Along the Sideboards
By Alex Webbe
March 1, 2010
The 20-goal season at the International Polo Club ended as the 26-goal season got underway.
Las Monjitas scored a resounding 14-9 win over a strong Zacara team even with team captain Camilo Bautista sitting on the sidelines. Fourteen-year-old Geronimo Obregon ably took the patron’s position as a well-coordinated and talented team had their way with Lyndon Lea’s Zacara foursome.
Adolfo Cambiaso made a resounding appearance in his first tournament in Florida in two years. The “great one” led Crab Orchard to an 11-9 victory over Bob Jornayvaz’s Valiente team in the season’s first 26-goal competition, the C. V. Whitney Cup. He scored four of his team’s last five goals and led all scoring with seven goals on the day, winning MVP honors as well.
Ten teams will be competing in the 2010 USPA Piaget Gold Cup and US Open with Bendabout/Wanderers (Gillian Johnston, Sugar Erskine, Mike Azzaro and Jeff Hall) and the Hawks (Julian Mannix, Fred Mannix, Jr., Mariano Aguerre and Pancho Bensadon) joining the field of eight teams that just completed the C. V. Whitney Cup.
The Piaget Gold Cup will get underway on Saturday, March 6th with a much-anticipated showdown between Crab Orchard and Audi; followed by Pony Express facing Orchard Hill and finishing up with Valiente meeting Lechuza.
The medium goal competition continues at IPC with 12-goal and 14-goal competition being the fare of the day.
The Outback Polo League has managed to attract 20 polo teams to compete on its fields just an hour north of Wellington.
“We’re very happy with the numbers,” said League manager Phil Heatley. “We have a lot of players and teams and everyone seems to be having a good time.
Sixteen-goal polo will be the fare of the day at the Port Mayaca Polo Club with the start of the Live Oak Challange.
Four teams boasting a field of players that include Nacho Figueras, Tommy Biddle, Jeff Blake and Jose Donoso, get started on March 4 with Mt. Brilliant meeting Goose Creek.
The Gulfstream Polo Club has six teams in competition in the Jimmy Bachman 8-goal
Friday night at El Sur there is going to be an informal International Match with a team from South Africa takes on a talented and yet-to-be-named pass.