22nd Newport Polo Season Begins Today!

The Newport International Polo Series XXII, Presented by Your Rhode Island BMW Centers, will kick off its 2013 season on Saturday, June 1, at 5 p.m. featuring  USA vs. Argentina, one of its most formidable rivals, at the polo grounds of Glen Farm, 715 East Main Road. 

“With an arch rival and world-renown polo powerhouse like Argentina to launch the 22nd season, and a battery of top contenders following after this challenge, the roster will be action-packed,” explains USA team captain Dan Keating. “We look forward to playing a tough pponent, and expect a heated contest.”  

Argentina has risen to dominance as a world-powerhouse in the sport of polo in the past few decades.

The two-hour match will conclude with a champagne trophy presentation of the USA vs. Argentina silver cup, inaugurated in 1992, as well as the naming of the Best Playing Pony.

Dating back more than 130 years in Newport, the polo matches are a unique and popular summertime tradition, open to the public.  Audiences of several thousand spectators enjoy cheering for the international guests, as well as teams representing major US cities, playing against the home team.  The polo matches will run continuously every Saturday from June through September at 5pm (4pm in September).

With yet another national debut this season, the Polo Series will have hosted 28 nations over its 22 seasons including England, Ireland, Scotland, Spain, Argentina, Jamaica, Italy and Mexico this summer, and Costa Rica, Portugal, Germany, Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa, Egypt, India, New Zealand, Australia, Chile, Barbados, France, Canada, Hungary, Dominican Republic, Netherlands, Kenya, Brazil, and China in the past.

This is the 22nd season of the Newport International Polo Series, presented by your Rhode Island BMW Centers, and sponsored by Alex and Ani,Newportri.com, The Newport Beach Club and The Tower at Carnegie Abby,KPMG, Clarke Cooke House, Stillwater Spa at Hyatt Regency Newport, Pearls Boutique Hotels, Vanderbilt International Properties, Laser Skin and Vein Center, Rockstar Limo, Champagne Nicolas Feuillatte, Lufthansa, Shreve Crump & Low, McGrath Clambakes, WCRI Classical Radio, Boston Common,Equine Journals, Vita Coco and promotional partners including The Preservation Society of Newport, Bird’s Eye View Helicopter Tours, America's Cup Charters, Massage Envy, the International Tennis Hall of Fame, andDiscover Newport.

“Our sponsors have been with us since the beginning. Without their support, the Series would not be as extensive as it is,” explains Dan Keating, Polo Series founder.

The Polo Series takes place in the bucolic setting of Glen Farm, the last 100 acres of what was once a 700-acre manorial farm whose settlement dates back to the 1600s.

Its classical stone barns from the Gilded Age and its park-like grounds were rehabilitated by Keating and thrive today as an equestrian & community recreational property, and home of the Polo Series.