Mike Azzaro, Tim Gannon Head 2013 Polo Hall of Fame Induction Class

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WELLINGTON, FL – January 31, 2013 – The hallowed halls of the National Museum of Polo & Hall of Fame will be in the spotlight on Friday, February 15th as some of the sport’s players and horses are honored during its 24th annual dinner and induction ceremony.

A sell-out crowd of 400 is expected for the gala that attracts polo enthusiasts and star-studded lineup from all over the world to honor the sport’s greats and add another page to polo history.

George DuPont, Jr., executive director of the National Museum of Polo & Hall of Fame said the dinner, induction ceremony and silent auction is the most important fundraising event for the museum each year.

What’s considered the “Academy Awards Night” for polo, will be held in the museum with cocktails and hors d’oeuvres and outside the facility under a 5,400-square foot tent where dinner, dancing and induction ceremony will be staged.

The museum building, opened in 1997 in Lake Worth, houses polo records and memorabilia honoring those individuals who have made outstanding contributions to polo. The museum is a not-for-profit educational organization.

“Like any and all museums, we are preserving yesterday for tomorrow,” DuPont said.

Piaget player-sponsor Melissa Ganzi is vice president of the museum’s Board of Directors and is passionate about not only preserving the sport’s history but promoting polo to a diverse population by staging juniors tournaments, women’s tournaments, Gay Polo League Tournaments and fall and spring polo seasons at the Ganzi family’s Wellington-based Grand Champions Polo Club.

This year’s six honorees are:

Mike Azzaro: A former 10-goal player (a rating he held for 14 years) won six U.S. Open Championships, three Silver Cups, Butler Handicap, Iglehart, and World Cup.

Robert Gould Shaw II: A 9-goaler who played for Myopia teams in the late 19th century and early 1900s, (1872 – 1930) was the committee’s choice for the posthumous award. Shaw won all the major tournaments of the era in his time as an active player.

Tim Gannon: Will be awarded the Hall of Fame Iglehart Award for his selfless generosity to polo, charitable causes and lifetime contributions to the sport. As Outback player-sponsor he won the U.S. Open three times.

Bill Gilmore: Will be recognized as the posthumous Hall of Fame inductee for the Iglehart Award. He is remembered as a powerful force in the revival of the game in California after World War II.

Fairy Story: In the Horses to Remember category the committee elected the celebrated mare bred in England and later owned and played by Stephen “Laddy” Sanford. Fairy Story was one of the top polo ponies in the 1920s, sweeping an unprecedented number of the major awards given at that time.

Ever Ready: A chestnut mare, trained and played by 1993 Hall of Famer Ray Harrington was also selected to be honored in the Horse to Remember category. Ever Ready was Harrington’s “war horse” on whom he depended throughout his extraordinary four consecutive wins in the U.S. Open, 1966 – 1969. She was awarded the Hartman Award for Best Playing pony of the Open in 1969 and also that year played in the 1969 Cup of the Americas at Palermo.

24th annual National Museum of Polo & Hall of Fame Dinner Awards Gala Fast Facts

Where: National Museum of Polo and Hall of Fame, 9011 Lake Worth Road, Lake Worth.

When: Friday, February 15

Time: Cocktails and hors d’oeuvres. 6:30 p.m., dinner and induction ceremony, 8 p.m.

Admission: Reservations are $200 each (tax deductible $100). Wellington-based Grand Champions Polo Club is among a long list of supporting sponsors.

For Information: Call Brenda Lynn at 561-969-3210 or 561-969-7015

About the museum: The museum is a source of growing pride in the community as a place for research and study about a sport that has defined a special segment of the sport’s heritage.

Museum hours: Monday – Friday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. and on Saturdays during the season, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Admission is free. Donations are appreciated.

Sharon Robb for Phelps Media Group, Inc. International

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