USPA Fall Plates Tournament Begins Friday at Grand Champions Polo Club |
By Arianna Delin, Sharon Robb for Grand Champions Polo ClubThe USPA Fall Plates Tournament, the final medium goal polo tournament of the fall season, begins Friday at Grand Champions Polo Club. For the second tournament in a row, five teams will compete in the two-day event. The competition begins Friday with a regulation game at 2 p.m, between Travieso and Dutta Corp. Barbossa Leather, Postage Stamp Farm and High Ground Polo will play a round-robin at 3:30 p.m. On Sunday, the consolation round robin is 10 a.m. followed by the final at noon.
Team rosters are: Barbossa Leather: Santos Bollini, Leo Mandelbaum, Juan Bollini, Julio Ezcurra Dutta Corp: Timmy Dutta, Wes Finlayson, Jesse Bray, Carlitos Gracida High Ground Polo: Scott Swerdlin, Joe Meyer, Nic Roldan, JJ Celis Postage Stamp Farm: Annabelle Gundlach, Bob Puetz, Brandon Phillips, Martin Estrada Travieso: Tim Dutta, Tony Calle, Guille Aguero, Carlucho Arellano The tournament will mark the Grand Champions fall debut of Teo Calle, Dr. Scott Swerdlin, Bob Puetz and Joe Meyer. Calle was the winningest player-padron last spring when his Travieso team won three tournaments. In last year’s USPA Fall Plates tournament, Aspen Valley Polo Club won its second title of the season with a 10-9 victory over CT Energia. Brandon Phillips scored seven goals and was named MVP and Marco Polo, ridden by Marc Ganzi and owned by Halo Polo, was named Best Playing Pony.
The first five tournament winners this season were Postage Stamp Farm (Annabelle Gundlach, Leo Mandelbaum, Guille Aguero, Brandon Phillips) in the Tackeria Invitational; US Trust (Marc Ganzi, Grant Ganzi, Luis Escobar, Jesse Bray) in the US Trust Cup; Postage Stamp Farm (Julio Ezcurra, Brandon Phillips, Leo Mandelbaum, Annabelle Gundlach) in the USPA Fall Classic; Dutta Corp (Tim Dutta, Martin Estrada, JJ Celis, Wes Finlayson) in the USPA Kay Colee Memorial and FlexJet (Melissa Ganzi, Leo Mandelbaum, Martin Estrada, Juan Bollini). After this weekend’s tournament, Grand Champions focus will turn to 20-goal polo. Grand Champions is one of only four clubs in the nation to stage 20-goal tournaments. The club will host the Nov. 9-15 USPA North American Cup and Nov. 11-22 USPA National 20-Goal tournaments. The 2015 fall schedule also features a world-class doubleheader on November 28th featuring the fourth annual International Cup which has become a holiday weekend tradition marking the end of the fall season. Team USA, which has won the first three International Cups against England, Chile and Mexico, will host South Africa in the featured game. This year’s U.S. team features Marc Ganzi, Jeff Hall, Julio Arellano and Nic Roldan. South Africa’s lineup is Selby Williamson, Chris MacKenzie, Gareth Evans and Tom de Bruin. In the opening doubleheader game, the legacy of polo great Carlos Gracida continues with the Carlos Gracida Memorial Legends of Polo game, featuring some of the sport’s greats.
ChukkerTV, leaders in polo broadcasting, is live streaming the entire fall schedule worldwide with entertaining polo broadcasters Toby Wayman and Dale Schwetz. ChukkerTV’s state-of-the art technology also features team challenges and instant replay which made their debut at Grand Champions in January, 2014. Grand Champions, with five well-manicured fields and turnkey facility, is enjoying its finest fall season in the nine-year history of the club. Grand Champions is one of the busiest and most innovative clubs in North America catering to men, women and youth polo players at all levels. Its expert staff can customize a complete playing experience including horses, pros and certified umpires in addition to lessons and practice sessions. The Polo School, a 501c3 organization, is dedicated to teaching polo to all ages, particularly grass roots youth. Its mission is to provide individuals opportunities in polo. The Polo School operates in Wellington January through June and September through November. 2015 FALL SCHEDULE Friday-Sunday: USPA Fall Plates; Nov. 14: Florida USPA Interscholastic Regular Season Games, Polo West Arena, 10:30 a.m.; Nov. 9-15: USPA North American 20-Goal Cup; Nov. 11-22: USPA National 20-Goal Tournament; Nov. 28: Carlos Gracida Legends of Polo Memorial and International Cup, Team USA vs. South Africa. |
