Area ties abound in polo award finalists list

Team USPA's Aiken connection is well represented with the finalists who have been selected for the Equus & Co. Award, a distinction to be bestowed on the outstanding member of the Team USPA development program.

Nick Snow, Jorge Estrada and Ty MacCarty were among the players selected as finalists for the award from the pool of 32 players who compose the roster of Team USPA. All three of the aforementioned players have spent time being mentored by high-goal players with Aiken ties and have played in Aiken. The other two finalists are Meghan Shader and Jesse Weaver.

The criteria for selecting the finalists for the Equus & Co. Award include the players' leadership, communications skills, sportsmanship on the field and participation in important Team USPA programs. The finalists will have to write and submit an essay as to why they believe winning the $10,000 prize provided by Equus & Co. will have a significant impact on their polo careers. The winner will be announced Feb. 19.

Estrada, 23, of Phoenix, Ariz.; Snow, 26, of Ipswich, Mass.; MacCarty, 20, of Sheridan, Wyo.; Shader, 22, of Lexington, Ky.; and Weaver, 24, of Houston, Texas, have had the opportunity to increase their knowledge of the sport, upgrade their skills and be mentored by some of the best U.S. players.

This winter, Jorge Estrada has the opportunity to work with Aiken resident and the highest rated U.S. polo player (9 handicap), Julio Arellano.

"I didn't know anyone in polo before February (2011)," said Estrada, in a phone interview Thursday afternoon. "It's the most incredible program. It's provided me with opportunities I've never dreamed of. I'm getting to be around high-goal polo with a man who knows his horses better than anyone. Julio's passed that knowledge onto me. For a low-goal kid from Arizona, it's truly unfathomable."

MacCarty is working with high-goal player Mike Azzaro this winter and has enjoyed the Team USPA experience. And while in Aiken, MacCarty's horses were in the barn between Adam Snow's and Owen Rinehart's fields. MacCarty had the opportunity to train with Snow and learned a great deal from the two-time Seymour H. Knox Award and his wife, veterinarian Dr. Shelley Onderdonk,

"Adam is very knowledgeable about the game, and he breaks it down to where it's understandable," said MacCarty, in a phone interview Thursday afternoon. "He explains why you make a particular play and what was the purpose of making that play."

The Team USPA players had an opportunity to take part in two practice game each week at Snow's (New Haven) and Rinehart's (Isinya) fields.

Adam Snow will be among those helping to indoctrinate the eight new members of Team USPA Friday night at International Polo Club Palm Beach.