Windsor, England – Sept. 5, 2018 – The countdown has begun! The inaugural GPL Tournament in England will be held this weekend at the beautiful Zacara Polo Grounds, located at Drift Road – Shurlock Row, Berkshire, RG10 0PP. The public is invited to to join Saturday, September 8, 2018, for two afternoon polo matches. The matches will begin at 3:00 p.m. and 4:30 p.m., and admission is free, so join the fun and cheer on your favorite teams! In addition to the previously announced Bell Rock Capital and Phelps Media Group teams, RSM and Malvern Bank will also field contenders for the tournament title.
RSM, a veteran sponsor of the GPL flagship tournament in Wellington, Florida, continues its support with a team sponsorship in England:
Gordon Ross (Canada) – Gordon has been riding since he was eight years old and took up polo ten years ago. He enjoys summer polo at his home club in Calgary Alberta, and in the winter plays in an 8-goal league in Indio, Ca. Gordon is a USPA 0-rated player. His partner Richard, recently retired from polo, is the president of the Calgary Polo Club. Outside of polo, Gordon is the top ranked Realtor in the #1 Re/Max office in the world.
Daniel Bain (Canada) – Daniel lives in Toronto, Canada, and has been playing polo for a few years. He has made two appearances in the Annual GPL Tournaments in Wellington, Florida, and was on the winning team of GPL’s Founders Cup in 2018. Professionally, Daniel is the founder and CEO of Thornmark Asset Management, a hedge fund company.
Michael Sahakian (United States) – Michael Sahakian was born and raised in USSR Georgia, moving to the United States nearly 40 years ago. He learned to ride a few years ago and delved into polo only six months into his riding career, now playing at his home club of Palm City Polo in Boynton Beach, Florida. Michael has played in two flagship GPL Tournaments, one in 2016 in Argentina and another in Wellington, Florida in 2018.
GPL extends its gratitude to RSM for both sponsoring a team as well as supporting the mission of the polo club.
“At RSM, we understand the importance of diversity and inclusion.” said Kerensa Butler, partner and Pride ENG leader with RSM US LLP. “Our 11 employee-led employee network groups (ENGs) play a key role in raising our collective awareness of how our differences – when we are aware of and understand them – can help us work together to achieve our professional and personal goals, while helping our middle market clients succeed. Our Pride ENG and the rest of our nearly 10,000 people in the U.S. are proud to support the Gay Polo League which shares our firm’s core value of stewardship by providing charitable contributions to deserving nonprofit organizations focused on improving the community.”
Malvern Bank is also a returning sponsor that is a team sponsor for GPL UK:
Stacie Simpkins (United States) – Stacie resides in Wellington, Florida and Aiken, South Carolina, competing in Aiken during the spring and fall seasons. Stacie learned how to ride and play polo 11 years ago, and she took to the polo field to help raise funds for the Ronald McDonald House of Long Island at their annual charity matches at Meadowbrook Polo Club. Stacie has spent three winter seasons in Wellington, and has been actively involved with GPL almost the entirety of that time.
Jed Pearsall (United States) – Jed started playing polo a few years ago. He has hosted tailgating parties at GPL and has played in the Annual GPL Tournament the past four years. Jed and his husband, Bill Doyle, live in Newport, Rhode Island, and are the co-owners of Performance Research, a marketing research company specializing in the evaluation and measurement of sports, cultural, and pro-social sponsorships.
Julian Leake (Great Britain) – A seasoned polo player in England, Julian will be participating in his first GPL event.
GPL is grateful to Malvern Bank for generously sponsoring a team in the event.
“For Malvern Bank, polo has become a thread that has connected us to many people in many ways. We are delighted to support GPL, who we met through our Palm Beach Florida office, where we have been concentrating on an affinity to the equestrian world. Sports in general create a perfect environment for teamwork and getting to know people through sportsmanship and old fashioned conversation. We wish everyone the best of luck!” commented Tony Weagley, CEO and President of Malvern Bank.
An additional thank you is extended from GPL to Mariano Darritchon, who will supply a superb string of polo ponies for the tournament. Darritchon is an experienced Polo Manager, Guards Polo Club Professional Player and HPA Instructor during the polo season in England, where he is based April to September. During the winter months, he passionately runs his polo pony breeding program in Argentina alongside the family run polo school at La Mariposa.
Established in 2006, Gay Polo League is a 501(c)3 tax-exempt organization which promotes the sport of polo as a means for providing equality, pride, inclusion and confidence for those individuals who face discrimination simply due to identifying themselves as lesbian, gay, bisexual, gay or other non-traditional sexual or gender identities.
For more information, please visit gaypolo.com.
