This Weekend's Polo Match Features Team USA vs. China

China will make its debut on Saturday, June 16, at 5 p.m. in the Newport International Polo Series, as a highlight of the 2012 season. 

The match will feature USA vs. China in a 6-chukker match on the polo grounds of historic at 715 East Main Road. 

Competing for China will be four players from Beijing, where the sport of polo "has returned with a ferver brewing for at least a 1,000 years," according to a release from the Newport Polo Web site.

"It is known that polo's asiatic roots in the Mongolian empire included China; the Musée Guimet in Paris possesses murals dating from the Tang Dynasty (6th – 8th century AD) which are probably the world’s oldest visual documents depicting polo. 

"In recent years, the tastes of the country’s beau monde have re-embraced the sport of kings."

“We are excited to have the team from China making its debut in our international lineup this season,” explained Dan Keating, USA team captain and founder of the Polo Series. "It is an honor to have teams traveling from such great distances to meet us on our turf."

After six periods called chukkers, the match will conclude with a champagne trophy presentation of the inaugural USA vs. China silver cup, as well as the naming of the Best Playing Pony and cocktail hour to mingle with the players. A door prize will also be awarded to one lucky spectator.

Dating back more than 130 years, the polo matches are a unique and popular Newport summertime tradition, open to the public. Audiences of several thousand spectators enjoy cheering for the international guests as well as for the home team. 

With two debuts this season, the Polo Series will have hosted 27 nations over its 21 seasons including England, Ireland, Scotland, France, Spain, Portugal, Germany, Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa, Egypt, India, New Zealand, Australia, Chile, Argentina, Costa Rica, Jamaica,  Barbados, Canada, Hungary, Dominican
Republic, Netherlands, Kenya, Brazil and newcomers China and Italy.

This is the 21st season of the Newport International Polo Series, presented by your Rhode Island BMW Centers, and sponsored by NewportRI.com,  Alex and Ani, The Newport Beach Club,Hotel Viking, KPMG, Clarke Cooke House, Rockstar Limo, Massage Envy, Lufthansa, Stillwater Spa at Hyatt Regency Newport, McGrath Clambakes, WCRI Classical Radio,Champagne Nicolas Feuillatte and promotional partners including The Preservation Society of Newport, Bird’s Eye View Helicopter Tours,  America's Cup Charters, the International Tennis Hall of Fame, and Discover Newport. 

“Our sponsors have been with us since the beginning. Without their support, the Series would not be as extensive as it is,” explains Dan Keating, Polo Series founder. 

The polo matches will run continuously every Saturday from June through September. The polo series takes place in the picturesque setting of Glen Farm, the last 100 acres of what was once a 700-acre manorial farm whose settlement dates back to the 1600's. 

Its classical stone barns from the Gilded Age and its park-like grounds were rehabilitated by Keating and thrive today as an equestrian & community recreational property, and home of the Polo Series.