Rocky Mountain Open

The summer polo tournament is winding down with two tournaments remaining at Aspen Valley Polo Club.

Five teams will compete in this weekend’s Rocky Mountain Cup.

Two preliminary games are scheduled for Friday. Flexjet plays Los Amigos Red at 11 a.m. at Sopris Mountain Ranch. At 3 p.m., Tonkawa, ChukkerTV and Los Amigos White will play a round robin at High Mesa Ranch.

The final and subsidiary games along with a special Grooms’ Race are Sunday.

Paul Foster.

The player and team rosters are:

ChukkerTV (12): Hilario Figeruas, Segundo Merlos, Marc Ganzi, Tincho Merlos.

Flexjet (10): Ace Boyd/Will Jacobs, Melissa Ganzi, Lucas Lalor, Juan Bollini.

Los Amigos White (13): Alejandra Foster, Grant Ganzi, Juancito Bollini, Sebastian Merlos.

Tonkawa (13): Alex Gooding, Jeff Hildebrand, Jimmy Seward, Nic Roldan.

Last year’s Rocky Mountain Open winner was Hawaii Polo Life, making its 2015 summer debut.

The team of Melissa Ganzi, Chris Dawson, Mariano Gracida and Juan Bollini scored a thrilling 7-6 victory over FlexJet (Carlitos Gracida, Lucas Lalor, Riley Ganzi, Stewart Armstrong) on Gracida’s game-winner in the final chukker. Bollini was named MVP.

The past summer polo tournament winners include: Steta Polo Team (Guillermo Steta, Brian Boyd/Grant Ganzi, Nic Roldan, Carlitos Gracida), Mount Sopris Cup; ChukkerTV (Lucas Lalor, Carlitos Gracida, Juan Bollini), ChukkerTV Arena Challenge; Travieso (Paul Foster, Tony Calle, Teo Calle, Alex Gooding) and Los Amigos (Alejandra Foster, Brian Boyd, Alejandro Poma, Stewart Armstrong), High Alpine Cup; Tonkawa (Jeff Hildebrand, Teo Calle, Tincho Merlos, Jimmy Seward), Emma Challenge; La Karina (Brian Boyd, Tony Calle, Julio Novillo Astrada, Stewart Armstrong), Basalt Handicap; Travieso (Teo Calle, Tony Calle, Lucas Lalor, Carlitos Gracida), Craig Sakin Memorial; Travieso (Alex Gooding, Teo Calle, Sebastian Merlos, Brian Boyd), ChukkerTV Challenge Cup; and Flexjet (Melissa Ganzi/Secundo Merlos, Sebastian Merlos, Carlitos Gracida), Independence Cup arena polo final.

Aspen Valley Polo Club also hosted the UPSA-NTYS qualifier won by The Polo School (Nikko Ramirez/Rufino Merlos, Riley Ganzi, Santos Bollini, Grant Ganzi).

Aspen Valley Polo Club is one of the busiest and nation’s fastest growing USPA-sanctioned clubs with a membership increase of 75 percent since last season.

Polo has increased in popularity in Aspen and surrounding cities with the club’s offerings of various weekly tournaments, Gladiator Arena Polo, Kids Polo and The Polo School at the club owned by Marc and Melissa Ganzi since 2014, in addition to practice sessions for teams competing in the weekend tournaments.

The Ganzis are avid players and patrons and “have put new life into polo” in the area according to local player Alex Gooding.

ChukkerTV, leaders in polo broadcasting, is live streaming the USPA National Arena Chairman’s Cup along with the remainder of the 2016 summer season in Aspen and East Coast Open later this month in Greenwich, Conn.

Thursday, USPA National Arena Chairman’s Cup Final, Aspen Valley Polo Club vs. Flexjet, 2:30 p.m. MST

Friday-Sunday, Rocky Mountain Open, Friday, 11 a.m. MST at Sopris Mountain Ranch, Flexjet vs. Los Amigos Red; 3 p.m. MST, High Mesa Ranch, Tonkawa vs. Los Amigos White vs. ChukkerTV; Sunday, Final and Subsidiary Games, Grooms’ Race.

Saturday, Pony Club Day at Aspen Valley Polo Club, Kids Tournament and “Skill of the Game” Pony Club activities, 11 a.m. MST.

Aug. 24-28, The Carbondale Classic