Nacho Figueras continues to combine polo with charity eventsLive
By AlexWebbe
There have been rumblings of high-goal polo returning to the desert, butit took the Empire Polo Club and polo’s poster boy, 6-goal player andinternationally known model for Ralph Lauren Polo, Nacho Figueras, to make it areality.
Two 18-goal teams took the field at the Empire Polo Club on Saturday,March 23rd for the Polo d’Elegance Charity Match to benefit the Boys& Girls Clubs of Coachella Valley.
Nacho arrived in plenty of time to sit with various mediarepresentatives and promote both the event and the sport of polo. Nacho’s participation in the Polo d’Eleganceevent supports his efforts to spread and popularize the game of polo andcombines with his ongoing donation of time in support of charitable causes.
The game itself brought more goals to the Empire fields in a single gamethan have been seen there in a while. Once a hotbed for high goal winter polo, the Empire Polo club hosted oneof polo’s first 40-goal games featuring eight 10-goal polo players.
Although there were no 10-goalers on the field, there was plenty ofaction as Nacho led his Beverly Hills polo team (Nacho Figueras, Bash Kazi, KrisKampsen and Mariano Fassetta) to an 11-8 win over Trinity (Dr. Rick Paicius,Jose Donoso, Juan Jaramillo and Marcelo Abbiati) in a four chukker exhibitionmatch.
Trinity’s Rick Paicius scored the opening goal of the game in the firstchukker but Nacho Figueras responded with two goals to give his Beverly Hillsteam an early 2-1 lead.
Mariano Fassetta added three more goals to the Beverly Hills total inthe second frame and Kris Kampsen scored his first goal of the game. Trinity got another goal from Paicius, butBeverly Hills held a commanding 6-2 advantage at the end of the second chukker.
Trinity got its offense on track in the third period of the game. A pair of goals from Marcelo Abbiati andsingle goals from Juan Jaramillo and Paicius were answered by goals from BashKazi, Fassetta and Kampsen. With onechukker left to play, Beverly Hills had a three goal lead, 9-6.
The two teams exchanged goals in the final chukker with Paicius and JoseDonoso scoring for Trinity while Beverly Hills received goals from Kazi andKampsen.
Paicius was credited with four goals for Trinity. Abbiati scored twice while teammates Donosoand Jaramillo added single goal s in the loss. Fassetta registered four goals for Beverly Hills; Kampsen scored threetimes while Figueras and Kazi each scored twice for the win.
The Polo d’Elegance event would not have been possiblewithout the help and support of the sponsors, polo players and vendors. Bash Kazi sponsored the Beverly Hills PoloTeam and Rick Paicius sponsored the Trinity Team. Nacho Figueras, Kris Kampsen, MarianoFassetta, Marcelo Abbiati, Jose Donoso and Juan Jamarillo all donated theirtime to play in the Polo d’Elegance Charity polo match. Casablanca sponsoredthe team jerseys and some of the player prizes. Bellatrix Restaurant and Tito’sHandmade Vodka sponsored the VIP Gold Lounge. The Boys & Girls Clubs of Coachella Valley received a portion of theproceeds from the event.
About Empire Polo Club
Located near Palm Springs, California, Empire Polo Club offerspolo players and spectators a five-star experience. The world-class event and sports facilityboasts 12 grass polo fields, an indoor arena, two exercise tracks and onsitestabling for more than 500 horses. Fragrant rose gardens, refreshing fountainsand unique statuary surround the polo fields and add to the beauty anduniqueness of the polo grounds. For more information visit www.EmpirePolo.com.