The Ylvisaker Cup final, hosted by Patagones Polo Club (Wellington, Florida) and managed by the Wellington Polo Tour, took place on Sunday, February 16, on U.S. Polo Assn. Field One at the National Polo Center (NPC) in Wellington, Florida. Serving as the second qualifying leg of four prestigious national tournaments (Joe Barry Memorial, Iglehart Cup, Outback Cup), the Ylvisaker Cup is part of the road to the NPC 16-Goal Championship. Qualifiers are played across multiple clubs, culminating in the championship final at NPC on Sunday, April 13.
SD Farm’s Obregon opened the scoring but Bientina’s Panzillo quickly responded, his first of a total 11 goals, equalizing the score and setting the tone for the remainder of the match. By the final horn, Bientina secured an impressive 18-6 victory, capping off a decisive Ylvisaker Cup final performance.
SD Farms managed just one additional goal in the first half, courtesy of team owner Dantata, heading into halftime trailing 11-2. Once Bientina found its stride, it was hard to stem the tide and by the start of the sixth chukker the team in maroon had amassed an 18-2 lead. Two field goals from Dantata and one apiece from Azzaro and Polledo, in the last chukker brought the margin of victory down to 12. Neither players nor polo aficionados expected the match to be unbalanced.“We expected that it was going to be a super tough game. We were lucky and were able to get in a rhythm, but they are a great team and they have been playing great,” said Gonzalez Sr., who provided a solid foundation, playing back, for Llavallol and Panzillo to play offensively.“It’s the first time for Valentino to play so we didn’t have it in mind to win. We were trying to play well and to be organized.”
Carlotti, who first learned to ride just four years ago under the coaching of teammate GonzalezSr., made his 16-goal debut in the Ylvisaker Cup.“It was our first time playing on [U.S. PoloAssn.] Field One at the National Polo Center, and for the Ylvisaker Cup, on Sunday at 3:00pm,” he said.“You only dream of doing this and to do this in our first 16-goal when the stands are packed, friends and family are around and the team played incredibly, it feels so awesome!”
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SD Farms came to the final the only unbeaten team in the field of 12 entries. The team in grey secured its place in the final by defeating Flying H (Will Johnston, Miguel“Miki”Novillo AstradaJr., Miguel Novillo Astrada Sr., Santino Magrini*) 9-8 in the semifinals. Quinn Evans substituted for Dantata and it was Obregon who proved the high scorer of the game with five goals from the field, including three in the first half, which ended in a 4-all tie at halftime. Trailing by one going into the final chukker with just 32 seconds on the clock, Bientina was awarded a Penalty 1 and a final field goal from Obregon Jr. with just eight seconds left, sealed the victory.
Bientina, meanwhile, denied Joe Barry Memorial winners, Zapican BMW (Max Torokvei, ManuelMazzocchi, Ignacio“Nachi”Viana, Felipe Viana*), a further major 16-goal win, with a final score12-5 in the semifinals. The teams were deadlocked 5-all at halftime, before Bientina dominated the second half with four goals from Panzillo, two from Llavallol and one fromGonzalez Sr. Bientina already claimed 6-, 8-and 12-goal wins including the Delegate’s Cup hosted by theInternational Polo School (Loxahatchee, Florida) last year.
The difference in this year’s line-up was Llavallol, who was talent spotted by Gonzalez Sr. and Carlotti in Southampton, New York, last summer. He was new to the team, but he and Panzillo already had a bond.“Santi is a very close friend and we play a lot of practices and tournaments in Pilar, Argentina,”said Panzillo, who also has history with Gonzalez Sr. “I started working with Mariano three years ago and we play all the practices together here and in Pilar, and I think it is very important, I know all about him and I think that is the key to win.”
Panzillo, who was awarded the accolade of Most Valuable Player, entered the final as the leading goal scorer of the Ylvisaker Cup with 27 goals to his credit. His 11 goal total on the day included six scored from penalties. His opening goal came while riding Geisha, a grey American Thoroughbred mare owned by Gonzalez Sr.,who was later named Best Playing Pony. No stranger to high-stakes moments, Geisha previously won a Best Playing Pony blanket under Gonzalez’s son, Mariano“Peke”Gonzalez Jr. in the 2019 Westchester Cup, where she played in the first, sixth and overtime chukkers to help secure USA’s first victory in the tournament since1992. Similarly, Panzillo played her in the both the first and sixth chukkers, saying,“She’s very easy, it’s very important, and always I score a goal, I don’t know why but I start the match on Geisha and I score a goal! Always.”