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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.

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.

Evergreen goes to 2-0 in USPA Sportsmanship Cup Competition

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The Empire polo team (L to R)-Jim Wright, Erik Wright, Rob Scapa and Eileen Duffy with representatives of the Westin Mission Hills Golf Resort & Spa at the Empire Polo Club Sunday afternoon. Empire edged Granite Bay, 8-7, in a United States Polo Association Sportsmanship Cup match.

Empire (Rob Scapa, Eileen Duffy, Erik Wright and Nicolas Maciel) rebounded from a humiliating 12-3 loss in USPA Sportsmanship play on Saturday to record a hard-fought 8-7 win over Granite Bay (Eric Hammon, Alvaro Tadeo, Jenny Alter and Diego Cruz) Sunday afternoon at the Empire Polo Club, bringing an end to a day loaded with polo action.

Granite Bay drew first blood, however, with Alvaro Tadeo scoring the first goal of the match for the early 1-0 lead.  Empire countered with a goal from Jim Wright to end the first chukker in a 1-1 tie.

Erik Wright’s first goal of the day gave Empire their first lead of the day, 2-1, but Granite Bay continued to press their attack.  An empire foul sent Tadeo to the penalty line where he converted from 60-yards out for the final goal of the period to make it 2-2.

Both teasms played disciplined defense with Jim Wright and Tadeo exchanging goals in the third.  At the midway point, the score remained level at 3-3.

Pressure from Empire in the fourth chukker resulted in a pair of Granite Bay fouls.  Jim Wright took advantage of the Granite Bay errors, converting from 40-yars and 60-yards respectively.  The Empire defenders held firm, shutting out the Granite Bay attack for the first time all day.  After four periods of play, Empire had taken a two-goal, 5-3 advantage.

Granite Bay erupted for three consecutive goals in the fifth with goals from Diego Cruz, Tadeo and Eric Hammon boosting them into the lead, 6-5.  Jim Wright countered with back-to-back goals for Empire, ending the period on top of Granite Bay, 7-6.

Erik Wright opened the scoring in the sixth with his second score of the day, extending the Empire lead to two goals, 8-6, but there was no quit in Granite Bay.  Tadeo scored for the fourth time, but time was on Empire’s side as they held on for the 8-7 win.

Jim Wright led all scoring with six goals (two on penalty conversions).  Erik Wright added a pair of goals for the win.  Tadeo led the Granite Bay attack with three goals from the field and a penalty goal.  Hammon and Cruz each added a goal in a losing effort.

Evergreen 8, Hanalei Bay 7

Earlier in the day, Carlitos Galindo dazzled the Sunday crowd by scoring seven times in leading Evergreen (Tom Sprung, Carlitos Galindo, Juan Jo Gonzales and Bayne Bossom) to their second tournament win in as many days as they outlasted Hanalei Bay (Krista Bonaguidi, Ashton Wolf, Taylor Freeman and Ian Schnoebelen) in a hotly-contested 8-7 win.

Although Hanalei Bay received one goal by handicap, an aggressive Evergreen defense held them scoreless from the field in the opening two chukkers.  Single goals from Galindo and Bayne Bossom had Evergreen in front, 2-1, after the first.  A pair of 40-yard penalty goals from Galindo in the second period extended the Evergreen led to three goals, 4-1.

A goal from Ashton Wolf in the third cut the Evergreen lead down to two goals in the third, but their defense was unable to shut down Galindo.  His fourth goal on the day ended the first half with Evergreen leading by three goals, 5-2.

A re-focused Hanalei Bay team took the field in the fourth chukker and appeared to be in sync.  Consecutive goals from Ian Schnoebelen, Wolf and Taylor Freeman went unanswered.  The fourth period ended with Evergreen and Hanalei Bay all even at five goals apiece.

Goals were hard to come by in the fifth with both defenses stepping it up a notch.  A single 40-yard penalty goal from Galindo accounted for all of the scoring as Evergreen edged out to a narrow 6-5 lead with once period remaining in regulation play.  Freeman and Galindo traded goals in the sixth, each scoring twice, as Evergreen escaped with the 8-7 win.

Galindo’s seven goals set the pace for the day.  Bossom added a goal for the Evergreen victory.  Freeman scored a team-high three goals for Hanalei Bay.  Wolf added a pair of goals, Schnoebelen scored once and the team received one goal by handicap in the loss.

All four teams will return next week for the completion of the 2018 USPA Sportsmanship Cup.

General Admission and tailgating are free with a $20 parking fee. VIP is $30 per person with a reservation. Call 760-393-7298 for VIP reservations. Entrance is on Ave. 50 between Madison St. and Monroe St. Visit http://www.EmpirePolo.com for more details

Saturday’s Sportsmanship Cup results: Evergreen 12, Empire 3; and Hanalei Bay 13, Granite Bay 6.

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.