THE HARRIMAN CUP

The 2019 season culminated in an exciting weekend of polo at Myopia, featuring highscoring games, young players making their mark and a festive party atmosphere provided by Visit Barbados. by Bill Burke

THE 2019 SEASON WAS SENT OFF in style on the last weekend of September—under conditions perfect for tailgating and polo—with an additional match preceding an alumni game pitting Yale University against the University of Virginia to decide the winner of the 35th Harriman Cup.

The Virginia side was made up of Merrall Echezarreta, Nick Barry, Simon Colloredo- Mansfeld and Myopia-member and the youngest player on the field, Reed Miller. The Yale team included Jim DeAngelis, Sam Clemens, Patrick Marinelli (coach and manager of the Yale polo program), Seppi Colloredo-Mansfeld, Chelsea Messinger and Leila Chang.

The four-chukker feature match started quickly under bright skies and with sidelines packed by spectators, alumni and families. With a one-goal handicap, Yale jumped into the lead by scoring in the first minute of play—putting the team up by two. Virginia answered, however, getting on the board and within one.

With the game tied in the final chukker, Simon Colloredo-Mansfeld scored a penalty conversion with just seven seconds left in regulation to put Virginia on top, 5-4.

The Best Playing Pony was presented to Reed Miller’s Mistica, and Yale’s Sam Clemens was named the Most Valuable Player. It was a day of recognition, however, with awards being presented for Best Tailgate, Best Hat and Best Dressed Man and Woman. Players for both teams were also presented with trophies at the end of the closely-contested match.

After the game, Myopia’s Franz Colloredo-Mansfeld—captain of Myopia Polo and a longtime equestrian—was honored with the 2019 Harriman Cup Award. As a supporter of the Yale, Virginia and Harvard polo programs, Mansfeld saw two of his sons, Seppi and Simon, compete for the Harriman Cup that afternoon, and his daughter, Annie, compete in the captain’s match.

More than 800 spectators lined the pitch at Gibney Field, with more than 300 packed into the pavilion for a celebration sponsored by Visit Barbados. Participants enjoyed island delicacies prepared by a Barbadian chef, sipped cocktails crafted by a mixologist from the island and danced to festive music while enjoying premium seating for the exciting match.

Also that same day, Longmeadow faced Del Rancho/Black Oak in a game that saw Myopia members play a key role in a high-scoring game. Longmeadow players Reed Miller, Estani Puch, C.B. Scherer and Manuel Mazzocchi took on

Del Rancho/Black Oak’s Annie Colloredo- Mansfeld, David Strauss, Nachi Viana and Felipe Viana in a contest that ended in a 10-9 razor-thin Longmeadow victory.

“They came to play,” Myopia Polo Manager Kim Maguire says. “C.B., Estanu and Manu played well as a team with a lot of give and go.”

Puch and Miller played up front, keeping scoring options available at all times. The high scorer on the day was Manuel Mazzocchi, who scored seven thanks to some great tandem play with C.B. Scherer, who ran defense for him throughout the game.

“He blocked a lot of players, returned balls, made them reverse direction—classic polo,” Maguire says of the flow of the game. “They were a very well-rounded team.” Maguire noted the play of Del Rancho/Black Oak’s Nachi and Felipe Viana, in particular.

“They played awesome,” she says. “They played their entire lives together on grass, so they were able to have a lot of give and go. If Nachi went up, he’d leave it for Felipe, who’d bash it up to him.”

That strategy worked well for the first three chukkers—Felipe and Nachi each scored two using that formula.

Longmeadow came back strong in the fourth chukker. The score remained unchanged in the fifth, with strong defense preventing either team from gaining an upper hand. In the final chukker, Mazzocchi came out on “a rocket of a horse,” Maguire says, and scored three goals. Felipe Viana answered with one, but in the end, Longmeadow came out on top.

Mazzocchi was awarded the Most Valuable Player of the game. Felipe Viana rode Lady Rose, named Best Playing Pony. visitbarbados.org