by Danny Scheraga
Robin Wants You!
Early Bird Special At Brushy Creek
Robin Sanchez can’t wait for the 2009 camp season at Brushy Creek. There will be six one week sessions in June and July followed by two more weeks in late August. She’s also planning two family camps on Memorial and Labor Day weekends. The $995 Early Bird special deadline for prepaid enrollment has been extended until April 1, 2009. The regular camp fee is $1200.
Brushy creek is a self contained operation with a bunk house, arena and an outdoor field. Students are immersed in polo for the five days they attend camp including lectures, video review, on horse instruction and lots of polo. Past attendees have gone on to excel in both interscholastic and intercollegiate tournaments. At a recent National Intercollegiate Tournament, eighty percent of the players had attended Brushy Creek Camp.
Robin would also be happy to set up specialty camps during school vacations or weekend clinics for anyone interested in furthering their polo education. For more information contact Robin directly by phone: 817-645-8778 or email: robin@pololessons.com.
South Florida Umpire Clinic
Bob Stuerzebecher Instructor
There is still time to register for the PTF Umpire Clinic taught by Bob Stuerzebecher at the Vero Beach Polo Club in Vero Beach Florida. These week-long clinics are a wonderful opportunity for rated umpires wishing to improve their skills, people interested in learning the art of umpiring, and players who want to enhance their understanding of the rules to better themselves as players.
Clinics will be held at the Vero Beach Polo Club in Florida every week through April 4, 2009. Students should plan to arrive on Sunday in time for the 2 PM game. Each clinic ends on the following Sunday afternoon.
The clinic objectives are:
* To help club umpires gain knowledge and experience needed to pass the current USPA Rules test and to improve field judgment through study and practice of the latest rules and umpire procedures.
* To help players gain knowledge of when they can legally make a play, which plays they should avoid, and when they should move on to make the next play.
Objectives will be accomplished through:
* Classroom study Monday and Tuesday, 8 AM until Noon
* Practice umpiring one or two games on Wednesday (subject to weather and club schedule)
* Observing professional umpires at work officiating high goal games in Wellington on Thursday, as well as critiquing high goal players throughout these matches.
* Review and critique performance, summarize progress and make plans for continuing experience
Clinic preparation and what to bring:
Decide what you want to get out of the clinic.
Ride as much as possible (later, you'll be glad you did).
Read the 2009 USPA Rules (available on the USPA website).
Bring your boots, white pants, helmet and whistle.
Optional: umpire shirt, pick up stick and ball bag.
Umpire horses are provided.
Clinic fee is $350 paid to PTF with a check or credit card prior to clinic participation.
For more information, contact the PTF Office at: (888)783-7656 or
Bob Stuerzebecher at (561)386-3991. When you have selected a week, he can send directions to the Vero Beach Club, where to meet him, a list of motels and a complete schedule for the clinic.
Remember: 'If it's training and/or teaching a clinic, it's the Polo Training Foundation'
Florida Junior Polo
The Florida Junior Polo season kicked off with a registration day December 28 at the Gulfstream Club House, followed by the Major Collin Coaching league and tournament. Will Johnston has ably taken over and brought fresh ideas and enthusiasm to the program. Will added a new twist to the Major Collin week. George and Brenda DuPont graciously hosted the young players at the Polo Museum and Hall of Fame. The junior players played a trivia game. They were given a questionnaire in which all the answers could be found in the museum. This was followed by a rules clinic taught by USPA Head of Umpire Services Rick Sears. Players are divided up into groups by ability starting with lead-line, followed by walk –trot which is affectionately called walker –trotter, and then intermediate and advanced.
Twenty-nine players participated in the tournament. There were three teams in the advanced division and two in each of the other divisions. They advanced group played a round robin(advanced teams Tackeria, La Martina, and Nanos Mallets). Tackeria won(Mathew Cappola, Lauren Biddle, Andres and Alejandro Gonzalez). Horsemanship award went to Matt Cappola. Sportsmanship award went to Merral Echezarreta, and Best team player went to Miguel Montolvo . In the intermediate group we had El Sur play Yaloak Estate. Yaloak won. Horsemanship award went to Brinkley Erb. Sportsmanship went to Peter Yunghanns, and best team player went to Ayaan Quraeshi.
Special thanks to, Marla Connor, Perry Palmer, Robin Sanchez, Tommy Biddle, Henry Stevens, Carlucho Arellano, Clarissa Echezarreta, Diego Gonzalez, Patricia Yunghanns, and Leighann Fisher.
Umpire Instruction
Head Umpire Instructor Steve Lane will again spend January through March at the Eldorado Polo Club training their club umpires as well as offering umpire instruction to the membership. To plan spring and summer clinics contact Steve by phone: 352-454-6611, or email: slpolo9@aol.com.
Youth Clinics
Wilbur O’Ferrall continues to be available to teach youth clinics from the junior level (up to 14 years of age) through the interscholastic and intercollegiate levels. There is no charge for Wilbur’s time, but the host club is asked to pick up his travel expenses as well as housing, feeding and transporting him while at the clinic. To host such a clinic, contact Wilbur by phone: 617-645-8715 or email: wofpolo@aol.com.
Eldorado Fund Raiser
The thirteenth annual PTF fund raiser will be held at 6:00 PM Thursday February 19 at the Eldorado Country Club in Indian Wells, California. Deb Wolstenholme and Jan Ray are co-Chairing the event. They have a wonderful assortment of vacation trips, polo equipment, jewelry, art, clothing, and other items to auction that evening. If you can’t attend, you can submit a bid and they will be taking live telephone bids at the event. For a catalogue of items and the phone numbers to call for live bidding, contact Jan Ray: phone: 760-340-9029, email jankayray@earthlink.net
A message from Danny Scheraga
'If it's training and/or teaching a clinic, it's the Polo Training Foundation'
South Florida Umpire Clinic, Bob Stuerzebecher Instructor
There is still time to register for the PTF Umpire Clinic taught by Bob Stuerzebecher at the Vero Beach Polo Club in Vero Beach Florida. These week-long clinics are a wonderful opportunity for rated umpires wishing to improve their skills, people interested in learning the art of umpiring, and players who want to enhance their understanding of the rules to better themselves as players.
Clinics will be held at the Vero Beach Polo Club in Florida starting January 5th and continuing each week through April 4, 2009. Students should plan to arrive on Sunday in time for the 2 PM game. Each clinic ends on the following Sunday afternoon.
The clinic objectives are:
* To help club umpires gain knowledge and experience needed to pass the current USPA Rules test and to improve field judgment through study and practice of the latest rules and umpire procedures.
* To help players gain knowledge of when they can legally make a play, which plays they should avoid, and when they should move on to make the next play.
Objectives will be accomplished through:
* Classroom study Monday and Tuesday, 8 AM until Noon
* Practice umpiring one or two games on Wednesday (subject to weather and club schedule)
* Observing professional umpires at work officiating high goal games in Wellington on Thursday, as well as critiquing high goal players throughout these matches.
* Review and critique performance, summarize progress and make plans for continuing experience
Clinic preparation and what to bring:
Decide what you want to get out of the clinic.
Ride as much as possible (later, you'll be glad you did).
Read the 2009 USPA Rules (available on the USPA website).
Bring your boots, white pants, helmet and whistle.
Optional: umpire shirt, pick up stick and ball bag.
Umpire horses are provided.
Clinic fee is $350 paid to PTF with a check or credit card prior to clinic participation.
For more information, contact the PTF Office at: (888)783-7656 or Bob Stuerzebecher at (561)386-3991. When you have selected a week, he can send directions to the Vero Beach Club, where to meet him, a list of motels and a complete schedule for the clinic.
Remember: 'If it's training and/or teaching a clinic, it's the Polo Training Foundation'
Brushy Creek Early Bird Special
It’s not too late to take advantage of the Brushy Creek Early Bird Special! The PTF is offering a holiday special for the five day camps in 2009. Anyone who enrolls by February 1, 2009 will only pay $995 a substantial discount from the normal $1200 registration fee. The fee includes room, board, horses and instruction.
Robin Sanchez is really excited about the 2009 Brushy Creek camps. There will be six one week sessions in June and July followed by two more weeks in late August.
Brushy creek is a self contained operation with a bunk house, arena and an outdoor field. Students are immersed in polo for the five days they attend camp including lectures, video review, on horse instruction and lots of polo. Past attendees have gone on to excel in both interscholastic and intercollegiate tournaments. At a recent National Intercollegiate Tournament, eighty percent of the players had attended Brushy Creek Camp.
Robin would also be happy to set up specialty camps during school vacations or weekend clinics for anyone interested in furthering their polo education. For more information contact Robin directly by phone: 817-645-8778 or email: polodutoit@yahoo.com.
Youth Clinics
Wilbur O’Ferrall continues to be available to teach youth clinics from the junior level (up to 14 years of age) through the interscholastic and intercollegiate levels. There is no charge for Wilbur’s time, but the host club is asked to pick up his travel expenses as well as housing, feeding and transporting him while at the clinic. To host such a clinic, contact Wilbur by phone: 617-645-8715 or email: wofpolo@aol.com.
Umpire Instruction
Head Umpire Instructor Steve Lane will again spend January through March at the Eldorado Polo Club training their club umpires as well as offering umpire instruction to the membership. To plan spring and summer clinics contact Steve by phone: 352-454-6611, or email: slpolo9@aol.com.
Florida Junior Polo
The Polo Training Foundation welcomes Will Johnston as the new Director of Florida Junior Polo. Will got his start in polo as a twenty-three year old beginner playing with the Florida Junior Polo players. His polo career has taken him on to high goal polo, managing and playing for Skeeterville last year. Will is excited about working with the young players in South Florida and is planning to spend time working on basic skills and understanding of the rules in addition to just playing chukkers. A full season of coaching and tournaments is planned beginning with the Major Collins coaching league and tournament between Christmas and New Years Day. The JoAnna Monaco Memorial will be played on January 19. The Florida Junior Polo fund raiser will also take place that weekend on January 17 at 6:30pm at the Gulfstream Clubhouse. February 16 brings the Avendano Tournament, the oldest and most prestigious junior tournament in the United States. March’s tournament date had not been set at this writing but there will be an event that month. Will is also considering organizing an interscholastic team to compete in the USPA Interscholastic Tournament. For more information on Florida Junior Polo contact Will: phone (561)964.8400 or email: wjohnston@johnsouth.com.
Eldorado Junior Polo
Janet Ludwig will once again be directing the Eldorado Junior Polo program with Mark Register assisting as Coach. Eldorado also has a full slate of tournaments planned for their winter season. The Arty Cameron Memorial will be played February 7 -8, followed by the Joe Barry Memorial March 15-16. Both Arty and Joe were instrumental in the development of the Eldorado Junior program. The FIP/World Gym International Tournament is tentatively scheduled for April 3-5. Janet Ludwig also has informed the PTF that Eldorado hopes to continue the exchange trips started last year when several Eldorado junior players traveled to Florida to play in the Avendano tournament. Eldorado would like to play host to a group of Florida junior poloists this year. For more information on the Eldorado junior program contact Janet by phone: 760-773-3558, or email at info@regeludwigpolo.com
