20170213 PR - Polo team travels to India for tournament
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Oak Brook Polo Team Travels to India For
Three-Day Polo Tournament and Festival
OAK BROOK, IL (February 13, 2017) – Oak Brook Polo Club has a long history of
welcoming teams from other countries and participating in friendly matches and tournaments
abroad. For the first time in over thirty years, the Oak Brook Polo Team will travel half way
around the world to compete in a series of arena polo matches in Delhi and Anandpur Sahib, a
city in the state of Punjab, India. The three-man team will depart for “The Holy City of Bliss” -
one of the Sikh’s most important sacred places on March 6th to face the Delhi Polo Club and
other India teams and players in competitions beginning on Friday, March 10th – Sunday, March
12th including the Sodhi Kishan Singh Memorial Polo Cup.
Chicago’s Polo Team will be represented in India by two Club Team favorites, captain Horacio
Onetto (Arena Hcap - 6) and Tomas “Toto” Obregon (Arena Hcap - 4), and newcomer & rising
star, Derek Berg (Arena Hcap - 1).
Since 2015, the Oak Brook Polo Club has welcomed the Delhi Polo Club to the United States
and its team captain and patron, Vikram Singh Sodhi, managing trustee of the Anandpur Sahib
Heritage Foundation and owner of the Delhi Polo & Riding Club.
“After two seasons of hosting the Delhi Polo Club at Oak Brook, we have accepted their
invitation to play in India with much enthusiasm and excitement,” explains James Drury,
President of Oak Brook Polo Club. “We are sending three of Oak Brook Polo’s best American
players to participate. Vikram Singh Sodhi has become a dear friend and to the Village of Oak
Brook therefore we are honored to reciprocate the relationship and are gracious for his generous
hospitality.”
Match activities will take place during India’s Hola Mohalla Festival, an annual Sikh event to
fortify the Sikh community by carrying out martial training and mock-drills along with religious
discussions. During the evenings, martial members display their physical strength through daring
acts like mock-battles, sword-fighting displays, archery, and exercising on speeding horses.
Hola Mohalla is the time to celebrate and dedicate oneself into community service. The Sodhi
Kisham Singh Memorial Polo is one of the many horse-related activities and demonstrations to
take place during the festival.
The Oak Brook Polo Club was once an ambassador to the sport of polo in the United States and
frequently traveled internationally to compete in countries such as Mexico, England, India, Italy,
Jamaica, and Ireland to name a few.
The Delhi Polo Club has been invited back to Oak Brook for a third straight year to compete in
the 2017 Season’s Butler Challenge Cup on Sunday, August 20th. On that same date, Reute
Butler, granddaughter of Paul Butler, and her mother Jorie Butler Kent will be hosting a
luncheon and fundraiser for the Friends of Conservation.
About Oak Brook Polo Club
Founded in 1922 by legendary businessman, Paul Butler, the Oak Brook Polo Club is an
American Polo treasure and one of the oldest polo clubs in the United States. It was once the
sport's epicenter for elite professional polo in the United States and served as home to the U.S.
Open Polo Championship for twenty-four straight seasons and other prestigious international and
national polo tournaments. For decades, the Club has been a popular Sunday tradition and social
scene known for entertaining Hollywood celebrities, dignitaries, royalty and Chicago's
distinguished. Today, Oak Brook Polo Club hosts several Sunday matches and continues to
attract thousands of fascinated spectators who marvel at the athleticism and majesty of this
timeless sport.
PRESS CONTACT:
Daphne Ortiz
media@oakbrookpoloclub.com
312.488.3472