XIV EDITION OF LA COPA DE POLO AGUA ALTA / CAREYES by PORSCHE
The 14th Edition of La Copa de Agua Alta/Careyes is played in the private estate coastal resort of Costa Careyes, located south of Puerto Vallarta and north of Manzanillo in the Costalegre of the state of Jalisco. Presented by Porsche of Mexico, matches were held on the two Bermuda fields of the Costa Careyes Polo Club. La Copa de Agua Alta was begun in 2000 by Careyes polo enthusiasts residents Alberto and Kari Ardissone with the idea of creating a tournament that gathered friends from throughout the world for a week of challenging matches, cultural eventsLive, and socializing. Copa Agua Alta is the most important 8/10 goals tournament in Mexico
Eight days of sunshine and warm Pacific waters made for a fun and competitive vacation for all in attendance. Social eventsLive were held daily beginning with an Opening Night dinner hosted by Kari and Alberto Ardissone. The week of festivities continued with the screening of the Abierto Argentino final in Plaza los Caballeros del Sol accompanied by a dinner of pizzas and pastas, a beach barbecue hosted by the Mexican Polo Federation and Heineken of Mexico, and a Moon Party at Sol Occidente also hosted by Heineken. A special cocktail reception by Porsche of Mexico in Plaza de los Caballeros del Sol celebrated the new Porsche Cayman with a symphony of motors and featured films on the history of Porsche of Mexico and Costa Careyes.
Throughout the extraordinary days of the tournament, guests enjoyed the wonderful nature of the coast. To preserve this for the future, part of the earnings from La Copa de Agua Alta/Careyes were donated to the ?! Careyes Foundation, which supports conservation, education, sports, and community projects along with an emergency medical clinic.
During the holiday week of Semana Santa (March 22 to 30), six days of polo were played with six teams from different parts of the world. Mexico, Portugal, Brazil, Switzerland, France, and Careyes were all represented. More than 140 horses travelled from Mexico City, Guadalajara, Monterrey, and Queretaro to join the horses of the Costa Careyes Polo Club.
The Playerss This year professional players from throughout the world participated, including Olavo Novaes (8 Goals) of Brazil. Mexican player Carlos Gracida (7 Goals) and his nephew, Julio Gracida (4 Goals), also played. Julio is the son of legendary player Memo Gracida (10 Goals), who has the maximum handicaps that can be obtained and joins his brother Carlos in being ranked among the best players in the world for the last 20 years. Colombian Fico Uribe (5 Goals), Peruvian Guillermo Li (5 Goals), and Mexicans Alejandro Gomez de Parada (4 Goals), Diego Velarde (3 Goals), Miguel Gomez de Parada (3 Goals) also took to the field with brothers Valerio and Pancho Aguilar, who have defended Mexico for many years.
Patrons included Cedric Schweri (Switzerland), Tommy Rinderknecht ( FR/Switzerland), Rodolfo Ramos (Mexico), Rogelio Igartua (Mexico), Jose Valdez (Mexico), Giorgio Brignone (Careyes ), Manuel Matos (Portugal), Diego Gonzalez (Mexico), Allegra Nasi (Italy), and Lucia Junqueira (Brazil). There was also Mr. Guillermo Steta, patron and President of the Mexican Polo Federation.
The Sponsors
In their first year sponsoring La Copa de Agua Alta/Careyes, Porsche of Mexico proved the perfect parallel between the emotion and adrenaline produced by driving one of their vehicles and the sensation of playing or cheering on a competitive polo match. In the same way driving a Porsche and playing polo share an adventurous excitement, Costa Careyes and the legendary vehicle manufacturer share a philosophy of design perfection that can be seen both in Porsche’s automobiles and the development of homes in the estate resort.
Porsche of Mexico Director Francisco Torres brought 12 vehicles in five different models for test drives along the coast. Drivers travelled through Barra de Navidad, Tenacatita, Chamela, and Perula before visiting Chalacatepec to see the newly paved 7,200-foot regional airstrip set to begin operation by the end of the year.
This event was also made possible by the generous sponsorship of Heineken, Grupo Corona, Vitamin Water, Veuve Cliequot, Grupo Zafiro, El Careyes Hotel, the Mexican Polo Federation, and Fidetur.
La Copa de Agua Alta XIV was arranged by Giorgio Brignone with the assistance of renowned polo organizer Susan Stovall.
The Games and results
Three matches were held every day providing each of the teams with the opportunity to play all of the other teams. The final match and rankings were determined by a detailed selection process.
Winners were selected by their record of wins and losses. In first place, Mexico/Scappino had four victories with one defeat. Careyes/Porsche was declared second place (3-2) given it had more goals scored than Portugal/Evertis and France/La Victoire, both of which also finished with three wins and two losses.
Finals
Switzerland won 5th place over Brazil in the first round of the Finals. In the second match, Portugal/Evertis 4th was defeated by France/La Victoire. 3rd place For the exciting final championship match, Careyes/Porsche faced off against Mexico/Scappino.
Careyes/Porsche led in the first two chukkers by a score of 3-0 before Mexico/Scappino started closing in during the final chukkers. Both teams scored in the last minutes of the match resulting in a tie just as the sun was setting. With very little daylight remaining, the victor was determined by a series of penalty shots with Giorgio Brignone shooting for the victory and final score of 8 to 9 in favor of Careyes/Porsche they are the winners of the Agua Alta
Amateur with Most Goals Scored: Rogelio Igartua
Professional with the Highest Score: Carlos Gracida (Second Consecutive Year)
The Best Horse was a grey mare owned by Valerio Aguilar.
Full Results of the Tournament
March 23
Switzerland vs Brazil 10 – 8 – Switzerland
Careyes/Porsche vs France/La Victoire 9 – 8 – Careyes (penalties)
Portugal/Evertis vs Mexico/Scappino* 9 – 8 ½ – Mexico
March 24
Careyes/Porsche vs Mexico/Scappino 6.5 – 6 – Mexico
Portugal/Evertis vs Brazil 8 – 7 – Portugal
Switzerland vs France/La Victoire 10 – 8 ½ – France
March 26
Mexico/Scappino vs Brazil* 10 – 2 ½ – Brazil
Portugal/Evertis vs France/La Victoire 11 ½ – 11 – Portugal
Switzerland vs Careyes/Porsche 10.5 – 9 – Switzerland
*Olavo Novaes of Brazil is replaced by Daniel Roenisch.
March 27
France/La Victoire vs Brazil* 14 – 8 ½ – France
Switzerland vs Mexico/Scappino 14 – 7 ½ – Mexico
Careyes/Porsche vs Portugal/Evertis 10 – 9 ½ – Careyes
*Olavo Novaes of Brazil is replaced by Daniel Roenisch
March 29
Switzerland vs Portugal/Evertis 8 – 4 – Portugal
Mexico/Scappino vs France/La Victoire 10 – 8 – France
Careyes/Porsche vs Brazil 12 – 10 ½ – Careyes
March 30 – Finals
6th – Brazil
5th – Switzerland
4th – Portugal/Evertis
3rd – France/La Victoire
2nd – Mexico/Scappino
1st – Careyes/Porsche
The XV Edition of La Copa Agua Alta / Careyes will be held April 12-19, 2014.