Sunset "Sunny" Hale (December 30, 1968, Carmel, California – February 26, 2017, Norman, Oklahoma) was a professional polo player and one of the few women to play on pro teams consisting almost entirely of men.[1]
In 2000, she was on the winning team in the U.S. Open Polo Championship, becoming the first woman to do so.[1] At the time of the 2000 championship, she outranked 96 percent of players in the world, including men.[2]
Described as "the most famous female polo player in the world", Sunny was active in developing women's polo.
Sunny's mother, Sue Sally Hale, competed as a polo player in the 1950s and '60s disguised as a man and is credited with breaking the gender barrier in the sport.
Sunny Hale was inducted into the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame in 2012.[3]
Sunny Hale died at age 48 from complications from breast cancer on February 26, 2017.[4]