By Alex Webbe
Click here to view photos from this weekend. 

Four teams took to the fields at the Empire Polo Club this past weekend in Indio, California to compete in the 10-goal Emerald Cup.

Friday’s action featured an Empire (Craig Steinke, Mariano Fassetta, Ashton Wolf and Eric Hammon) team scoring an 11-6 win over Trinity (Rick Paicius, Robin Paicius, Mariano Gutierrez and Agustin Zavaleta) in an afternoon contest.

Empire’s Eric Hammon scored the first goal of the match followed by a goal from Trinity’s Agustin Zavaleta for a 1-1 first chukker.

Stalled attacks and miscued passes saw little more scoring in the second period with Ashton wolf scoring a go-ahead goal for Empire, 2-1, only to be countered by a goal from Rick Paicius of Trinity.  A frustrating second period ended in a 2-2 stalemate.  Trinity’s Zavaleta opened the third period with a goal, but Empire’s Wolf fired back with a pair of goals as Empire rode off the field at the end of the first half guarding a narrow 4-3 advantage.

An energized Empire team took control of the second half as a resolute defense shut out the Trinity offense while scoring three unanswered goals.  Wolf scored twice and Mariano Fassetta added a goal as Empire extended its lead to four goals, 7-3.

The attack of the Empire continued in the fifth as they picked up three more goals.  Once again it was Wolf with two goals and Fassetta with a single score.  Zavaleta scored a single goal for Trinity who now trailed by six goals, 10-4.

Paicius opened the scoring in the final chukker of play with a goal, but that was the last gasp of offense Trinity could produce.  Hammon added a second goal for Empire as they rode off with the 11-6 victory.

Wolf recorded seven goals for Empire.  Teammates Hammon and Fassetta added two goals apiece.

Zavaleta scored four times for Trinity.  Paicius added two goals in the loss.

TENTNOLOGY 13, GYPSY/TRITECH 12 OT

Tentnology (Gery Warner, Nicolas Maciel, Artie Cameron and Miguel Gutierrez) held on in a nip-and-tuck game to take home the win over Gypsy/Tritech (Chris Maloney, Gaston Von Wernich, Graham Bray and Suzanne Figi) in a 13-12 overtime match.

Tentnology received two goals by handicap from the 10-goal Gypsy/Tritech, but early goals from Gaston von Wernich and Chris Maloney (penalty goal) tied it up at 2-2.  Tentnology added a first chukker goal from Nicolas Maciel for the 3-2 lead at the end of the period.

 

Gypsy/Tritech took charge in the second frame, picking up four gals while yielding one goal from the field and one goal by handicap.  Graham Bray scored the first two goals of the chukker to tie and then top Tentnology, 4-3.  Miguel Gutierrez knotted it up again with a goal, 4-4.  Penalty goals from Von Wernich and Maloney had Gypsy/Tritech ahead, 6-4, but Maciel converted a 40-yard penalty shot for a Tentnology goal.  Gypsy/Tritech continued to lead, but it was by a narrow one goal, 6-5 margin.

Third chukker action belonged to Tentnology.  For the first time all day Tentnology was able to shut down the Gypsy/Tritech attack.  Penalty goals from Maciel and Artie Cameron ended the first half with Tentnology sitting on a narrow 7-6 lead.

Gypsy/Tritech stormed back in the second half, collecting a pair of goals from Von Wernich and a single goal from Maloney.  Gutierrez added two goals to tie it up once again, 9-9.

Von Wernich put Gypsy/Tritech on top, 11-9 in the fifth period with a pair of goals from the field, but a penalty goal from Maciel kept it close as the game moved into the sixth chukker.

Gutierrez scored first for Tentnology countered by a goal from Gypsy/Tritech’s Bray.  Gypsy/Tritech continued to lead, but the margin was cut down to a single goal, 12-11.  Gery Warner tied it up at 12-12 with his first goal of the game, and the contest was sent into sudden-death overtime.

Gutierrez scored the winning goal in overtime for Tentnology in a heartbreaker for the talented Gypsy/Tritech lineup.

Von Wernich scored six times for Gypsy/Tritech.  Teammates Maloney and Bray each added three goals in a losing effort.

Gutierrez was credited with six goals for Tentnology.  Maciel added four goals; Warner scored once and the team received two goals by handicap.

TRINITY 8, TENTNOLOGY

Tentnology tried to make it two in a row in Sunday afternoon’s feature match, but Trinity had other ideas as they rebounded from a 5-4 halftime deficit to score an 8-7 come-from-behind win.

Trinity spotted Tentnology two goals by handicap but came up with four first chukker goals to take an early 4-3 lead.  Agustin Zavaleta scored three times and Rick Paicius added a penalty goal for Trinity while Artie Cameron picked up the only goal from the field for Tentnology.

Single goals from Nicolas Maciel and Miguel Gutierrez were complimented by shutout defense from Tentnology as they took a 5-4 lead going into the third chukker.

This time it was Trinity’s defense that took center stage.  Goals from Mariano Gutierrez and Agustin Zavaleta went unanswered as the led changed again.  The third period ended with Trinity holding on to a narrow 6-5 lead.

Cameron tied it up in the fourth, but a goal from the field from Paicius kept Trinity in front, 7-6, at the end of the period.

Fifth chukker play had Paicius scoring on a penalty conversion for an 8-6 lead, but Cameron managed to counter it with a goal from the field.  With one chukker left to be played, Trinity guarded a one goal, 8-7, advantage.

Tentnology struggled to break through the Trinity defense in the final chukker of play, but it was not to be.  Aggressive defensive play and deftly placed clearing shots kept them off the scoreboard as Trinity rode on to collect an 8-7 win.

Zavaleta set the pace for the Trinity offense with four goals.  Paicius scored three times and Mariano Gutierrez added a goal.

Cameron scored three times for Tentnology.  Maciel and Miguel Gutierrez added single goals.  Tentnology received two goals by handicap.

By Alex Webbe
Click here to view all photos from this weekend. 

The February 4-goal Rose Cup got underway on Friday, February 17 at the Empire Polo Club in Indio with a 13-6 Thermal (Romero Gonzalez, Dayelle Fargey, Hayward Pardue and Goyo Mariscal) win over Film Finances (Leigh Brecheen, Domingo Questal, Scotty M. Cunningham and Roxy Keyfauver).

Thermal exploded with four first chukker goals with Romero Gonzalez providing three of them and Dayelle Fargey adding a single goal in the opening seven minutes of play.  Leigh Brecheen scored the only goal of the opening period.  Thermal rode off the field after the first chukker with a 4-1 lead.

Gonzalez, Hayward Pardue and Fargey scored single goals in the second period, extending the Thermal lead to 7-1 before Domingo Questal responded with a goal for Film Finances.  Film Finances was digging a hole as the team fell behind by five goals, 7-2.

For the first time all day Film Finances outscored Thermal, collecting goals from Scotty M. Cunningham and Questal.  Gonzalez closed out the chukker with a goal.  Thermal continued to lead, 8-4.

Cunningham added another goal to the Film Finances total, but Thermal responded in force.  Two goals from Gonzalez and a goal from Goyo Mariscal ended the fourth period as Thermal extended its lead to six goals, 11-5.

Brecheen scored the first goal of the final chukker, but it was Thermal that put an exclamation mark on the end of the game.  Two more goals from Fargey ended the match with Thermal registering a 13-6 win.

Gonzalez was credited with seven goals.  Fargey scored four times.  Pardue and Mariscal added single goals in the win.

Questal, Brecheen and Cunningham each scored two goals for Film Finances.

EMPIRE 10, CASA SOMBRES 8

Empire (Lee Pettigrew, Rob Scapa, Charlie Peterson and Lolo Payan) trailed early but fought their way back into the game, taking a 5-4 lead after three chukkers and holding on for the 10-8 victory over Casa Sombres (Bolko Kissling, Conrad Kissling, Ernesto Bautista and Ashton Wolf).

In a tentative first chukker, Lee Pettigrew scored the first goal of the game from the field.  Ashton Wolf answered with a goal for Casa Sombres.  Casa Sombres received one goal by handicap from the 4-goal Empire team and found themselves on the leading end of a 2-1 score.

Bolko Kissling put Casa Sombres ahead, 3-1 in the second, but Lolo Payan cut into the lead with his first goal of the game.  Empire trailed 3-2.  Conrad Kissling scored the final goal of the period as Casa Sombres rode out to a 4-2 lead.

Empire found its offense in the third chukker.  Payan scored twice for Empire while Charlie Peterson added a goal.  A smothering defense kept Casa Sombres off of the scoreboard in the period as Empire took a 5-4 advantage.

Two more goals from Peterson in the fourth and a single goal extended the Empire lead to 8-6.  Ernesto Bautista scored a goal from the field for Casa Sombres while Conrad Kissling converted a penalty shot for a goal.

Payan scored the last two goal of the game for Empire, stretching its lead to four goals, 10-6.  Casa Sombres fought back, however, picking up a pair of goals from Bolko Kissling, but that was where it ended.  The final horn sounded with Empire picking up the 10-8 win.

Payan set the pace for Empire with six goals.  Peterson scored three goals and Pettigrew added a goal.

Bolko Kissling scored three times.  Conrad Kissling added two goals and Bautista and Wolf scored single goals in the loss.

FLOWERS FARM/TRINITY 10, PARKLANE 7

Erik Wright flexed his polo muscles Saturday afternoon, scoring five goals and leading his Flowers Farms/Trinity (Erik Wright, David Flowers, Rick Paicius and Ernie Ezcurra) polo team to a 10-7 win over Parklane (Bill Garlock, Jared Sheldon, Cameron Smith and Doug Blumenthal) in 4-goal Rose Cup play.

Wright scored the opening goal of the game, but watched as Parklane responded with single goals from Jared Sheldon and Doug Blumenthal.  Wright scored again for a 2-2 tie with Ernie Ezcurra giving Flowers Farms/Trinity a 3-2 lead.

In a low scoring second period, Cameron Smith scored the only goal as both teams struggled with ball control.  After fifteen minutes, the game was all even at 3-3.

Ezcurra’s second goal of the game had Flowers Farms/Trinity on top of a 4-3 lead, but it was a lead that wouldn’t last long.  Sheldon locked it up at 4-4 with his second goal of the day.

The Flowers Farms/Trinity attack got traction in the fourth chukker, picking up goals from Wright, Rick Paicius and Ezcurra.  Parklane managed a single goal from Blumenthal and the period ended with Flowers Farms/Trinity leading, 7-5.

Fifth chukker goals from Wright and Ezcurra had Flowers Farms/Trinity in front of a 9-5 score before Parklane could respond.  Sheldon tacked on his third goal of the game and Garlock scored again to cut the lead back to two goals, but they could gain no more ground.  Another goal from Wright gave Flowers Farms/Trinity a 10-7 lead as time ran out.

Wright set the pace for Flowers Farms/Trinity with five goals.  Ezcurra scored four times and Paicius added a goal for the win.

Sheldon led the Parklane attack with three goals.  Blumenthal scored twice while Garlock and Smith added single goals in the loss.

THERMAL 9, CASA SOMBRES 6 ½

Thermal Polo spotted Casa Sombres a half-goal in Sunday morning’s 4-goal Rose Cup match , and wasted little time making up for it.  First chukker goals from Romero Gonzalez, Goyo Mariscal and Hayward Pardue had Casa Sombres trailing 3-.5 after the first seven minutes of play.

Conrad Kissling got Casa Sombres on the scoreboard with a penalty goal in the second chukker, but Gonzalez countered with a goal of his own.  The second period ended with Thermal leasing 4-1.5.

Mariscal scored the opening goal of the third chukker, but Casa Sombres responded with single goals from Ashton Wolf and Conrad Kissling.  Thermal continued to lead, but the margin had been cut to a goal-and-a-half, 5 to 3.5.

A pair of fourth chukker goals from Dayelle Fargey were answered by a single goal from Casa Sombres’ Conrad Kissling, but Thermal continued to hold the lead at 7 to 4.5.

Fargey added two more goals to the Thermal total in the final chukker of play while Casa Sombres picked up two scores from Conrad Kissling.  When the final horn sounded, Thermal left the field with a 9-6.5 victory.

Fargey scored four goals for Thermal.  Mariscal and Gonzalez scored two goals apiece and Pardue added a goal for the win.

Casa Sombres received one-half goal by handicap and got six goals from Conrad Kissling.  Wolf added a goal as well.

FLOWERS FARMS/TRINITY 10, EMPIRE 7

In the weekend’s final 4-goal contest for the Rose Cup, Ernie Ezcurra scored eight times as Flowers Farms/Trinity RODE PAST Empire, 10-7.

Ezcurra scored the first two goals of the game followed by a goal from teammate Erik Wright, giving Flowers Farms/Trinity an early 3-0 advantage.  Charlie Peterson scored a single goal for Empire, who trailed 3-1 after the first chukker.

Lolo Payan and Peterson tallied single goals in the second chukker, but Ezcurra added two more goals to the Flowers Farms/Trinity pot for a 5-3 lead.

In the third chukker the Empire team pressed its attack but Flowers Farms/Trinity wouldn’t break.  Empire picked up two more goals from Peterson, but it was Ezcurra, once again, who added two more goals for Flowers Farms/Trinity.  With two chukkers to play, Flowers Farms/Trinity led by two goals, 7-5.

It was the strength of Flowers Farms/Trinity in the fourth chukker that would ultimately spell the difference as Ezcurra scored two goals for the fourth consecutive period.  Rick Paicius added a single goal as Flowers Farms/Trinity took a four goal lead, 10-6.  Peterson added another goal to end the chukker trailing by four goals, 10-6.

Flowers Farms/Trinity coasted through the final chukker, doing their best to stem the Empire attack but offering no more offense of its own.  Peterson added a single goal but Flowers Farms/Trinity would ride out the 10-7 victory.

Ezcurra led all scorers with eight goals.  Teammates Wright and Paicius would add single goals in the win.

Peterson registered six goals in the Empire loss.  Payan added a single goal, as well.

Horse quarantine ends; Polo games resume in the desert

 The polo matches at the Empire Polo Club were temporarily suspended after a horse residing on the property was confirmed positive for the neuropathogenic strain of Equine Herpes Virus-1 (NEHV-1).  The horse quarantine, mandated by the State of California health officials ended today, Feb. 14th, 2012.  Polo games will resume based on the revised 2012 season schedule and Empire Polo Club would like to invite spectators out to the club for their first weekend back in the saddle.

Polo Games Resume on Friday, Feb. 17^th, 2012

Friday night “Polo Under The Lights & Happy Hour” is scheduled for Friday, February 17^th, 2012 at 6:00 PM.  Two teams will compete in a competitive polo match on Field #3 at Empire Polo Club.  General admission is free and everyone is welcome. The Friday night “Polo Under The Lights Games” will continue every week during the season.  A cash bar will be available on site during the Friday night games.

Sunday Polo re-opens on February 19^th, featuring two polo games at 12 and 2 PM.   A complimentary Champagne Divot Stomp sponsored by Wilson Creek will be held at halftime during the 2 PM game.

General admission seating is FREE and includes bleacher seats and field-side tailgate spots on the east side of the field.  Tables are available for groups with a reservation.  Cabanas & VIP seats are available for an additional charge. Reservations for the VIP areas are highly recommended. Food and beverage service is available on site during the matches.

Season Highlights

WCT Debii $$ Conant Memorial Women’s Tournament, Sunday, March 4^th, 2012.  The ladies will take the main Sunday Polo Field for the 12:00 PM finals.  The Women’s Championship Tournament (WCT) will draw women polo players from across the United States and Canada to compete in this prestigious event.  Sunny Hale, the highest-rated female player in the world, will be competing in this event.

WCT Women’s Arena Tournament Saturday, March 24^th, 2012 at 6 PM – Empire Polo Club is pleased to host the 1^st Annual WCT Women’s Arena Finals that will be played in the Empire Polo Stadium.  Women from all over the country will travel to the desert to participate in this national event.

Empire Champions’ Cup Finals – Sunday, April 1^st, 2012 at 2:00 PM – Join us for the grand finale tournament & closing day of the polo season.   There will be more than $70,000 in cash & prizes awarded to the teams who are in the final round of the Champions’ 8-10 Goals Finals and the Lions’ Cup 4-Goal Finals.

2012 Season Schedule

February 2012

Feb. 17th Friday Night Polo Under The Lights

Feb. 19th Sunday Polo – U.S. Gay Polo Tournament 12:00 & 8-10 Goal League at 2:00 PM

Feb. 24th Friday Night Polo Under The Lights

Feb. 26th Sunday Polo

March 2012

March 2nd Friday Night Polo Under The Lights

March 4th Sunday Polo – WCT Women’s Tournament

March 9th Friday Night Polo Under The Lights

March 11th Sunday Polo

March 16th Friday Night Polo Under The Lights

March 18th Sunday Polo

March 23rd Friday Night Polo Under The Lights

March 25th Sunday Polo

March 24th: WCT Women’s Arena Finals (Time TBD)

April 2012

April 1st Sunday Polo / Closing Day, Lions’ Cup and Champions’ Cup Finals

 For more information about our polo games or to make VIP/group reservations, please contact us.

Empire Polo Club – Tel. 760-393-7298 or email tonyschieffer@empirepolo.com.

Hold your horses….literally.  Someone moved the finish line down the track a bit.  We are awaiting test results on one more horse that had a high fever with swollen legs and had practiced on Sunday.  Since the clinical signs were those that could be seen with EHV-1 and there had been contact with other horses, the State requested testing to be cautious.  Obviously, the release of the quarantine was delayed.  We should have the results by late afternoon or early evening on Tuesday.  As soon as we know, they will be posted.

One more day…..

Release the hounds!!!  The final test results came back negative and the State Animal Health Department is releasing the EHV-1 quarantine.  Let’s play polo.

It was real and it was fun.  But it was not real fun.  But it is over.

Michael Manno, DVM, MS

We just received news at 10:30 this morning, that a horse residing at one of the private stabling areas near the corner of Madison and Ave. 50 has a 103 fever and swollen back legs.  Dr. Manno is waiting for test results to come back and we should have the results tomorrow afternoon.

The state has extended the quarantine for another day or two pending the results of this tests.

Thank you for your patience.

 

Things should return to regular schedule today at both polo clubs.

It has been real….stay safe.

Well, another day another horse tested…actually two.  We had 1 horse off property that had hind end lameness and some urinary issues and was tested strictly out of completeness.  It came back negative.  Another horse today at the club came up with a rising fever and limb edema.  We had the samples driven to Ontario Airport and flown to Davis.  We just got the results back and they too are negative.  We are still hanging in there and practices can continue.  There does seem to be light at the end of the tunnel.

Keep your fingers crossed.