The Road to Gold Begins: Team USA Roster for FIP Arena World Polo Championship Announced

As anticipation builds for the II FIP Arena World Polo Championship, the United States Polo Association proudly announces the official team USA roster.

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA, UNITED STATES, September 12, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- As anticipation builds for the II FIP Arena World Polo Championship, the United States Polo Association (USPA) is proud to announce the official roster set to represent the United States on home soil. Scheduled from Sunday, October 5 through Sunday, October 12, the second edition of the prestigious event will be co-hosted by Roseland Polo Club (Crozet, Virginia) and Virginia Polo Inc. (Charlottesville, Virginia), as teams from around the globe battle for the top-tier international title. Teams from USA, France, Italy, Argentina, Pakistan and Guatemala have qualified from their respective zones for the final event.

Arena polo, also known as hockey on horseback, is a ball and mallet sport played on horseback. Arena polo is played in an enclosed arena with two goal mouths set into either end of the 300 by 150-foot dirt or sand arena. The game is played with teams of three players all mounted on horseback. All players are equipped with bamboo cane mallets and attempt to move the ball into their respective goals to rack up points.

Periods of play last for 7.5 minutes and are known as “chukkers”. At the end of a game, consisting of four chukkers, the team that has the highest number of goals wins. Teams must abide by all rules to ensure the safety of players and horses. Arena polo is a unique sport with both men and women and all ages competing on the same playing field, creating an atmosphere of competition and cooperation that everyone can enjoy. Arena polo allows spectators to get up-close to the action - feeling the thunder of hooves as the play rushes by. It is a fast-paced sport, and the thrill of international competition will make this event like no other.

The USPA International Committee has selected a dynamic trio to don the red, white and blue: seasoned captain Jared Sheldon, Patrick Uretz and Kareem Rosser. All three bring a wealth of experience and share deep roots in Intercollegiate/Interscholastic polo, as well as in some of the country’s top arena polo programs. The United States has long been a dominant force in arena polo, driven by a rich history and a vibrant culture. These three players embody that
legacy and are poised to showcase the full depth of American arena polo on the world stage.

CAPTAIN JARED SHELDON
Starting strong and building off his silver medal performance at the inaugural 2023 FIP Arena World Polo Championship, Jared Sheldon returns as captain, determined to lead the USA team back to the podium, this time aiming for gold. Sheldon, a Southern California native, was introduced to polo through his family’s long-standing involvement in the sport, most notably his grandfather, the renowned Russell Sheldon, and his father, Billy Sheldon, founder of the Poway Polo Club (Poway, California). Sheldon’s talent emerged early, earning him the Polo Training Foundation (PTF) Interscholastic Player of the Year in 2005. He quickly built an impressive and successful career, highlighted most recently by winning his third U.S. Open Arena Polo Championship in 2024. He boasts a strong international pedigree, having secured the 2015 John R. Townsend Challenge Cup against England, a longstanding tradition between the two nations.

In 2023, Sheldon represented the stars and stripes in the inaugural FIP Arena World Polo Championship in Argentina, earning a silver medal. Alongside these international achievements, Sheldon’s resume boasts multiple titles from prestigious arena tournaments that highlight his champion status.

"I'm very excited for this year's World Cup. I keep calling this my redemption tour after losing 3 years ago in the finals and overtime, so this is our chance to go back into the arena and finish what we started," states Sheldon.

"It's amazing to be able to play with Patrick, one of my best friends growing up, and Kareem Rosser, who's just an ultimate competitor. We've been playing a few practices and getting warmed up and ready to put all our work to the test."

KAREEM ROSSER
A notable, award-winning author, philanthropist and a standout arena player, Kareem Rosser brings strength, experience and leadership to the team. Known for his tenacity on the field and impact off it, Rosser rounds out the roster with a track record of high-level performance. Born and raised in West Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Rosser was first introduced to polo through the Work to Ride Program (Chamounix, Philadelphia), where he now serves as the Executive Vice President and board member. He made history in 2011 as part of the first all-African American team to win the National Interscholastic Championship. That same year, Rosser was awarded the PTF Interscholastic Player of the Year. In 2015, Rosser led Colorado State University (Fort
Collins, Colorado) to its fourth Men’s National Intercollegiate Championship title and went on to receive the PTF Intercollegiate Player of the Year award. After graduating from college, Rosser represented the USA team in the Townsend Cup in 2016. His achievements on the field and dedication to growing the game off it make Rosser a powerful asset as the United States sets its sights on international arena success.

"It’s a true honor for me to have been selected to play on the team. It's a very special opportunity for me personally as I think this is probably the biggest arena tournament that I've had the opportunity to play outside of the Townsend Cup [USA vs England] and playing for National title. It's a special moment and it's an incredible opportunity that I recognize, for me, as a once in a lifetime opportunity to be able to play in the FIP tournament and to represent the US and to be able to do it on US soil," says Rosser.

"I'm excited and I'm looking forward to competing and playing with Jared and Patrick - two guys who have long admired."

PATRICK URETZ
Heard behind the mic, lending his insight as a guest commentator on the USPA Polo Network during the Santa Barbara Polo & Racquet Club (Carpinteria, California) 16-goal season, Patrick Uretz continues to make his mark both on and off the field. A seasoned player hailing from California, Uretz has built an impressive and well-rounded career, representing the United States on multiple occasions. He was a key member of the USA team that captured silver at the 2015 XI FIP World Polo Championship in Chile and helped secure victory in the 2014 Bryan Morrison Trophy in England. His polo journey began in the Intercollegiate/Interscholastic ranks, where he captured back-to-back Men’s National Intercollegiate Championships with Westmont
College (Santa Barbara, California) in 2013 and 2014 and was named the 2014 PTF Intercollegiate Player of the Year. Uretz remains actively involved in the sport through coaching, umpiring and youth polo development in both California and Florida. His list of accomplishments reflects a steady presence at the highest levels of the sport, marked by national success, international experience and continued leadership within American polo.

FIP HORSEMASTER – CHARLIE MULDOON
As the championship approaches, careful attention is being paid to the string of equine athletes that will carry each team. In the months leading up to the event, each horse will be evaluated and graded A, B or C based on ability. Once assessed, horses will be organized into evenly matched strings. Prior to the start of play, teams will draw to determine their assigned pool of mounts for the duration of the championship. Charlie Muldoon will serve as the official
horsemaster, overseeing this critical process. A lifelong polo professional and former Executive Director of USPA Umpires, LLC, Muldoon has contributed to the sport as a player, horse trainer, instructor, coach, volunteer and dedicated supporter. Hailing from a polo family, he began his career at 18 and went on to compete in some of the sport’s most prestigious tournaments, including the U.S. Open Polo Championship, East Coast Open and the FIP World Polo
Championship. His knowledge of the game and deep understanding of horsemanship makes him an essential part of the tournament’s success.

Captain Jared Sheldon adds, "It's awesome to see arena polo becoming more on the global stage and seeing arena polo in Argentina, in France and European countries. It's a pleasure to see that it's coming to the forefront and getting the attention it deserves and really letting us go prove what we can do out there in the arena."

For more information and updates, please visit the 2025 FIP Arena World Polo Championship landing page https://www.uspolo.org/fip-arena-world-championship. Matches are free to attend, with seating and tailgating available on a first-come, first-served basis. For those unable to attend in person, all games will be livestreamed on the USPA Polo Network on YouTube.

Robin Sanchez
US Arena Polo
+1 717-645-8778
robin@usarenapolo.com
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Coming This October to Virginia - FIP Arena Polo World Championship

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