World’s Best Polo Players Come Together To Benefit Injured And Ill Players And Grooms
The annual Lucchese 40-Goal Polo Challenge will return to the International Polo Club Palm Beach on Saturday, Feb. 16 to benefit the Polo Players Support Group, which has provided more than $2.5 million to 80 seriously injured or ill players and grooms.
While Wellington plays host to thrilling polo each winter season, it’s rare for spectators to have the opportunity to cheer on the top-ranked polo players in the world all in a single game. However, every year on the Saturday of President’s Day weekend, eight of the best players come together to play the highest-rated polo match in North America — the Lucchese 40-Goal Polo Challenge.
Hosted at the International Polo Club, the star-studded event is the marquee fundraiser for the Polo Players Support Group, a nonprofit charitable organization that provides financial assistance to seriously injured and ill players and grooms in the polo community. Since its inception in 2002, the PPSG has awarded assistance grants of more than $2.5 million to 80 players and grooms in need.
The inspiration for the organization was the 1995 injury to 8-goal polo player Rob Walton, who suffered a spinal cord injury from a polo-related accident in Malaysia. Arena polo benefits were held for Walton from 1997 through 1999, which led to the 2000 Outback 40-Goal benefit at Royal Palm Polo in Boca Raton.
The match was an outstanding success as a fundraiser and as a polo social event. It was then that Dave Offen, Tony Coppola and Tim Gannon founded the Polo Players Support Group to provide financial assistance to seriously injured or ill polo players and grooms. “The PPSG is here to help those members of our polo family who could have easily been forgotten,” Gannon said.
The Outback 40-Goal Challenge moved to International Polo Club Palm Beach in 2005. The event earned a reputation as a fun, casual charity event with great food and outstanding auction items, including the player’s jerseys, with Adolfo Cambiaso’s holding the record of $50,000.
In 2018, the Lucchese 40-Goal Polo Challenge raised more than $380,000. This year, the 2019 Lucchese 40-Goal Polo Challenge returns to the International Polo Club Palm Beach with the goal of raising $500,000.
“As awareness has grown, so has the demand for assistance grants,” Offen said. “Currently, the PPSG assists half a dozen players and grooms who will likely need help for the rest of their lives, which amounts to well over $100,000 per year.”
Offen is proud of his work with the organization.
“Being a co-founder and executive director of the PPSG has been the most rewarding experience in my life,” Offen said. “I have gotten to know players and, more specifically, grooms and their families, who I likely would never have met. I am very fortunate to get to know these people and be the recipient of their gratitude.”
This year’s event is dedicated to the grooms, who are integral to the sport of polo. In 2002, groom Ruben Repollo was stabbed eight times and survived, although that was just the beginning. Repollo’s story includes fellow grooms who looked after him and doctors who provided several pro bono surgeries.
Others, such as Justin Pimsner and Joi Rodriguez, survived horrible truck and trailer accidents, both requiring multiple surgeries and extensive rehab. Hector Machado was a groom who lost his battle with cancer. Hopefully, by January 2019, Luis Martinez will have had his kidney transplant and will be on his way to recovery after being diagnosed with chronic kidney disease. These and dozens of other examples were made possible by the charitable funds raised at the annual 40-Goal Polo Challenge.
Hot off the 2018 Argentine polo season, World No. 1 Adolfo Cambiaso, as well as the Pieres brothers, Gonzalito, Facundo and Nico, are expected to make their returns to the Lucchese 40-Goal Polo Challenge.
Cambiaso, a veteran of the sport and the charitable event, has participated in the 40-Goal Polo Challenge 16 times and is a steady crowd favorite. In 2018, the youngest of the Pieres polo dynasty, Nico Pieres, made his debut at the event. Proving to be a great rival on the field, Nico was awarded the Tito’s Handmade Vodka Longshot of the Day award.
“It is good fun and always a pleasure to play polo with these amazing players. It’s good to be a part of it,” Nico Pieres said.
Among other notable 10-goalers expected to return to the field in 2019 are Sapo Caset and Hilario Ulloa. Having been involved every year since 2012, Caset is committed to the greater purpose of his event.
“Dave Offen is the one behind all of this, and I think it’s a great idea to get all of the 10-goalers together to play an exciting exhibition match and help raise funds to support those in need,” Caset said. “This is all for charity, and it’s great that we do this to help players, grooms and other people around polo if they had an injury or are ill. I feel good to be a part of the event, and we should continue being involved in this way.”
For tickets, information or to make a donation, visit www.polosupport.com.
