Portion of Event Proceeds Go To Benefit Work to Ride, a Non-Profit Featured on CNN, ’60 Minutes’ and ESPN.
(SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.) – They have won back-to-back National Interscholastic Polo Championships and have emerged as the strongest force in American high school polo. They are natives of urban Philadelphia who did not grow up around the sport and whose parents did not own horses. As part of the non-profit Work to Ride program, they clean and maintain the horse stables so they can compete in the sport they now love.
Some of the players behind this amazing success story are coming to Scottsdale on Saturday, October 20th to compete against Harvard University at the biggest polo event to ever hit Arizona at WestWorld of Scottsdale’s Polo Field. Work to Ride was founded by Lezlie Hiner in 1994. Hiner had a vision to teach polo, horsemanship, equestrian studies, as well as an education curriculum, to city kids. Her teams now routinely beat squads comprising the children of professional polo players.
Earlier this year, the Work to Ride squad claimed its second national championship by defeating El Dorado, from California, in a double-overtime shootout at the University of Virginia.The Work to Ride phenomenon has not gone without notice. CNN, ESPN and “60 Minutes” have featured the amazing accomplishments of the program.
The team’s captain, Kareem Rosser is now one of four polo players in his family. As a young boy Rosser says he always wanted to pursue an equestrian dream. He took the initiative and followed the footsteps of his two older brothers and began riding at the age of 8.
“I can humbly say my high school polo career has been a very successful one. I was voted 8 time Interscholastic All-Star, Polo Training Foundation Interscholastic Player of the year, Team USPA 2012 and I have reached a 1 goal handicap outdoor and 2 in the arena,” said Rosser. “I am also the first to graduate high school in my family and now attending Colorado State University.”
Rosser says he’s excited to bring his skills to Scottsdale on October 20th.
Gates will open at 10:00 a.m., followed by the Work to Ride and Harvard match at 1 p.m. At 3 p.m. will be the second match-up between The Hamptons, led by top ranked American Polo Star Tommy Biddle Jr., Long Island’s County Farms Polo and The Bel Air Polo Club captained by Nic Roldan.
