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F L O R I D A 2 6 - G O A L S E A S O N , W E L L I N G T O N , F L O R I D A , U S A , A P R I L 2 0 1 7
A C T I O N
DAVID LOMINSKA/POLOGRAPHICS.COM
F L O R I D A 2 6 - G O A L S E A S O N
Valiente sweeps the 2017 high-goal season at the IPC
amid speculation and worry in Florida, says Alex Webbe
In one of the most fractured American
high-goal polo seasons in memory, just three
teams participated in the 2017 single-
elimination 26-goal CV Whitney Cup, with
doubts that the field would increase for the
USPA Gold Cup or US Open Championship.
The International Polo Club was sold,
and although the new owner, Mark
Bellissimo, affirmed his commitment to
polo, a loose management style made
patrons and players uneasy about the future.
Controversy began with the opening
game of the CV Whitney Cup, when a new
rule, initiated by the USPA, eliminated the
‘sudden-death’ feature of the overtime
chukka for the first three-and-a-half
minutes of play. As a result, instead of
scoring the winning goal for Coca-Cola
(Gillian Johnston, Julian de Lusarreta, Julio
Arellano and Miguel Novillo Astrada) in extra
time for a 12–11 win, Orchard Hill was
allowed to tie the game and then win it
13–12 on a penalty conversion from Facundo
Pieres at 3m45s in extra time. A shattered
Coca-Cola team left the field in disbelief
after playing Orchard Hill so evenly
throughout the game and scoring what they
thought was the winning goal in the extra
period. The repercussions were immediate
and the rule was quickly discarded at the
conclusion of the tournament, but it wasn’t
Coca-Cola in the final against Valiente –
the eventual winner.
Marc Ganzi’s Audi team (Marc Ganzi,
Rodrigo Andrade, Gonzalito Pieres and
Tomas Pieres) joined Valiente (Bob
Jornayvaz, Matias Torres Zavaleta, Diego
Cavanagh and Adolfo Cambiaso), Orchard
Hill (Polito Pieres, Juan Chavanne, Facundo
