The La Martina Miami Beach Polo World Cup 2014 kicked off this past April in Miami. The tournament is where all of the international players come and this yearly event plays a key role in bringing interest back to the Miami area with regard to the sport of polo. The 2014 event celebrates 10 years of the World Cup being held in Miami and the event has grown significantly to demonstrate that.
This event began on April 24, 2014 and ran through the 27th of April and drew over 10,000 visitors. The event was held in South Beach between 20th and 22nd streets and kicked off with the women’s tournament. Bruce Orosz, CEO of The Polo Life, which owns the tournament, and ACT Productions, which produces it has stated that the tournament has grown year after year and brings increasing levels of attention to sport of polo which is not often seen.
What makes this event special is that the polo matches are held right on the beach, which brings a special touch to the tournament that has not been seen in most other competitions. Orosz loves the concept so much that he has even expanded to host a polo tournament this year in China at a beach in order to attract more interest in polo in China
Polo is considered one of the most difficult sports to play and compete in both in terms of training the horses and the athletic ability of the players. Therefore, it was very important to Orosz to increase the level of interest and growth of sport by having some of the best international players compete.
The event has also expanded this year to include the Auto Art Miami at Collins Park which is an additional event that is designed to expand the scope of the options available for guests that are attending the polo event.
Many of the top polo players come from around to world to compete at this event and the competitions include two tournaments, one for men and one for women. Some of the most prestigious women’s players to appear at the event include Pamela Flanagan, Cristina Hosmer, Tiffany Busch, Stephanie Kraml-Suttle and Lynn O’Connor. Some of the top men’s players that have competed in the men’s tournaments include Jamie Morrison, Vincent Mesker, past Miami Beach and Chicago Beach Polo winner, Guille Usandizaga, Luis Escobar, John Gobin and Kris Kampsen.
The tournament was a closed event with tickets being available to the general public via specific ticket venues. VIP tickets were made available in limited quantities in order to give certain guests the exclusive access to the event that they were looking for. While the tournament is mainly designed to entertain, a portion of the funds from ticket sales are given to a good cause. These funds are donated to Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Miami.
The tournament will be held again next year and the dates for the tournament will be released in the upcoming months.
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