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La Herradura rallies to win USPA Congressional Cup at the Empire Polo Club

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La Herradura (L to R)-Carlos Hernandez, Caroline Anier, Meghan Gracida and Gina Padilla, winners of the 2018 USPA Congressional Cup final at the Empire Polo Club.  Photos courtesy of Lynn Bremner.

Prima Polo (Robert Payne III, Jenny Alter, Toto Socas and Todd Randall) rode onto the field like gangbusters in the final of the 4-goal 2018 USPA Congressional Cup at the Empire Polo Club Sunday afternoon, but it would be a last chukker rally by La Herradura (Caroline Anier, Gina Padilla, Meghan Gracida and Carlos Hernandez) that would take the day in a hotly-contested 7-5 win.

2018 Congressional Cup MVP, Robert Payne, III.

Toto Socas scored the first two goals of the day for Prima Polo followed by a goal from Todd Randall.  Shutout defense kept La Herradura off of the scoreboard in the opening chukker as Prima Polo ran up a 3-0 lead.

A reorganized La Herradura team put together a coordinated offensive attack in the second period.  Caroline Anier scored first followed by a pair of goals from Carlos Hernandez (one on a penalty conversion).  This time it was the La Herradura defense that set the tone for the chukker by shutting down the Prima Polo attack.  At the end of the first half of the four-chukker match it was all even at 3-3.

A determined Prima Polo team got their attack back in gear in the third.  Robert Payne, III scored once from the field and once on a 40-yard penalty shot to make it 5-3, Prima Polo.  Meghan Gracida got her team on the scoreboard with the final goal of the chukker, but it was Prima Polo with the one-goal lead, 5-4.

Robert Payne, III, with his mare Renata, who earned Best Playing Pony honors.
2018 USPA Congressional Cup runner-up, Prima Polo (L to R)- Robert Payne, III, Jenny Alter, Toto Socas and Todd Randal.l

La Herradura needed a stellar final chukker to salvage the win, and they got it .  Another solid defensive effort was complimented by three consecutive goals from Hernandez (the last on a penalty shot) for the 7-5 victory.

Hernandez led all scoring with five goals (two on penalty conversions).  Anier and Gracida each scored once for the win.  Socas and Payne scored two goals apiece for Prima Polo, with Payne receiving MVP honors for his efforts.  Randall added a goal in the loss.

Payne’s mare Renata was named Best Playing Pony on the day.

Mix It Up wins Debii $ Dollar Memorial, Under the Lights

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                                                                     Mix It Up-winner of the 2018 Debii $ Dollar Memorial Cup at the Empire Polo Club. (Photos courtesy of Lynn Bremner)

The Debii $ Dollar Memorial Ladies Tournament final be held on Friday night, March 9th at 5:30 PM at the Empire Polo club with three teams competing.

Mix It Up (Meghan Gracida, Caroline Anier, Madelyn Cobb and Lynni Hutton/Kit Neacy) won the 2018 Debii $ Dollar Memorial Ladies Tournament under the lights Friday night at the Empire Polo Club despite losing their first mini-match of the competition.

Audry Persano (Mother Bears) earned MVP honors for her efforts.

Earlier in the week Mix It Up recorded wins over Luna Polo (Jenifer Alexi, Malia McCoy, Miranda Luna and Susan Adams) and Mother Bears (Carol

Caroline Anier’s Cheezi was honored as Best Playing Pony.

Farnsworth, Audry Persano, Catlin Dix and Sukey Forbes), setting up Friday night’s three-team round-robin as the final round of play.

Mother Bears received one-half goal by handicap from Mix It Up, but opening goals from Audry Persano and Catlin Dix had them on top, 2½ -2 (Friday night’s goals were added to their Wednesday totals in the evening’s two-chukker mini-match).

Mix It Up stormed back onto the field in the second period of play.  Caroline Anier opened the scoring with a 30-yard penalty conversion followed by a goal from the field from teammate Madelyn Cobb, 4-2½.  Two more goals from Caroline Anier and shutout defense gave the game to Mix It Up, 6-2½.

Mother Bears 3, Luna Polo 2

With Mix It Up sitting down for the ensuing two chukkers, Mother Bears faced Luna Polo, a team they tied in a 1-1 contest on Wednesday.

A scoreless first chukker was followed by a tightly-contested second and final period.  Audry Persano scored back-to-back goals for Mother Bears as

The Mother Bears team finished in 3rd place in the tournament.

Luna Polo fought to get back into the game.  Jenifer Alexi finally broke through the Mother Bears defense to score what would end up as the last goal of the game in a 3-2 final (Friday night’s goals were added to Wednesday’s team totals).

Luna Polo 4½, Mix It Up 4

The battle between Mix It Up and Luna Polo turned out to be the match of the night.  Mix It Up had edged Luna Polo 2-1½ in Wednesday’s mini-match and was poised to atone for the narrow loss.

Malia McCoy scored the first goal of the final two chukkers of the night followed by Mix It Up goals from Madelyn Cobb and Caroline Anier.  Adding the evening’s goals to Wednesday’s totals, Mix It Up had the early lead, 4-2½.

Luna Polo turned the tables on the previously undefeated Mix It Up foursome As Jenifer Alexi added two more goals in the final seven minutes of play (one on a 40-yard penalty conversion).  The Luna Polo defense held solid, blanking Mix It Up in the final chukker and lifting them to a 4½-4 victory.

Luna Polo finished in second place in this year’s Debii Dollar tournament.

With each team ending the evening with 1-1 records, Mix It Up claimed the title on the basis of net goals scored.

Audry Persano earned MVP honors for her efforts with Caroline Anier’s Cheezi being honored as Best Playing Pony.  Mix It Up’s Kit Neacy received the Dorie Forstmann Sportsmanship.

Kit Neacy (Mix It Up) received the Dorie Forstmann sportsmanship Award.

Polo action will continue on Saturday at the Empire Polo club in the 4-goal USPA Congressional Cup competition, with Empire (Rob Scapa, Erik Wright, Jim Wright and Kiki Hiller) facing Prima Polo (Robert Payne III, Jenny Alter, Toto Socas and Todd Randall) in a noon match.

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.

Tournament play slated for Friday in the USPA Constitution Cup and the USPA Congressional Cup

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US team member Shane Rice will be joining Evergreen for the Constitution Cup tournament after competing in England in international cup play last week.

Action resumes at the Empire Polo Club this weekend with a total of nine teams competing at the 4-goal and 8-goal level.

Five teams will be competing at the 8-goal USPA Constitution Cup as a strong Spindrift team (John Bickford, Luis Saracco, Tan Khan and Iggy Deltour) attempting to win back-to-back trophies, following their USPA 8-goal General Patton Cup win two weeks ago.  Spindrift will open with a Friday match against Lockton (Tim Kelly, Bryan Middleton, Andres Gonzalez and Alejandro Gonzalez).  The second match of the day will pit ReMax (Dayelle Fargey, Jared Sheldon, Gordon Ross and Matthew Fonseca) against Granite Bay (Eric Hammon, Alvaro Tadeo, Marcos Llambias and Catlin Dix).  Evergreen (Tom Sprung, Carlitos Galindo, Juan Jo Gonzalez and Shane Rice) received a first round bye.

Sunday will see Evergreen face Spindrift while Granite Bay and Lockton lock horns in he second round of Constitution Cup play.

Two of the four 4-goal teams will take the field on Friday in the USPA Congressional Cup with La Herradura (Caroline Anier, Gina Padilla, Meghan Gracida and Carlos Hernandez) playing the Buffalos (Ross Adam, Tim Rudy, Felipe Sordelli and Riley Jordan) to get the tournament underway.

Empire (Rob Scapa, Erik Wright, Jim Wright and Kiki Hiller) is scheduled to battle Prima Polo (Robert Payne III, Jenny Alter, Toto Socas and Todd Randall) in Saturday’s only 4-goal game.

A full compliment of four games at both the 4-goal and 8-goal level will be featured in Sunday competition.

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.

Pheasant Hollow runs past Granite Bay and Ocean Air/Backshot Ranch for Holiday Cup win

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Empire Polo Club’s 2017 Holiday Cup winner, Pheasant Hollow (L to R) Debra Vermoch, Cameron Smith, Tim Rudy and Suki Pier. The tournament win was the third of the month for Pheasant Hollow.

Building on their dominance of both Ocean Air/Backshot Ranch (Dave Carlson, Shannon Mendez, Ashton Wolf and Alonso Andrade) and Granite Bay lineup (Julie Fernandez, Caroline Anier, Eric Hammon and Goyo Mariscal) in Friday’s round-robin competition, Pheasant Hollow (Debra Vermoch, Cameron Smith, Tim Rudy and Suki Piper) finished the Holiday Cup with a 7-3 win over Granite Bay and a 9-6 victory over Ocean Air/Backshot Ranch.

Pheasant Hollow faced Granite Bay in the first two chukkers of the day and rode onto the field with a 4-2 edge from the previous day’s play (a cumulative total of goals scored determine the ultimate outcome).  Tim Rudy scored the first goal of the day followed by a 30-yard penalty goal from teammate Debra Vermoch.  Granite Bay was held scoreless for a 2-0 Pheasant Hollow advantage.

Granite Bay took control of the second period, picking up single goals from Goyo Mariscal and Eric Hammon and shutting down the Pheasant Hollow attack, but it wouldn’t be enough.  On the strength of the 5-1 lead Pheasant Hollow amassed on Friday, they would record the win, 7-3.

In the highest scoring showdown of the tournament, Pheasant Hollow and Ocean Air/Backshot Ranch matched one another goal for goal in the opening seven minutes of the third chukker of the day for a 2-2 tie.  A pair of goals from Rudy were offset by single goals from Shannon Mendez and Alonso Andrade.

Rudy pushed Pheasant Hollow ahead on a goal from the field and a 60-yard penalty conversion, 4-2.  Mendez and Cameron Smith exchanged goals, with Pheasant Hollow remaining on top, 5-3. Dave Carlson scored the final goal of the game for Ocean Air/Backshot Ranch, but the two-day total saw Pheasant Hollow celebrating the 9-6 win and the 2018 Holiday Cup title.

The final two periods of the tournament saw Ocean Air/Backshot Ranch and Granite Bay play to a 2-2 tie, giving the win to Ocean Air/Backshot Ranch on the strength of a two day total of 5-2 two day total.

Goals from Ashton Wolf and Alonso Andrade had Ocean Air/Backshot Ranch in front in the opening chukker, 2-0.  Caroline Anier got Granite Bay on the scoreboard, but trailed 2-1.

Anier’s second goal of the day went unanswered with Ocean Air/Backshot Ranch taking the win with a two-day total of 5-2.

The Holiday Cup win was the third of the month for Peasant Hollow and was powered by a total of 11 goals from Tim Rudy over the two-day event.

The Holiday Cup was the Empire Polo Club’s fourth and final tournament of the month, but plenty of action is in store with the Opening Day/Hat Day of the 2018 season and the beginning of the Stagecoach Challenge on Sunday, December 31st.

The 2018 Empire Polo season attracts players from across the country and around the world and offers there months 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 positioned to capture their third tournament of the season

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Three-goaler Tim Rudy led the Pheasant Hollow charge Friday afternoon at the Empire Polo Club, scoring six times as he led his team to wins over Granite Bay and Ocean Air/Backshot Ranch. Final six chukkers of the round-robin are on tap for Saturday morning at 11am.

Dave Carlson made an auspicious debut in Holiday Cup play at the Empire Polo Club as he scored the first goal of the tournament for Ocean Air/Backshot Ranch (Dave Carlson, Shannon Mendez, Ashton Wolf and Alonso Andrade) but it was Pheasant Hollow (Debra Vermoch, Cameron Smith, Tim Rudy and Suki Piper) that made the opening statement.

Two goals from Tim Rudy and a goal from Cameron Smith ended the first chukker with Pheasant Hollow on top of a 3-1 score.

Rudy’s third goal of the two-chukker mini-match had Pheasant Hollow in the lead by three goals, 4-1, before Ocean Air/Backshot Ranch was heard from again.  A single goal from Shannon Mendez closed out the period with Pheasant taking the first two chukkers of the day, 4-2.

A determined Ocean Air/Backshot Ranch team held the field for the ensuing two chukkers against a new look Granite Bay lineup (Julie Fernandez, Caroline Anier, Eric Hammon and Goyo Mariscal).

Mendez scored the first goal of the contest from the field and added a 40-yard penalty goal for the early lead.  A disciplined defense held Granite Bay scoreless.  After their first chukker of lay, Granite Bay trailed, 2-0.

Another 40-yard penalty conversion from Mendez accounted for all of the scoring in the second chukker.  Ocean Air/Backshot Ranch recorded their first win of the day, 3-0, and leveled their record at 1-1.

Pheasant Hollow returned to the field for the final two chukkers of the round-robin to face a struggling Granite Bay foursome.

Rudy scored the first goal of the chukker followed by back-to-back goals from Smith.  For the third straight chukker Granite Bay was unable to get on the scoreboard, falling behind, 3-0.

Rudy rang up two more goals in the final period, extending the lead to five goals, 5-0.  Goyo Mariscal kept Granite Bay from being shutout with the final goal of the day, but it was Pheasant Hollow with the 5-1 win.

Round-robin play will continue on Saturday, December 23 at 11AM on Field 7 for the final six chukkers of play.  Pheasant Hollow appears to be in the driver’s seat with a 4-3 advantage over Ocean Air/Backshot Ranch and a 5-1 lead against Granite Bay.

Pheasant Hollow had captured the Desert Challenge and the Coyote Classic before losing in Jackalope Cup play.  A strong finish would give them three of the month’s four tournament titles.

Pheasant Hollow, Ocean Air/Backshot Ranch and Granite Bay will play one another for an additional two chukkers apiece on Saturday with the totals of their head-on-head competition added together for the final standings.  The team with the best record will be declared the winner.

The Holiday Cup is the Empire Polo Club’s final tournament of the month with the Stagecoach Challenge being played on Opening Day/Hat Day on Sunday, December 31st.

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.