UNDEFEATED AMISTA POLO CAPTURE PETE BOSTWICK MEMORIAL 12-GOAL AT NEW BRIDGE POLO CLUB
Amista Polo defeated Upatoi Green/Foxdale Equine (UG/FE), 12-10 in the USPA Pete Bostwick Memorial 12-Goal in the featured 5pm Sunday match at New Bridge Polo & Country Club. The undefeated Amista Polo, captained by 8-goaler Julio Arellano along with his children Agustin, Lucas and Hope rematched against UG/FE. The two teams met in the first match of the tournament with a similar result, a 13-12 win for Amista Polo. Interestingly, the team was rated 9-goals at the onset of the tournament, as Lucas Arellano was rated A. Due to April handicap changes however, his handicap was raised to 1 goal beginning June 1. As a result, now a 10-goal team, Amista Polo was awarded two goals in handicap in the final.
In the first chukker, UG/FE quickly overcame their deficit with three combined field goals by father son duo Eddy and Alan Martinez. However, a field goal from Agustin Arellano followed by a penalty two conversion by Hope Arellano, kept Amista Polo in the lead 4-3 at the end of the first chukker. Amista Polo would remain in the lead the entire game. Despite a valiant surge by UG/FE after halftime with two goals by Jake Flournoy and one by Hugh Worsham, they were unable to catch up to the consistent and steady flow of goals from Amista Polo.
Amista Polo high-scorer Agustin Arellano, with four field goals, was awarded MVP. “It was super super fun,” said Agustin, “we went in there to have fun, and it worked out.” He continued by saying, “The first chukker they [Upatoi Green/Foxdale Equine] came out and tied us up right away. But after the second chukker, we kept our lead the whole game.” The first 12-goal tournament and win for 13 year old polo phenom, Hope Arellano, she described the tournament, “It was amazing, I had so much fun playing with my family, they are awesome to play with. They wanted me mainly at one, be up front and wait for the pass.” Following in the footsteps of her father, known for his impressive high-goal penalty shot record, she made no less than two penalty 2 conversions. The Arellanos exemplify the family oriented nature of polo–an exciting win for a fantastic polo family, we are guaranteed to see much more from each of these young players in the future.
Photos by Katie Roth and Shelly Marshall Schmidt