The first leg of Texas Arena League (TAL) Armadillo Division was played Friday, February 3 through Sunday, February 5 at Legends Polo Club in Kaufman, Texas.

“We had such a big response to the 0- to 3-goal flight of Texas Arena League that we filled within six minutes of the electronic entries opening,” says TAL committee member Nacho Estrada. “There were 5 teams on the entry waiting list and more that wanted to play, so we added two weekends of the Armadillo Division to accommodate everyone.”

The Southwestern Circuit Admiral Chester W. Nimitz is being played during the Armadillo Division, with all teams having a military connection through either personal service or a family member’s service. With eight teams in the 0-3 division and an additional three C-Flight teams that play Friday evenings, the Armadillo Division is a highly competitive division of Texas Arena League. As with the TAL Classic Division, Galvin Agency MVP, Nutrena Best Playing Pony and Sportsmanship awards are given at each game. Teams and players gain points from game win/loss/tie records and game awards toward End of League awards and prizes.

“Playing in the Armadillo Division of Texas Arena League has been exceptional,” comments long-time Texas Arena League participant Jose Velez of the Polo InterActive team. “The fact that teams are equally competitive in both the Classic and Armadillo divisions speaks to the right decision being made by the league's leadership.”

In addition to the 0-3 goal division, the Armadillo Division also has a C-Flight playing. Three teams faced off in round robin play on Friday evening: Legends Polo School (Genna Bono, Lisa Davis, Saraphine Donovan) vs. Kaufman Mob (Valeria Greco, Meghann Newman, Ardo Fuentes) vs. JD Polo (Valeria Navidad, Jessica Shull, Rebecca Leung). There was an asado on Saturday night hosted by Legends, with Ariel Mancebo as chef.

“I had an awesome time playing in the Armadillo Division. It was great to have the opportunity of meeting other polo players in Dallas,” says Troup Rolland, who hails from Houston. “Playing with Horsegate was amazing. The Stefanakises are a great family. Ariel has helped coach me [to] become a better polo player.”

Another competing team, Power Puff Girls, consists of two recent grads from Texas Tech – Mary Kate Ratliff and Tatijana Mirsky, as well as University of Texas polo alumna Samantha Rostek. Ratliff and Mirsky played in the DII Women’s National Intercollegiate Championship Final last year for Texas Tech. “It is awesome that former Texas Tech teammates were able to get back together,” says Mirsky. “We haven't played together since our collegiate Reserve National Championship win. To be able to compete together again [on] Power Puff Girls has been such a blast. Seeing how much we as players have grown, as well as our horses, brings back great memories. We started our first games collegiately under Texas Tech and look forward to many seasons competing in TAL.”

The Armadillo Division consists of four games total for each team by the end of league. After play in the first weekend, the results are as follows:

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Galvin Agency MVP
Mary Kate Ratliff
Javier Insua (2x)
Tatijana Mirsky
Nick Lahutsky
Jan Pieter Zweegers
Marcus Murphy
Megan Rahlfs

JD Polo and US Arena Polo Sportsmanship
Tatijana Mirsky
Marcus Murphy
Mike Farah
Ariel Mancebo
Javier Insua
John Hand
Jordan Upchurch
Sophia Garvin

Nutrena Best Playing Pony
Vegas – played by Kate Howe, owned by Lisa Yanskey
Hollywood - played by Troup Rolland, owned by Horsegate
Paola – Javier Insua
Miss Kitty – Mary Kate Ratliff
Flor – Don Gruntmeir
Tatoo – played by Lance Stefanakis, owned by Horsegate
Kiki – played by Macus Murphy, owned by Legends Polo Club
Cat – played by Kate Howe, owned by Lisa Yanskey

Southwestern Circuit Admiral Chester W. Nimitz Teams
El Caso Polo Club – John Hand/Don English, Don Gruntmeir, Sofia Garvin, Verity Cameron/Lance Easterling
Legends Polo Club – Marcus Murphy, Matthew Schloemer, James Glew
Polo InterActive – Jose Velez, Fabian Osses, Javier Insua
Power Puff Girls – Sam Rostek, Mary Kate Ratliff, Tatijiana Mirsky
Horsegate – Troup Rolland, Nick Stefanakis, Lance Stefanakis/Carlos Ramirez
Legends Too – Kim Vaughan, Jan Pieter Zweegers, Ariel Mancebo/Nacho Estrada
Los Polo Locos – Mike Farah, Nick Lahutsky, Jordan Upchurch
Legends Horse Ranch – Megan Rahlfs, Kate Howe, Lindsay Bellack

C-Flight Teams
JD Polo – Valeria Insua, Jessica “Jess” Shull, Rebecca Leung
Kaufman Mob – Valeria Greco, Meghann Newman, Ardo Fuentes
Legends – Genevieve “Genna” Bono, Lisa Davis, Saraphine Donovan

All photos courtesy of ©David Murrell.