USPA Global Licensing Inc., the official licensing arm and broadcaster of the United States Polo Association, is partnering with the Palm Beach County Tourist Development Council in sponsoring the new television and digital show “Women in Polo: The Palm Beaches,” a 30-minute in-depth look at the inspirational and fearless female polo players of yesterday, today and tomorrow.
The show’s release is in conjunction with USPAGL’s Women’s Initiative, “Inspiring Others,” a year-long campaign celebrating female polo players and supporting women’s training programs, charities, tournaments, lifestyles and fashion. The launch was also timed with Women’s Equality Day, celebrated on Aug. 26 to commemorate the 1920 adoption of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which granted women the right to vote.
“With U.S. Polo Assn. being the official brand of the United States Polo Association, it was important for us to recognize these amazing women and share their inspirational stories both on and off the polo field,” said J. Michael Prince, president and CEO of USPAGL. “We are proud to partner for the second time with the Palm Beach County Tourist Development Council and Ko-Mar Productions on our Women’s Initiative.”
“Women in Polo: The Palm Beaches” will reach more than 100 million households across a national audience and debut Labor Day weekend on the TVG Network, which focuses on equestrian sports. In addition to the national broadcast, the show will air on ThePalmBeaches.tv and be available in Palm Beach County hotels and resorts, as well as on content provider Roku.
USPAGL will feature the show in many of the 1,100 U.S. Polo Assn. retail stores that span 166 countries, as well as on multiple digital platforms including the company’s web site at www.uspoloassnglobal.com, IGTV and YouTube, impacting millions of consumers and sports fans globally.
“U.S. Polo Assn. and the sport of polo are essential in making Palm Beach County, specifically the Village of Wellington, the ‘Equestrian Capital of the World.’ The Tourist Development Council is proud to highlight these extraordinary female athletes and share their stories on The Palm Beaches TV,” said Glenn Jergensen, the executive director of the Palm Beach County Tourist Development Council.
“Women in Polo: The Palm Beaches” profiles six inspiring women who are changing the face of the sport, beginning with the late, great Sunny Hale, a polo pioneer and the first woman to win the U.S. Open Polo Championship. Viewers will meet Dawn Jones, a polo patron, advocate for female players and wife of Academy Award winner Tommy Lee Jones, as well as Pamela Flanagan, a young, polo-playing lawyer who rescues horses and transforms them into polo ponies.
The show also takes an in-depth look at the exciting lives of two U.S. Polo Assn. Global Brand Ambassadors: Hope Arellano, a young polo phenom, and Ashley Busch, a fashion designer, model and wife of NASCAR superstar Kurt Busch.
“I want to thank U.S. Polo Assn. for creating the Women in Polo project to help raise awareness about women in the sport of polo, its history, those who currently play the sport, and its potential to grow in the future,” Dawn Jones said. “I was honored to offer my perspective as an active female polo player, highly interested in seeing women’s polo become more efficiently and professionally organized for the next generation.”
The show takes a detour outside Palm Beach County to meet Shariah Harris, a young woman from Philadelphia’s Work To Ride program, who is defying the odds by earning a full scholarship to play polo at Cornell University, and making history as the first African-American woman to play in a high-goal polo tournament.
“I am very honored to be one of the featured women in this show,” Harris said. “My introduction to the sport of polo and my journey, through the Work to Ride program, has been very unique. However, I feel that the best journeys are sometimes the ones that are a bit unconventional. And hopefully my story and the stories of the other amazing women featured on this show can inspire other women to pick up the sport, no matter their backgrounds.”
