Gay Polo League International Tournament Begins Friday At Grand Champions Polo Club
The fourth annual Gay Polo League International Tournament, one of the most highly-anticipated eventsLive of the winter equestrian season in South Florida, gets under way Friday with two preliminary games at Grand Champions Polo Club.
The games, scheduled for 10 and 11 a.m. at the Wellington-based club owned by Marc and Melissa Ganzi, will determine the consolation and championship finalists for Saturday’s extravaganza featuring polo, music, food, entertainment and vendor tents.
In Friday’s 10 o’clock game, Wellington Coalition will play Polo Gear/Palm Beach Rox and at 11 a.m. Team Re/Max meets Cedar Crest Stables. The winners of each game will advance into Saturday’s final at 3 p.m. after the consolation game at 1 p.m.
The team’s are so evenly-matched that there is no clear-cut favorite this year.
Joining the GPL players will be pros Jeff Hall and Nacho Badiola, both first-time pro participants; and Juan Bollini and Joey Casey returning from last year’s event that attracted more than 4,000 spectators.
Wellington Coalition, a new sponsor and team in the field, is headed by Badiola, who at 23 has been competing in his first high goal season with Piaget, captained by Melissa Ganzi.
Badiola will be joined by GPL players Talbot Logan, last year’s tournament Most Valuable Player rated at 0-goals, Jack Hoffman, rated at 0-goal and Mark Bennett, a 1-goaler.
Hall, the face of Piaget as polo’s brand ambassador and highest rated pro in the GPL tournament at seven goals, heads the Polo Gear/Palm Beach Rox team that includes Chip McKenney, founder of the Gay Polo League and rated at minus-1; Jean-Marc Herrouin and Dan Haynia, both rated at minus-one.
Cedar Crest Stables features France’s top woman polo player, Caroline Anier. Anier, rated at two goals, won the first USPA U.S. Women’s Open and is one of the world’s best female players.
Anier will join Cedar Crest Stables teammates Christine Vermes and Phil Tremo, both rated at minus-1 along with 4-goaler Casey, a player and coach at Palm City Polo Club in Boca Raton, who has worked with several GPL players to hone their polo skills.
A late addition to the Gordon W. Ross Team Re/Max team may give the team an edge. Model and polo player Ezequiel Ortiz Berne is a last-minute lineup addition for an injured player.
Berne, who lives part-time in Miami, is from Argentina and works in public relations for La Dolfina, the Argentine-based team of Adolfo Cambiaso, the world’s greatest polo player rated at 10 goals, who turns 38 on April 15th.
Berne, longtime friends with the Cambiaso family, rides at Cambiaso’s ranch in Argentina. Cambiaso, a member of Valiente, one of the favorites of this year’s Maserati U.S. Open, and his wife, Maria, are expected to be on the sidelines rooting Berne on.
Ross and Berne will be joined by Gina Padilla, rated at 0-goal and Bollini, a 5-goaler and member of last year’s winning team.
On Thursday at Grand Champions, teams will stick-and-ball at 4 p.m.
“We are really looking forward to this year’s event,” McKenney said. “Polo has all the ingredients to become a great sport for gay people to participate in. It fosters camaraderie, involves travel and is suitable for all ages and skill levels to participate.”
Players have traveled from around the world to compete for the coveted Senator Cup Trophy for the championship game winners and Founders Cup for the consolation match winner.
On Friday, two four-chukker games will be held to determine the seeding among the four teams for Saturday’s consolation and championship finale.
The Gay Polo League, created in 2006, is an international organization and only known gay polo league in the world. Currently, the GPL’s established four U.S. chapters are in Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York and Wellington.
GPL members include players from several foreign countries such as France, England, Argentina, South Africa, Canada and Australia.
GRAND CHAMPIONS POLO CLUB
WHERE: On the corner of South Shore Boulevard and Lake Worth Road, Wellington.
INFORMATION: There are great field side views for tournament action at the home base of pro teams Audi and Piaget and Polo School at Grand Champions. Everyone is welcome to watch polo in a relaxed atmosphere during the spring and fall tournament season and other special eventsLive including the International Cup in November, Buzz Welker Memorial Junior Tournament in March, Women’s Championship Tournament and Gay Polo League International Tournament, both in April.
Fourth Annual International Gay Polo Tournament Fast Facts
Where: Grand Champions Polo Club
On the corner of South Shore Boulevard and Lake Worth Road
When: Saturday, April 13, 2013
Time: Polo Matches start at 1:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Gates open at noon
Tickets: General Admission $25, also available at the gate
Tailgate Price: $225, includes eight tickets and one field side parking place
VIP Tables: $1,000 includes seating for eight center field, four beverage tickets for each, gourmet food ticket for each, tableside service, including hors d’oeuvres, throughout the polo matches
Rotary Kick-Off Party: Friday, April 12, International Polo Club Pavilion, 3667 120th Ave. S., Wellington, FL. Start Time: 6:30 p.m. (food, dancing and auction). Kick-off party tickets $75. For more information go to www.wellingtonrotary.org or call Maggie Zeller at (561) 715-9262.
For Tickets: (561) 753-3389 or go to http://www.gaypolo.com/the-event/