Malibu Cup 8 goal
The Malibu Cup 8 goal final was a showdown between California and Texas teams, with polo newcomer Kelly Plato leading the charge for Houston based Listo Polo and on Dark Horse Polo Team Madelyn Cobb (playing in place of Sara Rotman, abroad on business) carrying on the polo tradition for her family, who have been active in California polo for three generations. The match was fast paced and back and forth goals showcased the best of both states.
Dark Horse jumped out to a quick lead with three early goals from Max Menini, but Listo’s Stirling Giannico and Miguelito Torres countered to tie the match at 4 all at the end of the 2nd chukker. Dark Horse dominated the 3rd chukker with goals from Menini, Patrick Uretz, and Santiago Tahier, only to have Listo turn the tables in the 4th with 3 goals. Kelly Plato made a great end to end run on a big grey horse in the 5th to send his team to the lead 9-8, only to have Menini counter with another field goal. The teams continued to exchange goals, much to the delight of the crowd, but with under a minute left Dark Horse held a slim one goal lead and Tahier stole the ball on a Listo knock in to gain control of the clock and keep victory in the hands of Dark Horse
MVP was Max Menini, who led all scorers with 8 goals, and BPP was Menini’s horse “Carbona”
On Saturday, an enthusiastic group of children enjoyed the Linfoot Memorial kid’s tournament, sponsored by the Linfoot family for the 17th consecutive year at Santa Barbara.