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C A MB I A S O A N D P I E R E S R O D E O N T O
T H E VA L I E N T E P R A C T I C E F I E L D F O R
T H E F I R S T T I ME E V E R A S T E A MM AT E S
Whitney and the Butler Handicap. He didn’t
get a breather for two solid weeks until Pilot
won the Iglehart final on 15 March.The
USPA Gold Cup opened the next day. Pilot
reconfigured their 20-goal roster for the
rest of the season so Pieres could focus
on the Gold Cup and the US Open.
The Cambieres experiment turned out to
be a lethal combination and a more amicable
pairing than one might have imagined, given
their history as fierce opponents. In their
first 26-goal game together (CV Whitney),
Cambiaso seemed content to let Pieres shine.
High scorer on the day, Pieres made 10 goals
and Cambiaso one.Their spread narrowed
after that, but Pieres continued to outscore
Cambiaso (6–5 in the Butler final and 5–2
in the CV Whitney final) and took the majority
of the penalty shots.
Did Pieres find any surprises playing
with Cambiaso? ‘No, no surprises,’ he said.
‘I know how he plays.’
Cambiaso said:‘It was easy for [Pieres]
to adapt to our team. We’ve been continually
working on a system that makes us play a bit
better every day.’
Combined with the Pieres string, which
included several horses from the Argentine
Open, Valiente’s horsepower made them
unstoppable. Pieres played several J5 horses,
among them Kenga and Romana, and
Cambiaso’s Lufthansa.
Cambieres swept the awards in both
tournaments. Pieres was Most Valuable
Player in the CV Whitney and Cambiaso in
the Butler. Best Playing Pony went to Tanita
(Butler) and Mentolada (CV Whitney), both
J5 Equestrian horses played by Cambiaso.
Tanita, a seven-year-old mare, had never
played at the 26-goal level, but she did so well
in the 20 that Cambiaso decided to put her in.
Bob Jornayvaz was effervescent about
Valiente’s performance in the CV Whitney and
Butler cups.‘People got to see the best polo
ever,’ he said.‘It was played the way the sport
should be: open, flat-out and clean. Some
chukkas had no fouls by either team.The way
Adolfo and Facundo played together was just
amazing. I hope people enjoyed watching as
much as we did playing.’
Opposite:
Robert Jornayvaz (yellow) with the world’s
two top players in the Butler Handicap;
This page, from top:
Robert (left) and Bob (right) Jornayvaz; Airborne, Facundo
Pieres hooks Magoo Laprida at CV Whitney
