Page 28 - 2021 Program

PJ Orthwein 3/4
Peter (PJ) is a third generation player who grew up in an extended-family polo tradition. Both of his grandfathers played, and his father and many uncles and cousins still play. PJ has played polo most of his life-- in Greenwich, Connecticut and in Florida-- before settling in Maryland. At Cornell University he was a team captain and three-time All-American. He met his wife, MPC’s Sara Gompf, on the Cornell Polo Team and they have a farm in Stevenson, Md. They are the parents of three children: Sophie, Ben, and Timothy. In addition to polo, PJ plays squash and golf, but says he is “not particularly good at either.” PJ was recently inducted into Cornell’s Polo Wall of Honor. He has an MBA from Cornell’s Johnson School of Management, and is an investment professional at a private equity firm, Spring Capital Partners.
Sara Orthwein 0/2/4/5
Sara Orthwein (née Gompf) is a second generation polo player. The daughter of Art, a twenty-six year player at MPC, and Betsy, a former player and manager for Art, Sara began to ride when she was five. She successfully showed hunter/jumpers, and then learned to play polo at Garrison Forest School. She was team captain at GFS, and was an Interscholastic All-Star. She went on to Cornell University, where she repeated as team captain and Intercollegiate All-American for three years and met and later married teammate PJ Orthwein. Sara is the mother of their three young children, and is currently a substitute teacher at Garrison Forest . Along with PJ, Sara was inducted into Cornell’s Polo Wall of Honor in 2014 – the first time a husband and wife were honored at the same time.
Anna Winslow Palacios 1/3/4/8
Anna currently resides outside of Albany, New York with her husband, Liam, their dog, Kaya, and their polo ponies. She recently began a new career as an analyst for affiliate marketing programs and is also an independent sales representative for an equine supplement brand, Horse Logic Professional. Growing up on Melinda’s Prospect Farm in Owings Mills, she learned to play polo under the direction of Cindy Halle at GFS and spent her summers learning grass polo at MPC. She is a graduate of Cornell University, where she captained her varsity team to National Intercollegiate Championship wins in 2015 and 2016. Anna looks forward to returning to MPC this summer season.
Liam Palacios 0/2
Liam grew up fox hunting and eventing in his home state of New York, but became hooked on polo after joining the first year polo program while attending Cornell University. He quickly ascended to the varsity team, traveling to Nationals his junior and senior years. Liam works with his father and grandfather practicing equine dentistry for the family business, Alberts Equine Dental Supply. Polo has become a full family affair as his two brothers and cousins are passionate about the game as well. Liam looks forward to playing at MPC for the first time this summer.
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