Santa Barbara Polo & Racquet Club
Robert Skene Memorial Trophy Final
SANTA BARBARA, CA. (July 19th, 2020) .
The Robert Skene Memorial Trophy is a historical
tournament that holds a great deal of importance for the members and trustees at the Santa
Barbara Polo Club. All eight teams competing put up a good fight to try and make it to the final.
Ultimately, FMB Too!, the defending champions from last year, and Klentner Ranch were the
two teams that qualified to play the final.
This match boasted clean polo, with minimal fouls. Both teams played classic polo by running to
goal and making use of each other with big passes up the field. FMB Too! capitalized on this
style of play first with a quick goal by Felipe Marquez straight out of the line up. Santi Wulff
followed up in a similar manner with another goal. However, Jesse Bray turned it on in the end
of the first chukker to put the first goal on the board for Klentner Ranch.
The second chukker
went by quickly with only one foul. FMB Too! widened the gap in the score by three making it
5-2 going into the third chukker. Klentner Ranch and FMB Too! both played remarkably well on
defense in the last chukker of the first half with neither team scoring all seven and a half minutes.
The fourth chukker showed more of the same, with FMB Too! dominating the game. Felipe
Marquez scored an unreal field goal taking it coast to coast on both sides of the horse and
tapping it out of the air. Klentner Ranch stayed in the play with a goal off a penalty shot by
Geronimo Obregon.
The tides changed in the fifth chukker with four unanswered goals by
Klentner Ranch, closing the gap within one. But, FMB Too! finished the game off strong and
retaliated with four goals of their own. Marcos Alberdi kept fighting for Klentner Ranch scoring
one goal in the final chukker. The final score of this competitive match was 13-8 to FMB Too!
Son of Robert Skene, Curtis Skene, did the honors of presenting the trophies for this final. He
awarded FMB Too! for their efforts and presented Best Playing Pony and Most Valuable Player.
MVP was awarded to Felipe Marquez and BPP was presented to one of his horses, “Gala” who
he played in the fifth chukker. Marquez spoke fondly of her saying, “she is an Argentine
thoroughbred that ran nine races. She is something different, one of the most comfortable horses
I have ever had. She is always handy and runs really hard for me.”
Henry Walker commented on the rest of the match by saying, “Klentner Ranch is always a tough
team to compete against – this final was no exception. Both teams played with a lot of heart and
it was an honor to win the Robert Skene Memorial Trophy. Furthermore, having the trophy
presentation done by Curtis Skene made it additionally meaningful.”
Photos by Polographics