Wellington's Hope Arellano will make history when FIP World Polo Championship starts at USPA National Polo Center
WELLINGTON — Ever since she was 9, Hope Arellano knew she wanted to be a professional polo player.
Ten years later, one of the world's top-ranked women players will make history as the first female to compete in the XII FIP World Polo Championship, which gets underway Saturday at the USPA National Polo Center and Valiente Polo Farm.
"Since I was 9 I really started to fall in love more and more with the sport every day," said the Wellington teenager. "To be honest, I do feel like I am getting to live my dream by getting to play polo professionally I love every single moment that I am able to do it and I love everything about the sport. It is a dream."
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Arellano, at 19, also is the youngest player in the tournament. She is among seven players on the U.S. team, which includes older brother Agustin Arellano, 25, of Wellington, rated 3 goals; Nico Diaz Alberdi, 20, of Pilar, Argentina, 5 goals; Joaquin Avendano, 21, of Wellington, 3 goals; Jake Klentner, 23, of Santa Barbara, California, 2 goals; and brothers Lucas Escobar, 20, 4 goals; and Nico Escobar, 22, of Wellington, 5 goals.
Agustin Arellano, Klentner and the Escobars will start for the U.S. when it opens play against Australia on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. All seven are expected to play throughout the tournament.
The team will be coached by the Arellano siblings' father, Hall of Famer and former 9-goaler Julio Arellano. He was a member of the U.S. team's only FIP champion in 1989. He will be assisted by 7-goaler Jesse Bray, who competed in the 2015 and 2017 FIP tournaments.
"I will be the substitute for this tournament," said Hope Arellano, global brand ambassador for the U.S. Polo Association.
"I will be cheering them on from the sidelines and supporting them. If they need me, I will be there. So far it's already been an incredible experience so I can't wait to see what the U.S. team does and being a part of it."
Hope Arellano, a fourth-generation player, is ranked eight goals in the women's rankings and two goals in the USPA's mixed overall rankings. She "played" her first match before she was born. Her mom, Meghan, played in a tournament while she was five months pregnant. Hope jokes that their opposing team said they were cheating because they had five girls on the team.
Arellano started swinging a mallet proficiently at 6, played her first tournament at 10 and adult tournaments at 11. She quickly rose through the ranks, mainly because of her work ethic. When she is not rescuing raccoons, including Patches, her favorite, who actually helped her pack for the tournament (posted on Instagram), she is at the barn with her string of horses, on a polo field or studying game film.
Youngest woman to win U.S. Open Women's Polo Championship
At 14 she turned pro. A year later, she became the youngest woman to win the U.S. Open Women's Polo Championship, America's top prize in women's polo.
Among her numerous accomplishments, she was third in the Argentine Women's Open and awarded the tournament's Revelation Award. She competed in 20-goal and the 26-goal World Polo League. But of all the tournaments, it's still the one she played with her family that she relishes.
"Winning the 12-goal Pete Bostwick Memorial with my two brothers and my dad will always be my most cherished," she said. "This is my most treasured memory because it was the first time I played with my father and brothers, the first time I played 12-goal and we won. It's a tournament I will never forget no matter what tournaments may be coming up in my future."
Eight countries will compete in the world's largest international polo competition held on U.S. soil for only the second time. Defending champion Argentina and host country U.S. qualified automatically. The others (Australia, Italy, Mexico, Pakistan, Spain and Uruguay) qualified in zone competitions.
To make it fair, no player is using their own horses. J5 Equestrian provided 176 horses that were evaluated and ranked by horse master Adam Snow, a former 10-goaler and Hall of Famer. Each team was assigned a group of 22 horses and teams selected their pooled ponies on Wednesday.
XII FIP World Polo Championship
When: Saturday, Oct. 29 through Sunday, Nov. 6
Where: USPA National Polo Center, 3667 120th Ave. S. and Valiente Polo Farm, 12044 50th St., Wellington
FYI: All games will be streamed live for free on GlobalPolo.com. The opening ceremony, semifinals and final will be broadcast on ESPN for the first time.
Admission: Free for nonticketed events. $20 general admission for opening ceremony and final. A few $750 boxes are still available.
https://tickets.nationalpolocenter.com/e/fip-world-championship/tickets
Tournament Schedule
Saturday: Zone A, 9:30 a.m. Game 1 - Mexico vs. Argentina at Valiente; 11:30 a.m. Game 2 - Pakistan vs. Spain at Valiente; Zone B, 1:30 p.m. Game 3 - Italy vs. Uruguay at Valiente; 3:30 p.m. Game 4 - Opening ceremony and Australia vs. USA match at NPC Field One*
Monday: Zone A, 9:30 a.m. Game 5 - Winner Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2 at Valiente; 11:30 a.m. Game 6 - Winner Game 2 vs. Loser Game 1 at Valiente; Zone B, 1:30 p.m. Game 7 - Winner Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4 at Valiente; 3:30 p.m., Game 8 - Winner Game 4 vs. Loser Game 3 at Valiente
Wednesday: Zone B, 9:30 a.m. Game 9 - Loser Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4 at Valiente; 11:30 a.m. Game 10 - Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4 at Valiente; Zone A, 1:30 p.m.; Game 11 - Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2 at Valiente; 3:30 p.m.; Game 12 - Winner Game 2 vs. Winner Game 1 at Valiente.
Nov. 4: Noon, Semifinal 1 - First Place Zone A Team vs. Second Place Zone B Team at NPC; 3 p.m., Semifinal 2 - First Place Zone B Team vs. Second Place Zone A Team at NPC.
Nov. 6: Noon, bronze medal final at NPC; 3 p.m. XII FIP World Championship Final at NPC Field One*
* Denotes a ticketed event
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: World Polo Championship at USPA National Polo Center this week
