Valiente and Scone Claim U.S. Open Polo Championship® Wins
Resuming doubleheader action in the U.S. Open Polo Championship at the National Polo Center – Wellington (NPC), Valiente (Bob Jornayvaz, Mariano ‘Peke’ Gonzalez, Lucas ‘Luckitas’ Criado Jr., Adolfo Cambiaso) went head-to-head against Tamera (Alejandro Poma, Pedro ‘Pedrinho’ Zacharias, Diego Cavanagh, Segundo Saravi, sub. Rufino Bensadon), followed by Scone (David Paradice, Cody Ellis, Poroto Cambiaso, sub. Sapo Caset) facing Palm Beach Equine (Raul ‘Gringo’ Colombres, Facundo Llosa, Jesse Bray, Scott Swerdlin, sub. Todd Thurston).
Kicking off Tuesday’s action on Isla Carroll West, Valiente and Tamera began their contested battled from the first throw-in. Early contributions from Criado Jr. and Cambiaso were quickly matched stride-for-stride from Tamera’s Saravi and Cavanagh. Generating separation in the second, goals from Cambiaso, Criado Jr. and Gonzalez vaulted Valiente to a 6-3 lead at the horn. Trading goals to open the second half, Tamera was suddenly faced with a strategy re-alignment as Rufino Bensadon made an appearance to fill in for an injured Cavanagh. Rallying in the fifth, back-to-back goals from Saravi and Bensadon brought Tamera within three. Following field goals from Zacharias and Saravi, it would be high-stakes conversions from Bensadon and Criado Jr. that would ultimately force overtime. Wasting no time to claim the victory, a powerful drive from Cambiaso narrowly missed the goal, but a final Penalty 2 awarded to Valiente saw Criado Jr. send the ball through the posts for the 11-10 win.
Filling in for Scone’s injured David ‘Pelon’ Stirling, Sapo Caset made an immediate impact in his Florida season debut. Seamlessly slotting into the captain position, Caset combined with Ellis and Cambiaso to account for seven first half goals. Dominating on both sides of the ball, Scone held Palm Beach Equine to just three shots from the field, as two missed Palm Beach Equine penalty attempts saw Scone take a commanding 6-1 lead at the break. Bringing themselves back into contention, a productive fourth chukker featured back-to-back drives from Llosa and two conversions off the mallet of Colombres. Keeping the pressure on Palm beach Equine, Cambiaso found the posts on three of his four attempts. Earning most of their offensive production at the line, one final penalty goal from Colombres wasn’t enough to match the fire power of their sharp shooting opponents, as Scone seized the 14-8 victory.
Best Playing Pony was awarded to Mariano ‘Peke’ Gonzalez’s “Tan Primadonna” and “Caraqueña,” played by Poroto Cambiaso, owned by La Dolfina.
Upcoming Schedule:
Wednesday, April 5
M A G (formerly Shack Attack) (1-0) vs Dutta Corp/Show+ (0-1) at 10:00am ET
Aspen (1-0) vs Park Place (1-0) at 4:00pm ET
All games of the U.S. Open Polo Championship will be livestreamed exclusively on the USPA Polo Network.
Photo Credit: David Lominska