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Photography by Aspen Valley Polo Club
Aspen Valley Polo Club
Casablanca in action in the United States Arena Polo Championship Final
McClure River Ranch, winners of the Mount Sopris Cup
Aspen Valley Polo Club have been enjoying many Finals over the past few weeks, with an impressive number of top players in the team line-ups. Seminole Casino defeated La Elina by a score of 6-4 and White Claw by 6-3 to triumph in the Basalt Handicap Final, with Lauren Sherry receiving the Most Valuable Player prize and Nic Roldan the Most Valuable Pro Player prize, while the Best Playing Pony was Irenita Creyenete owned by Santa Rita Polo Farm and played by Pablo MacDonough. In The Aspen Cup Final, The Island House took the title with a round-robin score of 2 against Tonkawa’s -3 and La Indiana’s 1, Pablo MacDonough was named Most Valuable Player and Karma, owned by Santa Rita Polo farm and played by Juan Martin Nero, was the Best Playing Pony. Casablanca defeated McClure River Ranch 12-10 in the Final of the United States Arena Polo Championship after establishing an early lead in the first chukka. Nic Roldan took home both the Most Valuable Player prize as well as the Best playing Pony title for his grey mare, Molly.
Seminole Casino, winners of The Basalt Handicap
On Sunday 15 August McClure River Ranch defeated Los Amigos by a score of 8-5 to win the Mount Sopris Cup. The Final began on a sombre note, with a moment of silence to honour the memory of Preston Foster, son of Paul and Alejandra Foster, who died in a tragic accident the week before. Both Polo Times and the Aspen Valley Polo Club offer heartfelt condolences to the Foster family. It was a fast and furious game on Field One from the off, with close scoring throughout, so at half-time McClure River Ranch were slightly up at 4-2. In the second half, the pace did not give up, but Los Amigos began to falter and ultimately it was the might of Alejandro Novillo Astrada who scored the winning goal to clinch victory for McClure River Ranch 8-5. Nic Roldan was named Most Valuable Player, and Aspen bred by Pablo Spinacci and owned and played by Marc Ganzi, was named as the Best Playing Pony. In a seemingly never-ending list of high goal powerhouses, the Just for the Fun of It Subsidiary Final, Casablanca took on Tonkawa. Despite goals by Tonkawa’s Horacio Heguy and Pablo McDonough in the sixth it was a case of too little too late and Casablanca secured a close 6-5 victory.
Beaufort Polo Club On Sunday 26 July, the Bat Cup Finals day featured two fast and furious matches to conclude the 10 goal tournament. In the Final, Shibumi opened the scoring and despite the best efforts of Specsavers, they took a 5-3 win to claim the title. In the Final, Tafia Mafia aimed to make up for their earlier loss against Tomlinson Equine. Tomlinson Equine took an early 2-0 lead, but Tafia Mafia overtook them in the second half; both teams equalised at 5-5 but in the end, Tafia Mafia secured the winning goal. On Saturday 1 August, Smiths Polo faced Los Chinos in The Richard Underwood Cup Final on the No1 Ground; a penalty for Los Chinos allowed Tom Beim to take an early 1-0 lead but Seb Chialvo scored an impressive number of goals for Smiths Polo, who ultimately took the win with 7 goals to 3. The Subsidiary Final saw Shibumi defeat Beaufort 5½-2. On Sunday 16 August, Sirius and Shibumi faced each other on Beaufort Polo Club’s No2 Ground for The Novices Cup Final, which saw Shibumi win 6-2 after some competitive displays of polo. Kencot Cavaliers secured a 9-5½ win in the Subsidiary Final against Otterhouse.
Rutland Polo Club After being authorised by the HPA to move to Level 5, the Club held their first club match on Sunday 16 August playing for The Escalina Trophy. Due to local fixture clashes, the Club have moved their Collie Cup and Preston Lodge Bowl to 5 – 6 September (previously scheduled for 12 – 13 September). Entry to both are available on the Rutland Polo Club website. Or call on: 07470 198645.
Photography by JRidley Art & Photography
Polo Club Saint-Tropez Smiths Polo, winners of The Richard Underwood Cup
www.polotimes.co.uk
The Bat Cup Final was played on Sunday 26 July
On Sunday 1 August, Battistoni narrowly defeated Amanara Polo Team 7½-7 in the Open de Gassin Final at Polo Club SaintTropez. Additionally, in the 15 goal, Polo de la Magdeleine secured a 9½-6 win against F Polo. Polo Times, September 2020
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