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YALE POLO
lux et veritas et equus
Yale vs.
Harvard @ Jack
Wills 2011 Varsity
Polo Tournament
LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT:
The 2010-2011 school year unquestionably sent the Yale Polo Team in a positive direction. Here are just a few of
the highlights:
The men’s and women’s varsity teams
improved dramatically under the rigorous
instruction of coach Jim DeAngelis. The
men’s team finished the season with a
winning record, and the women’s team
made strong showings at the Northeast
Intercollegiate Pre-Regionals tournament
and the Harvard Invitational Women’s
Tournament. In June, Yale participated in
the Jack Wills Varsity Polo tournament at
Guards Polo Club in the UK, defeating
Harvard for the first time in five years of
attendance.
For the coming year, the varsity teams
sport strong rosters of returning players,
most of whom have continued to play over
the summer. Seppi Colloredo BR ’13 and
Lucy Topaloff MC ’13 will captain the
men’s and women’s teams respectively.
Thanks to generous donations from Neil
Hirsch and Ashley Schiff, the team will
expand its string to sixteen ponies this
year. Yale’s pony string continues to be one
of the strongest in the region. The team
also enjoyed the use of a beautiful
fourteen-horse trailer donated by Neil
Hirsch.
Freshmen Cyrus Shahabi BK ’14 and Claire
Donnelley CC ’14 moved to the varsity
level early on in last year’s season, and a
[1]
Honorary Yale Student for the
weekend, Alexander Ingram (Boston
University), and Yale Polo President,
Rebecca Smith at the Guards Polo Club
HARVARD
WOMEN’S
INVITATIONAL
By Claire Donnelley
In the last match of 2011, Yale
faced their longtime rival in the
annual Harvard Women's
Invitational Tournament. The
tournament, held at the Myopia
arena in Hamilton, MA, is held in
memory of Ariel Shaker, Harvard
class of 2010, who passed away Fall
of 2009 from a tragic riding
accident. After being beaten in a
match earlier in year, Yale was
determined to give Harvard a good
game. Following some temporary
trepidation about the soundness of
the arena from some rain earlier in
the week, the footing was
pronounced safe and the game
began. The competition was fierce
and the score stayed fairly even
throughout the game. Rolling into
the final chukker Yale scored two
goals early on, closing the gap
when Harvard scored a final goal
ending the game with a score of 8
to 10 in favor of Harvard. After the match, the
Colloredo-Mansfeld family hosted
a party for all the teams where
Harvard and Yale were able to
brush shoulders more genially.
Entertainment included a YaleHarvard polo trivia game. The
winner of the game remains
disputed. Yale, although defeated, looks
forward to facing Harvard again in
the coming year.
handful of other 2014 recruits showed
great promise at the JV level.
The team also developed a thriving JV
program, marked by a high level of
involvement and great improvements in
skill. Many of last year’s JV players
continued to play polo over the summer.
An unprecedented number of graduate and
postgraduate students, from beginners to
experienced polo players, brought a high
level of dedication and enthusiasm to the
team (as well as a bit of added maturity).
The Harriman Cup, an annual Yale/
University of Virginia alumni match at
Meadowbrook Polo Club on Long Island,
remains a can’t-miss social event and a
significant fundraiser for both teams.
Varsity games at the Armory drew
enthusiastic audiences, on one occasion
filling the Armory to standing room only.
As always, the annual Alumni Weekend
game and dinner saw a mix of old
friendships, new acquaintances, and a
healthy dose of competition. Two intrateam tournaments with mixed beginner, JV
and varsity teams provided great fun and a
chance to demonstrate newly-learned
skills, and the Panchita Memorial
Varsity
showing off
their muscles!
[2]
Tournament, involving members of the
Yale Polo Club as well as the collegiate
team, was a huge success.
Liz Brayboy SY ’84 maintained her
invaluable role as Program Advisor,
assisting in organization, managing
resources, teaching lessons and much
more.
The Yale Polo and Equestrian Center
(YPEC) Board made impressive strides
toward planning for a new off-campus
facility to replace the Yale Armory, which
was closed in 2009. In the meantime the
team continues to stable and train at C&S
Ranches in Bethany, and plans are
underway to improve the outdoor arena
there to make it suitable for hosting games
in the early fall.
On behalf of the entire team, I would like
to sincerely thank all of the alumni and
friends who supported us last year and for
many years prior. Your continued interest
and encouragement are the reason why this
century-old program continues to flourish.
We’re excited to share with you another
year of Yale Polo!
-Rebecca Smith, President, Yale Polo
BEATING
HARVARD
ACROSS THE
POND
Playing at the Jack Wills Varsity
Polo Tournament—Summer 2011
By Seppi Colloredo-Mansfeld
At the start of the summer four
members from the Varsity teams traveled
to Windsor, England to compete in the
Jack Wills Varsity Polo match—an annual
event at Guard’s Polo Club that showcases
classic scholastic rivalries: Oxford versus
Cambridge, Eton versus Harrow, and Yale
versus Harvard. The matches are
sponsored by the popular English clothing
company Jack Wills and draw crowds of
10,000 spectators who not only enjoy
watching the polo matches, but also eat,
drink, and dance to live bands and DJs all
throughout the day and into the night in
tents that border the polo fields. The
whole day is quite a spectacle, and a great
time for both the players and the
spectators, but onto the important part:
Yale’s victory over Harvard.
Seppi Colloredo-Mansfeld. The Yale team
played extremely well, and was especially
effective at neutralizing their Harvard
opponents allowing Ingram to concentrate
on offense. The match went back and
forth for all four chukkas, but in the end
Yale prevailed 4-3.
The Yale victory was met with loud
applause from a small but vocal pack of
Yale students, alumni, and parents. Alex
Ingram was awarded Most Valuable Player,
and the team was presented with a large
silver platter. The team then enjoyed
celebrating the event at an after party with
the players from Harvard, Oxford, and
Cambridge as music played until the early
hours of the morning.
As with any new polo player, I was
impressed by the speed and elegance of the
game itself, but perhaps most of all by the
graciousness of the players—particularly
the veterans, who always seemed happy to
talk with neophytes and explain the many
special rules and good practices of horse
care. Over the past year, and after learning
how to properly assemble the several dozen
pieces of leather, buckle, bit, and rope, it
seemed to come naturally that there was a
sense of collective awe that humans and
horses could do such a thing together. The
ponies knew the game better than I did.
But, I am improving. The gentle nature of
horses—and their power—is one of the
most amazing parts of the whole
experience.
PANCHITA
MEMORIAL
TOURNAMENT
By Brian Rash, Ph.D.
In May, 2011 the Yale Polo Team
hosted the Panchita Memorial Tournament
at the Yale Armory, involving both the
Varsity and Junior Varsity teams as well as
a number of Yale polo friends throughout
Connecticut. After one of the team ponies
Going into the match Yale was 1-1
developed a severe colic in December, 2010,
against Harvard, so we knew the game was we decided to remember Panchita with a
going to be close. There was one
polo tournament that would also raise
important difference between the previous funds for new bell boots for her equine
games, however, and that was the presence friends.. Fifteen pairs were purchased to
of a pair of two goal players who were
update some older team equipment. The
invited to play in order to speed up the
tournament featured prizes for best polo
game. Alex Ingram from Boston
pony (Panchita, of course!) and MVP
University played for Yale, while Eduardo
(Stephanie Montini), and was organized
Lopez of the University of Virgina played
by coach Liz Brayboy and new JV member,
for Harvard. Both are fantastic players and Brian Rash. It was an exciting first
made the match fast and exciting to watch. opportunity for new polo players to
Rounding out the Yale squad was President experience the Armory, where Yale’s
of Yale Polo Rebecca Smith, Captain of the intercollegiate varsity matches are played
Women’s team Lucy Topaloff who split
and witnessed.
chukkas with former Varsity player Ryan
Carlisle, and Captain of the Men’s team
[3]
Update Your Contact
Information:
Please contact Liz Brayboy at
lbrayboy@att.net if you would like to
update your own information, or add
someone to our mailing list.
Get Involved:
We would love to hear from you if you
have a story or photograph that you
would like to share. Please contact Terry
Reilly at terrence.reilly@yale.edu if you
are interested in sponsoring and
supporting the team in some other way.
MEN’S VARSITY TEAM
HOMETOWN: South Hamilton, Massachusetts
HIGH SCHOOL: Groton School
MAJOR: History
POSITIONS: Men’s Varsity Captain (Fall 2010-present)
RIDING EXPERIENCE: Seppi grew up riding horses on his family’s horse
farm in Massachusetts. He started polo two summers ago, and he can
often be seen playing during the summer at Myopia Polo Club with his
father and two younger brothers, Simon & Johann.
FAVORITE PONY: Jimbo
KNOWN FOR: Esoteric World War History
Seppi Colloredo, BR ’13
EMAIL: seppi.colloredo@gmail.com
HOMETOWN: San Jose, California
HIGH SCHOOL: Bellarmine College Preparatory
MAJOR: Political Science (International Relations)
POSITIONS: Business Manager (Fall 2011-present)
RIDING EXPERIENCE: Terry started riding last September, and he played
arena & grass all summer at Menlo Polo Club & Horse Park Polo Club
in California.
FAVORITE PONY: Smudge & Stoli
KNOWN FOR: Getting lost in GPS-equipped vehicles; falling off
wooden horses
Terrence Reilly II, MC ’12
EMAIL: terrence.reilly@yale.edu
HOMETOWN: Paris, France
HIGH SCHOOL: École Active Bilingue Jeannine Manuel
MAJOR: Undecided
Cyrus Shahabi, BK ’14
POSITIONS: Vice President (Spring 2011-present)
RIDING EXPERIENCE: Cyrus began riding last fall with fellowteammate, Terry Reilly. Cyrus’ playing and riding skills advanced
quickly, allowing him to play in varsity matches in his freshman year.
FAVORITE PONY: Lexi
Cyrus Shahabi, BK ’14
KNOWN FOR: Unfettered fearlessness—breaking forelimbs when
necessary
EMAIL: cyrus.shahabi@yale.edu
[4]
WOMEN’S VARSITY TEAM
HOMETOWN: Bothell, Washington
HIGH SCHOOL: Bothell Senior High School
MAJOR: History
POSITIONS: President (Fall 2010-present),Vice President (Spring 2010)
RIDING EXPERIENCE: Rebecca has ridden since she was 12 years old.
She was a member of Pony Club and participated in eventing, with her
horse Oliver, throughout junior high and high school.
FAVORITE PONY: Pasita
KNOWN FOR: Unearthly organization expertise; abiding love of coffee
laden drinks
EMAIL: rebecca.smith@yale.edu
Rebecca Smith, MC ’13
HOMETOWN: Paris, France
HIGH SCHOOL: École Active Bilingue Jeannine Manuel
MAJOR: Political Science
POSITIONS: Women’s Varsity Captain (Fall 2011-present)
RIDING EXPERIENCE: Lucy, while spending most of her childhood in
Paris, began riding in northern France, where her current horses, Ortie
and Mistique reside. She took up polo in the Spring Semester of her
freshman year at Yale.
FAVORITE PONY: Ducate
KNOWN FOR: Primordial French baking skills
Lucy Topaloff, MC ’13
EMAIL: lucy.topaloff@yale.edu
HOMETOWN: Berkeley, California
HIGH SCHOOL: Berkeley High School
MAJOR: Undecided
Cyrus Shahabi, BK ’14
POSITIONS: Women’s Varsity Co-Captain (Fall 2011-present)
RIDING EXPERIENCE: Claire has a wide variety of riding experiences,
from her days in Pony Club to competing in eventing and jumping.
With her noteworthy horsemanship, she played varsity as a freshman.
FAVORITE PONY: “I do not pick favorites, as it conflicts with my belief
that each pony is special.”
KNOWN FOR: Getting yelled at for laughing and/or smiling too much
EMAIL: claire.donnelly@yale.edu
[5]
Claire Donnelly, CC ’14
This summer, as last, we were able to run lessons and coaching
league chukkers with a few of the Yale ponies at the
Butterworths’ farm (Giant Valley) in Hamden. This is a terrific
relationship that we hope will continue – a win/win for both
sides.
YALE POLO & EQUESTRIAN
CENTER UPDATE
Fellow Alumni & Friends of Yale Polo:
The Yale students have accepted the challenge of keeping the
polo program alive and are incredibly creative in figuring out
ways to recruit new members, practice and play matches, and get
to the barn to keep the horses fit – all while juggling school work
and other commitments. They are really the group that make it
all worthwhile, so I would encourage any of you that can to come
to a game, join the group for alumni weekend or just reach out to
talk with one of the students. They are an enthusiastic,
interesting bunch (just as all of us were!).
Most of you are aware of the challenges faced by the Yale
Polo program over the last two years, so I wanted to provide
some positive updates on how we are moving forward. The Yale
Polo and Equestrian Center board (members are listed below)
has been working to address the primary issue for the students –
the need for co-located stables and arena. Our interim facility at
C&S Ranch in Bethany has been a saving grace:
• 16 stalls for polo ponies
• Small indoor arena where we can have practices and 2 on 2
chukkers
• Larger outdoor arena that we hope to board sufficiently to
allow for some on-site games this fall
Regards,
Liz Brayboy
The initial donation by Neil Hirsch of a 14 horse trailer (as
well as a significant number of high goal horses and equipment)
has kept the program alive and allowed the team to trailer back
and forth to the Armory for games. This can be time consuming
at best in good weather, but the conditions in January and
February make it a model we need to move beyond for the safety
of both the horses and students.
Liz Brayboy, SY, ‘84
(860) 485-0190
LBrayboy@att.com
YPEC BOARD MEMBERS
We are considering several sites for co-located stables and
arena and hope to have a recommended plan shortly. We plan to
build a combination steel/wood sided and fabric roofed arena to
take advantage of natural lighting and are working to determine
the location with the best possible (and most financially sensible)
combination of features. We welcome any and all input to the
process as well as financial support. Feel free to call any of the
Board members listed below or me at (860) 485-0190.
Stephen Orthwein ’68
President
Liz Brayboy ’84
Vice President
William Osborne III, ‘76
Treasurer
Michael Dawson ’04
Secretary
Robert Burk ’05
Kyla Harris ’06
Neil S. Hirsch
Leighton S. Jordan
Gerald M. Kagan, FAIA ’66
William L. Matheson, Jr.
Peter Poor
Julie Rinaldini
Mary Taft-McPhee ’03
In addition, we are thrilled to be working with the terrific
bunch of students we have at this point. The YPEC program
includes:
• men’s and women’s college and high school varsity teams,
• JV teams that also include Yale affiliated players (e.g., grad
students and post docs) and
• chukkers for club members to leverage the horses while
the students are on break.
We also offer lessons for beginning players (college, high
school and local community) in an effort to continue to feed our
varsity teams as well as the ongoing health of the polo program.
[6]
(left) Rebecca Smith, Tegan Bukowski,
and Lucy Topaloff pose with acclaimed
Argentine polo player & Ralph Lauren
model, Nacho Figueras
(below) Liz Brayboy, Chip Stiegler, and
Jimmy DeAngelis, of the Yale Alumni
Harriman team celebrate after playing
a tough match against the winningUVA team.
27TH ANNUAL HARRIMAN CUP
By Tegan Bukowski
On September 10, 2011 the Yale Polo alumni played in the 27th
But this day was about more than just who won the polo match.
annual Harriman Cup at Meadowbrook Polo Club on Long Island. What
Nacho Figueras, Luis and Julie Rinaldini were awarded the 2011 Harriman
started as a dreary morning with a chance of rain turned into a beautiful,
Cup Award for leadership, public service, and exceptional contributions to
sunny day full of great polo, preppy outfits, champagne and even a visit
the sport of polo. Yale Polo players Rebecca Smith, Lucy Topaloff and
from Nacho Figueras. The started with a Bike Polo exhibition (organized
Tegan Bukowski caught a picture with Nacho right before he received his
by Bill Matheson), and the sidelines were busy all day with tents set up by
award. The day that started with Bike Polo and Horse Polo ended with live
sponsors like Robert Redd and J. McLaughlin providing food, beverages
music and dancing under the white tents along the sidelines. The
and ambience. The Yale team (2 goals) battled against a very strong UVA
proceeds from the day go toward the Yale and UVA Collegiate Polo
team (7 goals), but lost in a very close game, 5—6, in the last minutes of
programs, so thank you all for the support and participation! If you
the game.
missed out on the fun this year, just know that you have a warm invitation
to next year’s Harriman Cup on September 8th 2012!
UPCOMING HOME MATCHES
OCTOBER
NOVEMBER
MORE INFO!
22: Women vs.
Skidmore (C&S)
5: Men vs. Skidmore
(C&S)
12: Men vs. UPenn
(C&S)
13: Women vs.
UPenn (Armory)
For more
information and
updates regarding
Fall Varsity matches,
please visit
www.yale.edu/polo
28: Coed vs.
Skidmore (Armory)
[7]
ALUMNI WEEKEND
The current team would like to thank all who attended the 2011
Alumni Weekend and those who were unable to attend but have
continued to support the team. We hope to see you next year!
By Rebecca Smith
The Armory may look a bit older on the outside—missing a few
windows, the old stables dark and vacant—but turn on the bright arena
lights, fill the tie-line with eager ponies and populate the bleachers with
an assortment of current team members and friends, and the wide, dusty
arena feels warmly familiar.
On April 2, the representatives of over [25] years of Yale Polo
tradition returned to the Armory for this year’s Alumni Weekend. Graham
Radman PC ’09, Christian Barjum JE ’08 and M.A. Taft-McPhee BK ’03
faced off against Liz Brayboy SY ’84, Will Osborne ’76, and an
assortment of current team members in four fast-paced chukkers. Also
attending the event, but not able to stay for the match were Steve
Orthwein (’68) and Jerry Kagan (’66). Despite the highly competitive
nature of Alumni Weekend play, the final score has been lost to the
team’s collective memory. More important were the reunions of old
teammates and friendly rivalries, enjoyed equally by those who still play
frequently and those who admitted to being a bit rusty (but only at first).
Polo isn’t exactly like riding a bike, but nevertheless it seems Yale Polo’s
alumni haven’t forgotten much!
Chukkers are only a part of the always-beloved tradition of Alumni
Weekend. Once the ponies were comfortably settled in their stalls back
at C&S Ranches, this year’s group of students and alumni adjourned to
the newly-renovated Mory’s for dinner, concluding the evening with a
rousing rendition of the Mory’s song.
SAVE THE DATE:
ALUMNI WEEKEND ‘12
SATURDAY, APRIL 7th
[8]
[9]
FROM THE
ARCHIVES
A look back at Yale Polo from over
the years
While the Yale University Polo Club was
founded in 1916, polo has been played at Yale
since 1903 through the on-campus ROTC
program. A powerhouse in polo for the last
century, the Yale intercollegiate polo team has
amassed more national championships than any
other university. Additionally, it has been at the
forefront of intercollegiate polo having both the
first men’s and women’s teams.
Last May, Yale announced that it would
offer free access to online images of the millions
of objects found in her vast museums, archives,
and libraries. The new online collection also
holds a large offering of old Yale athletic
Indoor & Outdoor Intercollegiate Champions: 1927
photographs (1850-1980)—including some great
Back: Haviland, Phipps, Adam, Fogler, Major Arnold. Front: Wallop, Barrett, Guest,
Simmons, Baldwin
photos of the earliest varsity polo teams. For
more information, please visit
http://digitalcollections.library.yale.edu