Jan 27, 2025
Zapican BMW (Vance Miller III, Stephen Orthwein Jr., Ignacio “Nachi” Viana, Felipe Viana*, sub. Santiago Wulff) is a new team on the block this season at the National Polo Center – Wellington (NPC) and proved it means business. On Sunday, January 26, the team captured the coveted Joe Barry Memorial with a 10-8 final over tried and tested ConcordEquityGroup.com (Dana Barnes, Jeff Hall, Nicolas “Nico” Escobar*, Lucas Escobar*) on U.S. Polo Assn. Field One in Wellington, Florida. Serving as the first qualifying leg of four prestigious national tournaments (Ylvisaker Cup, Iglehart Cup, Outback Cup), the Joe Barry Memorial is part of the road to the NPC 16-Goal Championship. Qualifiers are played across multiple clubs, culminating in the championship final at NPC on Sunday, April 13.
Five teams entered the tournament hosted by Port Mayaca Polo Club in Okeechobee, Florida. Zapican BMW’s Nachi Viana, arrived at the final as the tournament high scorer with 25 goals – 10 goals ahead of the rest of the players. Fittingly, he opened scoring in the first chukker with a perfectly timed cutshot behind the defender’s horse. ConcordEquityGroup.com held a brief 3-2 lead in the second chukker, before Nachi Viana added a penalty conversion and field goal to his tally, while Wulff made a solo run to goal to end the half with a 5-3 lead in favor of Zapican BMW.
Headed into the fifth chukker, Zapican BMW sat on an 8-4 lead, bolstered by a field goal from Orthwein Jr. early in the fourth and an opportunistic goal from Nachi Viana, capitalizing on a broken ConcordEquityGroup.com knock-in. In the fifth, the tables turned thanks to two penalty conversions from Lucas Escobar and a field goal from his brother, narrowing the gap 8-7 heading into the final period. Miller scored after yet another goal from Nachi Viana in the sixth before Lucas Escobar narrowed the final score to 10-8. “I got nervous,” admitted Orthwein Jr. afterwards. ConcordEquityGroup.com are known for their second half comebacks and had looked set to demonstrate the art. “It was nerve-racking but made it exciting,” he said. “We missed a lot of goals. But they missed a lot too. We’ll watch the video, and I think we’ll find just a lot of luck in winning.”
Felipe and Nachi Viana, first generation polo players born eight years apart, credit their father for their journey in the sport after he learned about it from an Argentine friend. Rather than taking up the sport himself, their father patiently waited until Felipe was old enough “to start swinging a mallet,” Felipe shared. Several years ago, the brothers set up a farm in Wellington, Florida, with the dream of having an impact on the U.S. polo scene. Unfortunately, Felipe Viana was sidelined after breaking his hand in the team’s second league game. Wulff was drafted to take his place and Felipe watched the finals from the end zone, fresh from surgery on his hand. “Santi was a great sub, and a great friend to be here,” Felipe said after the final whistle. “He even made a decision to bring a couple of his today for the final. An important match, and without us even really asking, you know. So that shows a lot of commitment,” he continued.
Nachi Viana scored seven goals to win Most Valuable Player as well as Best Playing Pony for his 10-year-old grey mare Yatay Bengala (Yatay Anhelo x Open Tigresa), played in the second and sixth chukkers. BMW Zapican’s win was vindication for Felipe Viana that he and Nachi’s foray into polo is now paying dividends. “To compete in a huge tournament and here we are – field number one and we are winning the first tournament. There are no mixed feelings. At the end of the day, what matters is it’s our farm’s name and it’s something that we put together with the family. If it’s not my turn to be on the field, and still my organization, and my brother on the field, then everything is just positive, I wouldn’t change myself for anyone else right now.”