Polo match to benefit injured player

The Oak Brook Polo Club has expanded the 2017 season to include a benefit match at 1 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 17, in honor of friend and fellow teammate Tony Sekera.

Sekera was badly injured during a solo stick and ball practice near Aiken, South Carolina, in June. His favorite polo pony stumbled, resulting in Sekera tumbling over the animal's head and fracturing his C4 and C5 vertebrae with spinal cord damage. He was airlifted to Augusta University Medical Center for an emergency surgery to realign vertebrae and decompress his spinal cord. Sekera stayed in the shock trauma unit for two weeks until he was stabilized enough to be flown to Chicago's Shirley Ryan AbilityLab.

Due to significant immobility below his shoulders, Sekera will have to rely on 24-hour nursing care. Anyone who knows him is aware of his determination, tenacity and positive attitude, however, this injury also presents enormous challenges. Oak Brook Polo Club would like to support and help Sekera in his recovery.

Team Up for Tony will take place as an all field-side tailgate ticketed event at the Prince of Wales Field, west of York Road between 22nd and 31st streets in Oak Brook. Guests can bring their own picnic and beverages while enjoying a game of high goal polo. All proceeds will be donated to the Sekera family to support Tony's long-term care and therapy.

"Tony has and will always be a dear friend and teammate to the entire Chicago polo community," said Danny O'Leary, managing director of Oak Brook Polo Club. "We are committed to helping the Sekera family raise donations for Tony's long-term care and therapy. His profound love of the game and recollections of his time in the saddle go back decades, not just at Oak Brook, but across Chicagoland."

Gates open at noon and tailgate parking will be on a first-come, first-served basis. Tickets are $30 per tailgate spot or $10 for general field parking and are available at oakbrookpoloclub.com. For information and parking directions, call (630) 368-5095.