-pointers from Rice in the second chukker allowed for Roxstars to maintain a 9-7 edge at halftime.

Detailing Roxstars’ strategy, Rice noted, “To get all three players on our team involved and exploit mismatches [that] I could take advantage, or if I could draw two people, then the girls could take advantage of that opportunity.”

Commenting on the strength of the competition, Roxy Mounter added, “When I tried to take Stephanie or Mark, it was a lot of work; they are strong players.”

Colburn struck first to begin the second half, bringing Bar-Spur within one goal. As Bar-Spur began to gain momentum, Roxstars responded with three goals from the penalty line. Bowman was able to counter from the field, but two additional goals by Megan Flynn pulled Roxstars further ahead
14-11.

In the fourth and final chukker, Bowman hit a momentum shifting two-pointer for the team in blue. Hanging onto a one-goal lead, Mounter and Flynn put their defensive skills into overdrive allowing Rice to score four more goals and seal the 17-13 win.

Celebrating her second consecutive National Arena Delegate’s Cup title Megan Flynn expressed, “This is the only time of year I get to play with Roxy and Shane, and I knew it would be the last year we could play together with the upcoming handicap changes. It was really special for me.”

Roxy Mounter added, “It’s an awesome feeling, I want to keep it going.”

Leading Roxstars in scoring, Shane Rice was awarded Galvin Agency’s Most Valuable Player. The Cavalor Sportsmanship Award was presented to Mark Osburn for his continued positive attitude, fairness and support for his peers on and off the field.

Lucy, a 17-year-old thoroughbred mare played and owned by Chad Bowman received the  Nutrena Best Playing Pony award. “[She’s a] thoroughbred that never raced,” said Bowman, “she’s powerful and explosive. Anytime I need to make a run or try to get away from someone, she’s gone.”

The Jockey Club Thoroughbred Incentive Program Best Thoroughbred was awarded to Piñata played by Shane Rice. “Piñata is a horse that you need to know the arena game to utilize her specialties,” noted Rice, “I have a lot of trust in her which allows me to make more plays and try more things than the normal horse.”

Sharing the excitement of competing in the 6- to 9-goal event, Chad Bowman stated, “To think that TAL pulls in that kind of competition is great, it helps put TAL on the map.”

Mark Osburn added, “Chad and Stephanie are both first class people in and out of the arena! I loved playing with them. Chad is so good at giving his team confidence in themselves that Steph and I were able to do more for the team than we thought we could, or at least more than I thought I could. I think that his ability to get us to believe in ourselves helped get us to the finals. As for our opponent’s strengths, I mean it’s the National Arena Delegates Cup, we didn’t play any team that wasn’t strong. I feel like any of the games could’ve gone either way, but I’m glad we got as far as we did. Wish we could have beat the Roxstars but the chips didn’t fall that way.”

Lastly, Stephanie Colburn shared, “It is always an honor to be able to participate in a national USPA tournament and it gives TAL further prestige. I absolutely loved being a part of team Bar-Spur this season. Mark and Chad are excellent teammates, and I would readily sign up to play another season with them! Our team was well mounted, determined, worked hard for each other, communicated well, were positive, and respected each other.”

All photos courtesy of ©David Murrell.

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