Alexander Haagen III

A man whose name is nearly synonymous with polo in California, Al Haagen focused his efforts on growing polo on the West Coast in Indio, California, both on and off the field. He started Empire Polo Club in 1987 and built the 11-field into a juggernaut that hosted the first 40-goal event in the U.S., the first U.S. Women’s Open, the Townsend Cup, and the Arena Open tournament. The busy club featured at least 15 teams playing every winter, along with a polo school and Sunday polo with record-setting attendance. Haagen, who started playing polo in 1983, was patron of the Empire polo team for 30 years.