The most prestigious polo tournament in the United States, the U.S. Open Polo Championship is the apex of the Florida high-goal winter polo season attracting fans and polo enthusiasts from across the United States and around the world. Hosted by the National Polo Center - Wellington (NPC) in Wellington, Florida, the U.S. Open Polo Championship is the final leg in the Gauntlet of Polo presented by TruBar and is preceded by the C.V. Whitney Cup and USPA Gold Cup.
The U.S. Open was originally conceived as a non-handicapped alternative to the Senior Championship tournament. The first U.S. Open had only two teams, the Wanderers and the Freebooters. It was held at Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx borough of New York City.
After the inaugural U.S. Open in 1904, the tournament was not played again until 1910, when it grew to include six teams. It resumed at Narragansett Pier, Rhode Island, where it was played for several years before relocating to what became its longtime home, Meadowbrook Polo Club in Old Westbury, New York. In 1954, the U.S. Open moved to Oak Brook, where it remained for 22 years, followed by an eight year-stint at the Retama Polo Center in San Antonio, Texas. In the late 1980s and into the 1990s, the tournament circulated among several clubs throughout the United States, including Eldorado, Lexington, Palm Beach and Royal Palm. In 2004, marking one hundred years since the tournament’s inception, the U.S. Open relocated to Wellington, Florida, where it has been held ever since.
