Team PoloGear Coffee Company set to take part in 2020 Houston Women’s Polo Championship
Ponies flown in from Argentina – International Players contracted – Months of strategic
preparation: Welcome to the New Dawn of Top Level Women’s Polo
Team PoloGear Coffee Company (PGCC) announces that they will be competing in the 16-20 goal 2020 USPA Texas Women’s Open as part of the Houston Women’s Polo Championship presented by Luxury Event Trailers at the Houston Polo Club, TX, between November 10th and 15th. The club is the largest polo club in the USA by number of
players. This stands as a significant moment in time as women’s polo continues to gain ground globally. Participation by women in the sport of polo has recently accelerated in growth and strategic sophistication, inspiring future female athletes of all ages to take up the game. Thanks to supportive polo clubs, associations, private and corporate sponsors, like PoloGear, women’s polo is experiencing historic growth in creating more tournaments i.e. more playing opportunities. Globally these established women’s tournaments are a valuable contribution to the
health of the sport and promotes female athleticism in general.
Women players from all over the USA and around the world will come to Houston for one of the country’s most prestigious ladies tournaments. This will be the 26th consecutive year that the Houston Polo Club is proudly hosting the event. The club offers 26 beautiful acres right in the heart of Houston, 2 polo seasons each year, has 8 levels of polo, incl. 2 polo schools and provides annual riding and boarding memberships for English and Hunter/Jumper.
Preparation, Mentoring & Warm-up tournaments:
Team PGCC’s path to Houston has been one of dedication to support women’s polo and is spearheaded by Dawn Jones together with PoloGear’s very own Gary Fellers and Jeanette Sassoon. The prize they have their eyes on is the USPA Texas Women’s Open title. Strategically PGCC participated in two warm up tournaments, allowing preparations of some of the team’s horses, two of which were recently flown over from Argentina, whilst giving other promising players a chance to compete at the sharp end of the sport.
On August 28th a PGCC team competed in the Santa Ynez Sunny Hale Women’s Invitational lower flight 8-12 goal consolation finals. Zoe Cookson from Northampton, UK; Dawn Jones; 17-year old Taylor Olcott from San Luis Obispo, CA and Jenny Alter from Miami, FL defeated the very competitive JC Polo team to win 5-3. Many thanks to Megan and Memo Gracida and the entire La Herradura organization for hosting such a well planned women’s tournament in memory of the much beloved and respected Sunny Hale.
Between September 4th – 6th a PGCC team participated in the prestigious 2nd Annual Women’s Pacific Coast Open at the Santa Barbara Polo Club, CA. The final day was an excellent day for USA women’s polo! Its success continues to develop and keeps drawing attention to women in polo.
For this tournament Team PGCC selected the following players: Santa Barbara native, Public Policy and Economics student Cory Williams, who together with team member Kendall Plank were title holders of the Cup in 2019; Licensed Texas attorney and horse welfare advocate Pamela Flanagan, who was 2019 Women’s U.S. Open Champion and recipient of the tournament’s Amateur MVP; Dawn Jones and the quartet was completed by Kendall Plank, who holds a degree in Leadership with minors in Business and Communications and is currently working for LC
Design Studio to develop her business skills. Together with her mother, Susan Plank she founded and established Dec My Room, a non profit charity dedicated to enhancing the lives of pediatric cancer patients during their treatment and healing whilst hospitalized.
Despite giving their best efforts in the consolation finals, they were not able to convert for a win. All the players relished the chance to play at the women’s 20 goal level. The PoloGear Coffee Company banner served as an excellent learning experience to improve booth individually and as a team. As is typical with women’s polo all attended an exciting final in a show of support to their friends participating. Then two birthdays were celebrated for team Timing’s number 4, Sofia Lorenzo and our team mate, Kendall Plank.
The brands behind the team:
PoloGear Coffee Company (www.PoloGearCoffee.com) is a Midwest-based global specialty coffee company with a passion for the Game of Polo and has over 90 years of experience as importers, roasters and packagers of fine coffees from all around the world. Following extensive research of the global coffee industry they recognized that there was and is a tremendous opportunity to create a turnkey “Crop to Cup” solution that rewarded supply chain efficiencies
and enabled them to make a difference, change lives and communities for the better. Their extensive knowledge of roasting techniques allows constant evolution, refining their specialty coffee offerings, which differentiates them from all brands in the industry. PGCC aims to become a market leader and premier online global coffee company. We invite you to join us and together, we can change the world “One sip, One Cup and One Community at a Time”.
PGCC also proudly supports Saves the Horses, which is helping Safe From Slaughter Equine Rescue rebuild their equine rescue farm after a devastating direct hit by Hurricane Laura. Left homeless and without resources, founder Katie Roush has persevered and placed all of her adoptees safely while her family rebuilds everything with help from donors/friends. Our hearts and support are with this wonderful organization.
PoloGear polo outfitter, is the official supplier of Team PGCC and provides the team jerseys and equipment. Dawn is a fervent advocate of the PoloGear proprietary KwikDri™ fabric. It’s state of the art moisture wicking with anti-microbial, anti-bacterial properties and 48 SPF. This fabric not only provides unlimited design and sublimation possibilities but it also excels in skin and health protection. Over the years PoloGear has been a leader in the development of products for polo, including saddles, team products, helmets and polo equipment.
Additional 101 Info:
Keep an eye out on PoloGear’s social media to follow Team PoloGear Coffee Company’s “Path to the USPA Texas Women’s Open” and exclusive content throughout. The tournament will be live streamed by Global Polo (www.globalpolo.com).
Tickets:
For Sunday USPA Texas Women’s Open tickets, individual or box seating, please go to:
http://houstonpoloclub.com/buy-tickets/
Current county and state mask and social distance requirements will be practiced and enforced. Everyone on
the property at Houston Polo Club will be expected to fill in an HPC COVID-19 Release and Questionnaire.
