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La Herradura holds on for 2018 General Patton 8-goal Cup win

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Hall of Fame polo player Memo Gracida with his victorious La Herradura polo team at the Empire Polo Club in the 8-goal General George S. Patton Cup.

Former 10-goaler and Polo Hall of Fame legend Memo Gracida took center stage on Sunday afternoon at the Empire Polo Club and led his La Herradura team (Alvaro Fernandez, Rodrigo Fernandez, Isaac Sepulveda and Memo Gracida) to an 8-7 win over Granite Bay (Eric Hammon, Alvaro Tadeo, Marcos Llambias and Rhandy Heredia) in the second round of play in the 2018 General Patton 8-goal Cup.

In a well-orchestrated opening chukker La Herradura scored three straight goals while holding Granite Bay scoreless for the early lead. Isaac Sepulveda scored the first goal of the game followed by a 40-yard penalty conversion from Gracida, 2-0. Rodrigo Fernandez scored the closing goal of the period to move in front, 3-0.

The Las Herradura defense held solid again in the second. Sepulveda scored the only goal of the chukker, however, extending the La Herradura advantage to four goals, 4-0.

Gracida’s second goal of the match came on a 30-yard penalty shot in the third chukker, when the Granite Bay attack stirred. Alvaro Tadeo scored the first goal of the day for Granite Bay, followed by a goal from teammate Eric Hammon. The first half ended with Gracida and company in control of a 5-2 game.

Both defenses stiffened as the second half got underway. Rodrigo Fernandez scored to make it 6-2, with Marco Llambias responding with a goal for Granite Bay. After four periods of play, La Herradura continued to control the game behind a 6-3 advantage.

Goals continued to elude players on both sides in the fifth. Alvaro Fernandez scored for La Herradura with Tadeo countering with a goal from Granite Bay. After five periods of play, La Herradura continued to hold a three-goal advantage over Granite Bay, 7-4.

Gracida’s third goal of the day came from the field in sixth chukker action and put La Herradura up by four goals, 8-4, when the Granite Bay offense rallied. Two goals from Llambias and a goal from Tadeo brought Granite Bay to within a goal of the lead, but that would be as close as they would get as the La Herradura defenders held on to secure the 8-7 victory.

Gracida led the La Herradura attack with three goals (two on penalty conversions). Rodrigo Fernandez and Sepulveda each scored twice, and Alvaro Fernandez added a goal for the win. Tadeo and Llambias each scored three times for Granite Bay. Hammon was credited with a goal in the loss.

The win lifted the La Herradura tournament record to 1-1 while Granite Bay remained winless in two outings (0-2).

Spindrift 9, Cotterel 8

In morning 8-goal Patton Cup action, Spindrift (John Bickford, Luis Saracco, Juan Curbelo and Leslie Tims) won their second game of the tournament with a 9-8 nail-bitter over Cotterel (Jenny Luttrell, Ruben Coscia, Francisco Benardoni and Gaby Saccullo).

The 7-goal Cotterel team received one goal by handicap from Spindrift but watched as they were out-scored from the field in the opening minutes of the match. A goal from John Bickford and a pair of goals from Juan Curbelo gave the early lead to Spindrift, 3-1.

The two teams traded goals in the second with Cotterel getting single goals from Ruben Coscia and Jenny Luttrell. Spindrift matched them goal for goal with Curbelo scoring for the third time and Luis Saracco getting on the scoreboard for the first time on the day. Spindrift continued to lead, 5-3.

Saracco added two more goals in the third while a resolute Spindrift defense held Cotterel to a single penalty goal from Coscia. At the end of the first half, Spindrift had expanded its lead to three goals, 7-4.

Coscia struck first in the fourth, cutting the Spindrift lead back to two goals, 7-5, but the Spindrift attack was pressuring the Cotterel goal. Fouls proved to be costly for the Cotterel defenders as Bickford took advantage of the opportunity to convert two 30-ayrd penalty shots for goals. After four chukkers the Spindrift lead had grown to four goals, 9-5.

A determined Coscia took the field in the fifth and quickly scored two goals for Cotterel. A solid defensive effort shut down the Spindrift attack, cutting the lead to a manageable two goals, 9-7, with one chukker of play remaining in regulation time.

Cotterel continued to press the attack in the sixth, with Coscia converting a 60-yard penalty shot for a goal, when the Spindrift defense held firm. Time expired in the 9-8 Spindrift win with Cotterel pressuring the Spindrift goal.

Bickford, Curbelo and Saracco scored three goals apiece for the win. Coscia was high-scorer of the game with six goals. Luttrell added a goal and the team received one goal by handicap.

The win inflated the Spindrift record to 2-0 while Cotterel fell to 0-2.

STG 16, Lockton 10

In a noon 8-goal Patton Cup battle of the unbeatens, STG (Max Menini, John Ziegler, Tommy Costello and Francisco Guinazu) handed Lockton (Tim Kelly, Bryan Middleton, Jessica Bailey and Alejandro Gonzalez) their first loss of the tournament (1-1) while improving to 2-0 themselves.

Lockton received one goal by handicap from STG and went up, 2-0, with a goal from the field from Alejandro Gonzalez. John Ziegler responded with a 40-yard penalty conversion for STG followed by a 30-yard penalty goal from Max Menini and a goal from the field from Francisco Guinazu for the 3-2 lead. Gonzalez leveled the score at 3-3 with the final goal of the chukker.

A stubborn STG defense shut out Lockton in second chukker play. Single goals from Guinazu, Tommy Costello and Ziegler were supported by shutout defense, sending Lockton off the field at the end of the second period behind by three goals, 6-3.

Ziegler added a 40-goal penalty goal in the third followed by goals from teammates Menini and Costello, 9-3. Gonzalez and Bryan Middleton kept Lockton from getting blanked with goals to end the chukker trailing, 9-5.

Costello and Ziegler added goals in the fourth with Lockton responding with a 30-yard penalty goal from Middleton. The STG lead had grown to five goals, 11-6.

Gonzalez scored twice in the fifth for Lockton, scoring once from the field and once on a penalty shot. STG kept pace with goals from Menini and Guinazu (40-yard penalty goal). The STG lead held at five goals, 13-8.

Two penalty goals from Tim Kelly in the sixth was the extent of Lockton’s attempt to rally with STG adding three more goals to their total. Two goals from Guinazu and a goal from Ziegler had STG galloping off with the win, 16-10.

Guinazu and Ziegler led the STG attack with five goals apiece. Costello and Menini each scored three times for the win. Gonzalez set the offensive pace for Lockton with five goals. Middleton and Kelly each scored twice, and the team received one goal by handicap.

Play continues in 8-goal General Patton Cup tournament on Friday, February 23rd with STG (2-0) facing La Herradura (1-1); Spindrift (2-0) taking on Lockton (1-1) and Granite Bay (0-2) playing Cotterel (0-2). At the end of the day, the two teams with the top records will go to Sunday’s 2pm final.

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://empirepolo.com or call 760-342-7755.

Hanalei Bay takes 2017 Jackalope Cup with a pair of wins

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2017 Jackalope Cup winner, Hanalei Bay, at the Empire Polo Club (L to R)- Krista Bonaguidi, Alvaro Tadeo, Ashton Wolf and Ron Bonaguidi.

Hanalei Bay (Krista Bonaguidi, Ron Bonaguidi, Ashton Wolf and Alvaro Tadeo) had been close in the last two tournaments only to see Pheasant Hollow (Deb Vermoch, Eileen Duffy, Carlos Galindo and Tim Rudy) take top honors in both the Desert Challenge and the Coyote Classic, but the weekend belonged to them.

“We changed the way we played this weekend,” offered Hanalei 3-goaler Ashton Wolf.  “Instead of turning on the ball we started hitting backhanders to one another.  Our success was all about teamwork,” he added, “four players working together.”

Ron Bonaguidi scored the first goal of the day for an early 1-0 lead over Granite Bay (Cameron Smith, Eric Hammon, Victor Soto and Alonso Andrade) in the round-robin competition.  Cameron Smith tied the game at 1-1 for Granite Bay moments later.  Krista Bonaguidi converted a 30-yard penalty shot for the final goal of the chukker and a 2-1 Hanalei Bay lead.

Both defenses held the scoring in the second period to a minimum.  Alvaro Tadeo scored on a penalty shot for Hanalei Bay while he and his teammates held Granite Bay to a single goal from Smith for the 3-2 victory (a two-day total of 6-5).

“They’re (Granite Bay) a good team,” said Wolf.  “They all all played well,” he said, “They were tough.”

The addition of Alonso Andrade seemed to be just what Granite Bay needed as the chemistry of the new lineup carried them to back-to-back ties in Saturday’s contests against Hanalei Bay and Pheasant Hill, and when the faced Pheasant Hollow on Sunday, they picked up right where they left off.

Granite Bay scored on single goals from Andrade and Victor Soto to go up 2-0 before Pheasant Hollow could mount an effective attack.  Carlos Galindo got them on the scoreboard with the final goal of the period.  Granite Hill left the field at the end of the chukker with a 2-1 advantage.

Tim Rudy leveled the score at 2-2 as the second period got underway, and Debra Vermoch added a penalty goal for the 3-2 edge.  Soto’s second goal of the day ended the game in a 3-3 tie (a two-day total that had the teams even at six goals apiece).

The final two periods of the afternoon would see the Hanalei Bay team continue to roll.  Goals were scarce in the opening chukker as both teams concentrated on defense.  Ashton Wolf sent the ball through the Pheasant Hollow goalposts for the only score and a fragile 1-0 advantage.

Tadeo scored on a 60-yard penalty shot, 2-0, to open the scoring in the final period of the day.  Hanalei Bay stretched their lead to three goals, 3-0, with Wolf adding another goal before Pheasant Hollow could respond.  A 60-yard penalty conversion from Tim Rudy allowed them to escape the shutout, with Tadeo putting the icing on the cake with a final goal in the 4-1 rout.  The two-day total had Hanalei Bay beating Pheasant Hill by four goals, 8-4.

Wolf and Tadeo set the offensive pace for Hanalei Bay in the Jackalope Cup with five goals apiece.  Both Krista and Ron Bonaguidi added two goals each for the win.

The final four-goal tournament of the month, the Holiday Cup, is scheduled to be played at the Empire Polo Club on Saturday, December 23rd.  The two-day competition will conclude on Saturday, December 24th.

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 760-342-775

Hanalei Bay takes the early lead in Jackalope Cup; a strong showing by Granite Bay has them in the mix

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A new Granite Bay lineup (Cameron Smith, Eric Hammon, Victor Soto and Alonso Andrade) made immediate waves in the opening two chukkers of Saturday’s opening round of round-robin play in the 2017 Jackalope Cup at the Eldorado Polo Club by playing Hanalei Bay (Krista Bonaguidi, Ron Bonaguidi, Ashton Wolf and Alvaro Tadeo) to a 3-3 tie.

Krista Bonaguidi scored the first goal of the day on a 30-yard penalty conversion, 1-0, that was countered by a goal from the field from Granite Bay’s Eric Hammon, 1-1.  Alvaro Tadeo took the lead back for Hanalei Bay with his first goal of the day, 2-1, but Granite Bay continued to battle.  Hammon’s second goal of the chukker had the teams all even at 2-2 after the opening seven minutes of play.

Snow-capped mountains set a majestic backdrop for the polo action at the Empire Polo Club.

Tadeo scored the first goal of the second period as Hanalei Bay see-sawed their way back into the lead, but it was not to be.  A determined Granite Bay attack managed to break through the Hanalei Bay defenders, with Cameron Smith scoring the final goal of the wo-chukker mini-match for a 3-3 draw.

The addition of Alonso Andrade appeared to be just what the Granite Bay team needed as a concerted offensive effort resulted in a goal from the field from Victor Soto for the early lead against defending champion, Pheasant Hollow (Deb Vermoch, Eileen Duffy, Carlos Galindo and Tim Rudy), 1-0.  Consecutive goals from Debra Vermoch, Tim Rudy (60-yard penalty conversion) and Carlos Galindo, however, had Pheasant Hollow on top of a 3-1 score as the chukker ended.

Hanalei Bay’s Ashton Wolf supplied three goals in Saturday’s Jackalope Cup action.

Soto and Galindo traded goals in the fourth period of the day, as Pheasant Hollow continued to hold a two-gal advantage, 4-2, when the momentum shifted.  After having suffered late loses in last week’s competition, Granite Bay supported back-to-back goals from Andrade with a solid defensive effort that left the game all even at 4-4 at the end of the contest.

The final two periods of the day saw Hanalei Bay securing their first win of the season over Pheasant Hollow in a nip-and-tuck match.  Rudy scored the first goal of the final mini-match of the day, 1-0, when the Hanalei Bay defense stepped it up.  A single goal from Ashton Wolf was the only other score in the chukker, 1-1, and both teams rode off the field for fresh mounts for the final period of the day.

A goal from Ron Bonaguidi opened the last chukker of the afternoon with Wolf adding two more goals.  Granite Bay got single goals from Rudy and Galindo, but it was Hanalei Bay with the 4-3 lead as the chukker ended.

Granite Bay had their best showing of the young season as they tied both Hanalei Bay and Pheasant Hollow in head-on-head competition on Saturday.  Hanalei takes a 4-3 lead (against Pheasant Hollow) and a 3-3 tie with Granite Bay into Sundays finals round of play.  Pheasant Hollow, the winner in the first two tournaments of the month (Desert Challenge and Coyote Classic) finds itself on unfamiliar ground with one tie and one loss after the first day’s action.

In Round-robin play, all the teams will play one another for another two chukkers with the totals from Saturday being added to the goals scored on Sunday.  The team with the best record will take the cup.

Jackalope Cup play is scheduled to get underway in a round-robin format, once again.  Competition will kick-off on the Empire Polo Club’s Field 7 at 11:30AM.

The final four-goal tournament of the month, the Holiday Cup, is scheduled to be played at the Empire Polo Club on Saturday, December 23rd.  The two-day competition will conclude on Saturday, December 24th

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.

Pheasant Hollow looks for third straight trophy win in Jackalope Cup action

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It was a 2015 Pheasant Hollow team of (L to R) Tim Rudy, Debra Vermoch, Patrick Uretz and Rhett Merrill who last won the Jackalope Cup in 2015.

A powerful Pheasant Hollow team (Deb Vermoch, Eileen Duffy, Carlos Galindo and Tim Rudy) has had its way in the opening 4-goal tournaments at the Empire Polo Club this month.  A win in the seasoning opening Desert Challenge was followed by a second in the recently completed Coyote Classic with Hanalei Bay (Krista Bonaguidi, Ron Bonaguidi, Ashton Wolf and Alvaro Tadeo) failing to defeat Pleasant Hollow for a second consecutive week.

A weak effort by Granite Bay (Cameron Smith, Eric Hammon, Victor Soto and Alonso Andrade) had them finishing a distant third in the round robin competition last weekend had the team bring in 1-goaler Alonso Andrade in place of Manny Rodriguez in hopes of sparking some much-needed offense.

The scoring duo of Tim Rudy and Carlos Galindo continue to set the pace for the Pheasant Hollow attack with Ashton Wolf supplying much of the firepower for Hanalei Bay. y’s

Hanalei By’s Krista Bonaguidi will be looking to derail Pheasant Hollow in this weekend’s Jackalope Cup.

Pheasant Hollow will be defending the Jackalope Cup, last played and won by them in 2015 while both Hanalei Bay and Granite Bay will be looking to derail their efforts.

Jackalope Cup play is scheduled to get underway in a round-robin format, once again.  Competition will kick-off on the Empire Polo Club’s Field 7 at 11:30AM.

The final four-goal tournament of the month is scheduled to be played at the Empire Polo Club on Saturday, December 23rd in the Holiday Cup.  The two-day competition will conclude on Saturday, December 24th

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.

Pheasant Hollow Edges Hanalei Bay in final day of the 2017 Coyote Classic

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2017 Coyote Classic winner, Pheasant Hollow (L to R)-Carlos Galindo, Debra Vermoch, Eileen Duffy, (dog Lily) and Tim Rudy.

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.

Hanalei Bay’s Ashton Wolf led all scoring in the tournament with seven goals.

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.