The Gulfstream Polo Club was a

polo Polo is a ball game played on horseback, a traditional field sport and one of the world's oldest known team sports. The game is played by two opposing teams with the objective of scoring using a long-handled wooden mallet to hit a small hard ...

club in Lake Worth, Florida. Since 1923, Gulfstream Polo Club was one of the most prominent polo clubs in North America, particularly during the Florida season (December–April). Gulfstream was managed by Marla Connor for 18 years until it closed in May 2016 at the end of the polo season. Throughout its long history it offered a wide array of tournaments, with 4, 6, and 10 Goal Leagues as well as Ladies Tournaments.

Location

It was located at 4550 Polo Road, Lake Worth, Florida, 33467, not far from the Museum of Polo and Hall of Fame.

History

It was started by the

Phipps family The Phipps family of the United States is a prominent American family that descends from Henry Phipps Jr. (1839–1930), a businessman and philanthropist. His father was an English shoemaker who immigrated in the early part of the 19th century t ...

North of Delray Beach, Florida in 1923, making it the oldest polo club in Florida.Gulfstream Polo Club: Our History
/ref>Horace A. Laffaye, ''Polo in the United States: A History'', Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, 2011, p. 98Bill DiPaolo
Seven horses die in barn fire at Gulfstream Polo Club; electrical overload in makeshift kitchen blamed
''

The Palm Beach Post ''The Palm Beach Post'' is an American daily newspaper serving Palm Beach County in South Florida, and parts of the Treasure Coast. On March 18, 2018, in a deal worth US$42.35 million, ''The Palm Beach Post'' and ''The Palm Beach Daily News'' we ...

'', March 9, 2013 It became affiliated with the United States Polo Association in 1935. In 1941,

John H. H. Phipps John H. H. Phipps (a.k.a. Ben Phipps) (November 3, 1904 - April 1982) was an American heir, businessman, plantation owner, conservationist and polo player. He owned radio and television stations in Florida and Georgia. Biography Early life His fa ...

, Michael Grace Phipps (1910–1973),

Charles Skiddy von Stade Charles Steele von Stade (November 24, 1919 – April 10, 1945) was an American polo champion. Biography Personal life Charles Steele von Stade was born in Old Westbury, Long Island, New York on November 24, 1919 to Francis Skiddy von Stade, Sr. ...

and

Alan L. Corey, Jr. Alan Lyle Corey Jr. (February 6, 1917 - August 24, 1998) was an American polo player. Overview It ... on March 20, 1992. He was married to Patricia Grace, and they had one daughter, Patricia Corey Montgomerie, and two sons, Alan L. Corey III and ...

, all players in residence at the Gulfstream Polo Club, won the

U.S. Open Polo Championship The US Open Polo Championship is an annual polo championship in the United States. It is organized since 1904 by the United States Polo Association (USPA). History The tournament was first played on September 20, 1904 at Van Cortlandt Park in T ...

at the Meadow Brook Polo Club. However, during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the club was closed and the stables were used by US troops in case of an invasion. In the 1960s, the Phipps family sold the land in Delray Beach. Philip L. B. Iglehart (1913-1993) together with Jim Kraml, Sr., Norberto Azqueta Sr., Robert Uihlein, Jr. (1916-1976), William Taylor,

William Stamps Farish III William Stamps Farish III (born March 17, 1939) is an American businessman and a former US ambassador to the UK from 2001 until 2004. Family and early life He was an only child, his father, Army Lt. William Stamps Farish Jr., died in a trainin ...

(born 1939), James H. Binger (1916-2004), George C. Sherman, Jr. and Paul Butler (1892-1981) purchased land in Lake Worth and re-established the polo club there. There were five fields, including the Bostwick Field, named after Pete Bostwick (1909-1982), who was a club member.

Summerfield Johnston, Jr. Summerfield Johnston Jr. (born August 28, 1932), aka Skey Johnston, is an American businessman and polo player.

served as a long-time club president. It has been home to the USPA Delegate's Cup (8-Goal) since the mid-1970s, the USPA Bronze Cup (12-Goal) since the early 1980s, and the Heritage Cup (16-Goal) since 1987. The club closed permanently on May 20, 2016, following acquisition by Pulte Homes, a real estate development firm.

References

{{coord, 26.613, -80.180, type:landmark_region:US-FL, display=title Polo clubs in the United States Buildings and structures in Lake Worth Beach, Florida Phipps family Sports venues in Palm Beach County, Florida 2016 disestablishments in Florida