Lechuza Caracas stay in the Queen’s Cup with win over Les Lions
By Herbert Spencer
Victor Vargas’ Lechuza Caracas beat Joe Gottschalk’s Les Lions 13-10 Friday (28 May) for a 1-1 win-loss record in League Two of the Guards Polo Club Queen’s Cup tournament.
In the match played at Billingbear Park where Lechuza Caracas is based, young Billy Jackson-Stops substituted for the team’s patron Vargas who was in New York for the birth of his daughter’s twins, born the day of the game.
Lechuza Caracas is still in the process of rebuilding its pony string after 21 of their best mounts died from an accidental overdose of selenium in Florida last year. “We knew it would be a two-three year process,†said team manager Juan Villamil. “It’s becoming more difficult to find top class ponies these days.â€
The Lechuza Caracas-Les Lions game started somewhat scrappily and it was the third chukka before the home team took the lead for the first time from Les Lions, a team featuring Argentine brothers Nachi and Eduardo Heguy. Much of the scoring was on penalty conversions.
Les Lions has now lost both their league games, which has almost certainly put them out of competition as they face powerhouse Dubai on Monday. Lechuza Caracas plays The Telegraph the same day, with better chances of staying in.