A strong showing by Pheasant Hollow team (Deb Vermoch, Eileen Duffy, Carlos Galindo and Tim Rudy) in the final day of Coyote Classic play carried them to their second straight tournament win of the season.
The second day of the three-team round-robin competition began with Hanalei Bay (Krista Bonaguidi, Ron Bonaguidi, Ashton Wolf and Alvaro Tadeo) opening with a 4-1 win over a struggling Granite Bay (Cameron Smith, Eric Hammon, Victor Soto and Manny Rodriguez) offense with first chukker goals from Alvaro Tadeo and Ashton Wolf. Granite Gay was unable to get on the scoreboard and fell behind, 2-0.
Cameron Smith opened the scoring n the second period with a goal from the field for Granite Bay, 2-1. Consecutive goals from Wolf and Ron Bonaguidi closed out the mini-match with Hanalei Bay chalking up a two-day, 8-2 win.
A determined Granite Bay team intensified their efforts in the second two chukker mini-match of the day, playing them to a 1-1 tie in the opening seven minutes of play, with Cameron Smith opening with a goal that had Granite Bay in the lead, 1-0. Carlos Galindo countered with a score for Pheasant Hollow, ending the first chukker of their contest and leveling the score at one goal apiece, 1-1.
A goal from Victor Soto in the second period of their contest moved Granite Bay back into the lead, 2-1 when Pheasant Hollow fired back. Goals from the field from Rudy and Galindo ended the game with Pheasant Hollow taking the match with a four-chukker 6-5 total.
The final two chukkers of the day between Hanalei Bay and Pheasant Hollow would determine the tournament winner, and Pheasant Hollow appeared to be positioned to take their second title of the young Empire Polo Club season. Pheasant Hill beat Hanalei Bay twice in head-to-head competition in last week’s Desert Challenge, and tied them, 2-2, in Saturday’s face-off.
Pheasant Hollow rode into the Sunday competition trailing Hanalei Bay by a single goal, 7-6. A 4-1 opening win by Hanalei Bay was followed by a sub-par, 3-2 win over Granite Bay by Peasant Hollow that stretched the Hanalei Bay margin to two goals, 10-8 going into the final two chukkers of the tournament. Pleasant Hollow knew that a mere win wouldn’t give them the trophy, the round-robin competition relied on the total number of goals scored over two days of play.
Carlos Galindo struck first for Pheasant Hollow, scoring the first goal, 1-0. Ashton Wolf responded with a goal from the field for Hanalei Bay, 1-1. Tim Rudy made it 2-0, Pheasant Hollow, but Hanalei Bay wasn’t to be deterred. A solid defensive performance was assisted by the closing goal of the period from Alvaro Tadeo for a 2-2 tie.
Wolf put Hanalei Bay back into the lead with his second goal of the match, but Pheasant Hollow wasn’t prepared to roll over.
Consecutive goals from Tim Rudy closed out the scoring with Pheasant Hill defeating Hanalei Bay, 4-3 and recording a 6-5 four chukker win for the 2017 Coyote Classic title.
Ashton Wolf (Hanalei Bay) took top-scoring honors with a two-day total of seven goals in eight chukkers of play. Carlos Galindo (Pheasant Hollow) scored six times in the tournament for second place.
Four-goal tournament play continues at the Empire Polo Club on Saturday, December 16th with the Jackalope Cup (Dec. 16-17) followed by the Holiday Cup (Dec. 23-24).
The 2017-2018 Empire Polo season attracts players from across the country and around the world and offers fourteen weekends of fast-paced polo in the beautiful and relaxed setting of California’s winter playground.
The Empire Polo Club is located at 81-800 Avenue 51 in Indio, CA. For further information go to the club website at http://www.empirepolo.com or call 760-342-7755.