Texas Arena League Armadillo Division: Growing Strong and Reaching New Heights

The 2025 Texas Arena League Armadillo Division expands arena polo to two locations and introduces higher competition levels

DALLAS, TX, UNITED STATES, March 11, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- For the 2025 Texas Arena League Season, the ever-growing Armadillo Division has expanded to a second location and will now accommodate even higher-goal levels of play. As the Texas Arena League (TAL) continues to grow, both its Classic and Armadillo divisions have adapted to meet the needs of the ever-evolving Texas arena polo community. With the overwhelming response to the inaugural Armadillo Division in 2023, TAL has tailored this popular division for its third season by introducing new opportunities for both players and spectators alike.

“The three of us “Polo Hermanos” are at different clubs now but promised each other we would play together this year. The Armadillo league made it fun with challenging and well-balanced teams.” -Michael Farah

The Armadillo Division was first introduced in 2023 to address the rising demand for competitive play at the 0-3 goal level. As more teams signed up, it became quickly apparent that there simply weren’t enough hours in the day to host enough games for all participants. To ensure that every team had an opportunity to compete, two additional weekends were added to the TAL calendar. These additional weekends were dubbed the Texas Arena League: Armadillo Division, named after the state small animal in homage to true Texas spirit and tradition.

In 2024, the Armadillo Division attracted a whopping nine teams at the 0-3 goal level whose games took place over one weekend at Legends Polo Club. The success of this division was clear with both players and fans praising the increased opportunities for competition and crowd-engaging plays.

“Playing in TAL’s Armadillo League with the Interim Physicians team has become my most anticipated event of the year. John Hand, my best friend and former teammate (Texas Tech Polo Club), started the team in 2024 after we both took a 6-year hiatus from playing polo. Since then, we’ve aimed to make this a yearly tradition. TAL offers us the ability to compete in the arena again, see old faces, and reminisce on our past polo days. Despite our team’s practice taking place during games 1 & 2 of Armadillo League, we have strong talent on the team and all enjoy playing together, win or lose!” -Dallas Taylor

For 2025, the Texas Arena League Armadillo Division has raised the bar even higher. The 0-3 goal level was adjusted to 0-4, adding a whole new level of challenge for competing teams. With eight teams now signed up for the newly revamped division, the competition will be held under the banner of the United States Polo Association (USPA) National Arena Bronze Cup at the prestigious Legends Polo Club over two weekends.

“Getting to compete for the National Arena Bronze Cup is such a great opportunity. Military polo is such a small knit community and being able to represent it at a national level is an honor.” -2nd Lt Rowan August Neidinger, Team Marines

One of the most exciting changes for the 2025 season features a brand-new addition to the Armadillo Division: the 8-12 goal hosted at Brookshire Polo Club. This additional weekend came at the request of last year’s players who were seeking an even more advanced competitive experience. This year’s 8-12 goal division is being played as the USPA National Arena Chairman's Cup at Brookshire Polo Club with 6 participating teams. Since the tournament’s inception in 1949, this may be the largest number of teams to ever compete for the National Arena Chairman's Cup. Finals for this tournament will run concurrently with the 0-4 goal armadillo division at Legends Polo Club February 28th-March 2nd.

“It (Armadillo Division) at Brookshire Polo Club is a nice addition to TAL. After playing the U.S. Open Arena Polo Championship, I believe it is a step between to show some people that they could also do the Open. The league has also helped grow TAL in the Houston area and will hopefully pull some more people into playing next year. For me it has helped the level of play across the board from the players to the horses.” Chad Bowman

"The TAL 8-12 goal Armadillo league has been such an exciting and wonderful addition to the Texas Arena League. The new 8-12 goal league has really elevated the level of arena polo being played and has provided a great way for players to continue competitively playing outside of the TAL Classic Division. My goal in joining the league was to continue to improve myself by competing at a higher level amongst players better than myself and to help keep myself sharp during the "off" weekends from the Classic division. I do feel like a little fish in a big pond at times but have relished the opportunity to play higher level arena polo and strive to continue improving my skills and reaction times. " -Stephanie Colburn

“My favorite part of playing in TAL is getting to play with my daughter and the time we spend together. Family is so important, and my parents and sister come to the games and watch and help support our team which has been such a blessing.”- Ashley Owen

As with Classic Division, every player in Armadillo Divisions receives a limited-edition U.S. Polo Assn. sherpa hoodie with TAL logo embroidered. Awards are given in each game for Galvin Agency MVP, Nutrena Best Playing Pony and Sportsmanship. Added for 2025 the PoloGear USA Player of the Week and Casablanca Defenseman of the Week awards.

Armadillo Division Week #1 Awards
PoloGear USA Player of the Week Legends - Uly Escapite
Casablanca Polo Defenseman of the Week Legends - Jose Velez
PoloGear USA Player of the Week Brookshire - Joe Bob Lequerica
Casablanca Defenseman of the Week Brookshire - Will Mudra
Nutrena Best Playing Pony
Macaroni - James Glew
Daisy - Loreto Natividad
Serious Fun - Brady Williams, owned by Karl Hilberg
Gringo - Matthew Schloemer
Boomerang - Joe Bob Lequerica
Sunny - Robert Orthwein
Gunsmoke - Stephanie Colburn
Ruby - Will Mudra
Taquito - Nick Cifuni, owned by Mary Ellen Clinton
Indy - Shane Rice
Lola - Javier Insua
Annie - James Glew
Niner - played by Team Marines, owned by Will Walton
Mathew - played by Adrian Aguilar, owned by Legends Polo Club

Galvin Agency Most Valuable Player
Robert Orthwein
Joe Bob Lequerica 2x
Niklaus Felhaber
Will Mudra
Chad Bowman
James Glew
Nick Lahutsky
Uly Escapite 2x
Patrick Shanahan
Loreto Natividad
John Hand
Adrian Aguilar

Cavalor/JD Polo Sportsmanship
Joaquin Callejas
Ashlyn Whiteley
Rachel Mittman
Dallas Taylor
Todd Thurston
Audry Persano
Shane Rice
Will Mudra
Stephanie Colburn
Roxy Mounter
Patrick Shanahan
Mariel Juarez
Mike Farah
Matthew Schloemer

The Texas Arena League Armadillo Division is proving that the sky's the limit when it comes to the growth of arena polo in the Lone Star State. Fans and players alike can look forward to the thrilling finals of the 2025 season with plenty of action left in store. For more details on the 2025 season, score updates, and ticket information, visit texasarenaleague.com or follow the Texas Arena League on Facebook and Instagram. You can also follow the scorekeeping and stats on polosk.com

Robin Sanchez
US Arena Polo
robin@usarenapolo.com
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