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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.