The USPA Polo Pony Breeding Committee has chosen Big Horn Polo Club as the exclusive host for a groundbreaking pilot program featuring the American Polo Pony Registry during our upcoming Shane Winkler Memorial tournament from Friday, July 11 to Sunday, July 20.
This innovative initiative will test a revolutionary prize distribution system while collecting valuable player insights. USPA Chairman Stewart Armstrong tasked the committee, made up of diverse members of the polo community, with revitalizing American polo pony breeding and horsemanship in the United States.
Committee Chair Whistle Uys and committee member Troy Lequerica, talked about the program at a recent Sunday polo game at the Big Horn Equestrian Center field.
Big Horn Polo Club, established in 1898, is already a breeding hub for American polo horses, provides an ideal grassroots starting point for the initiative. Over $20,000 in prize money will be awarded to the top horses and their owners during the tournament, with funds drawn primarily from sponsorship and participation fees tied specifically to the horse awards program. A record eight teams are entered in the tournament—the largest number of teams in the event’s history.
Whistle said there were several reasons why they chose the Big Horn Polo Club to host the program
The committee explored various options and ultimately concluded that the creation of an incentivized registry was the essential starting point. The American Polo Pony Registry will provide a platform for the polo community to connect. The registry will offer a way to track existing horses in the U.S. and serve as the foundation for future growth.
Lequerica explained what they are planning to accomplish by doing the American Polo Pony Registry.
Whistle added,
Lequerica said that in the 1940s the AQHA (American Quarter Horse Association) began their registry, and that APPR is doing the same thing today. It is a 20-to-40-year plan, he said. “We’re doing it for the next generation. This is the starting point, and then we can expand on that, as the success of the whole operation progresses.”
He talked about the standards in the registry, and the standards will be based on how the horse plays the game. He said that past performance horses would be registered as brood stock.
Lequerica said that Whistle summed it up with this quote.
He said they hope to change that. He also added that the Big Horn area has been a noted horse breeding area for over 100 years, and during the Boer War and WWI, many Wyoming horses were shipped overseas to fight in the war.
Description: APPR serves as a national hub for polo horse registration, benefiting American breeding and American polo. The initiative seeks to revive interest in polo through financial reward attracting uncapped external funding and participation.
Players and breeders will have the opportunity to earn money with their best horses, and the APPR aims to capitalize on this trend with a comprehensive registry and incentive events. For the complete payout structure and list of planned events for 2026, feel free to contact the APPR committee. USPA Polo Pony Breeding Committee members are: Chairman—Whistle Uys; Vice chairman—-Chloe Torres; Committee members, Troy Lequerica, Steve Krueger, Gillian Johnston and Dr. Daniel Pike.