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USPA Constitution Cup wins for Lockton and Evergreen

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The Lockton polo team of Tim Kelly, Bryan Middleton, Andres Gonzalez and Francisco Guinazu on the trophy stand with friends, family and supporters following Sunday’s win in the 2018 USPA Constitution Cup at the Empire Polo Club.

There was plenty of action Sunday at the Empire Polo Club with 13 teams competing in three different and distinct levels of play.

In the feature match of the day, Lockton (Tim Kelly, Bryan Middleton, Andres Gonzalez and Francisco Guinazu) bounced back from a Friday loss to edge Granite Bay (Eric Hammon, Alvaro Tadeo, Marcos Llambias and Catlin Dix), 9-8, in the 8-goal USPA Constitution Cup tournament action.

Lockton’s Bryan Middleton exploded for three first chukker goals while Granite Bay was limited to a single 40-yard penalty conversion from Marcos Llambias.  The 7-goal Granite Bay team received one goal by handicap, but After the first seven minutes of play it was Lockton with the 3-2 lead.

Middleton struck again in the second period while his teammates succeeded in shutting down the Granite Bay attack.  The Lockton lead grew to two goals, 4-2.

Middleton’s fifth goal of the afternoon was followed by a 30-yard penalty conversion from Tim Kelly that had Lockton holding on to a four-goal lead, 6-2.  Llambias scoffed the final goal of the first half as Granite Bay trailed by three goals, 6-3.

The Granite Bay defense tightened in the fourth, holding Lockton scoreless for the first time all day.  Alvaro Tadeo scored the only goal of the chukker, getting to within two goals of the lead, 6-4.

Both offenses got on track in the fifth.  Middleton scored from the field and teammate Francisco Guinazu added a 60-yard penalty goal.  Granite Bay responded with a pair of goals from Tadeo and a goal from Catlin Dix.  After five periods of play, Granite Bay had cut the Lockton lead back to a single goal, 8-7.

In a do-or-die sixth chukker Lockton drew first blood, with Guinazu stretching the Lockton lead back to two goals, 9-7.  There was no quit in the Granite Bay offense as they pressed their attack A goal from Llambias brought Granite Bay back to within a goal of the lead, once again, but time and a solid defense was on the side of Lockton as they leveled their record at 1-1 with the 9-8 victory.  Granite Bay suffered their second straight tournament loss and fell to 0-2.

Middleton led all scoring with six goals on the day.  Guinazu scored twice and Kelly added a goal for the win.  Llambias and Tadeo scored three goals apiece.  Dix added a goal and the team received one goal by handicap.

Evergreen 14, Spindrift 12

Earlier in the day Evergreen (Tom Sprung, Carlitos Galindo, Juan Jo Gonzalez and Shane Rice) faced Spindrift (John Bickford, Luis Saracco, Tan Khan and Iggy Deltour) in their first USPA Constitution Cup match in one of the most raucous and hard-riding game of the season.

Thirty-two fouls and five Yellow flags later, according to Empire’s polo manager, Vicky Owens, Evergreen emerged with a 14-12 victory.

Shane Rice made his presence known by scoring the first goal of the game on a 60-yard penalty shot.  Iggy Deltour countered with a pair of goals for Spindrift for a ne goal lead, 2-1.  Juan Jo Gonzalez made good on a 40-yard penalty shot with Spindrift’s John Bickford closing out the chukker with his first goal of the day for a 3-2 Spindrift lead.

Penalties began to take their toll on both teams in the second.  Four of the five goals scored came from the penalty line with Rice converting from 30, 40 and 60-yards for three goals and Deltour adding a 60-yarder and a goal from the field for Spindrift.  At the end of the second period the score was all even at 5-5.

Fouls continued to plague an aggressive Evergreen offense in third period play.  Bickford scored on a 40-yard penalty shot and Tan Khan scored from the 30-yard line.  Evergreen was kept off the scoreboard and trailed 7-5 at the end of the first half.

A very physical game continued into the second half with Evergreen getting the benefit of Spindrift fouls in the fourth.  Gonzalez scored a goal from the field and Rice added another penalty goal.  Carlitos Galindo scored once from the field and once from the penalty line.  Spindrift was held to a single goal from the field from Bickford and fell behind Evergreen, 9-8.

Deltour tied the game at 8-8 with the opening goal of the fifth, but goals from Evergreen’s Tom Sprung and Gonzalez put Evergreen in front, 11-9.  Luis Saracco scored for Spindrift with Rice converting another 40-yard penalty shot that ended the chukker with Evergreen on top, 12-10.

The two teams traded goals in the sixth with Saracco scoring first for Spindrift, 12-11 and Gonzalez countering with a goal for Evergreen, 13-11.  An Evergreen foul sent Saracco to the penalty line where he converted a 40-yard penalty shot for a goal, cutting the Evergreen lead back to a single goal, 13-12, but Galindo closed the door on them with his third goal of the game for the 14-12 victory

Constitution cup play is scheduled to resume on Friday, March 16th with Evergreen (1-0) facing Granite Bay (1-1) and REMAX (1-0) meeting Spindrift (1-1).

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.

With seconds on the clock, Spindrift scores for 10-9 win in USPA General Patton 8-goal final

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The 2018 USPA General Patton 8-goal Cup winner (L to R) Leslie Tims, John Bickford, Juan Curbelo and Luis Saracco.

A large and enthusiastic crowd was on hand and it was a back-and-forth battle that put an exclamation mark at the end of an exciting day of polo at the Empire Polo Club Sunday afternoon.  In the final game of the day, Spindrift (Leslie Tims, John Bickford, Juan Curbelo and Luis Saracco) rebounded from a last chukker rally by STG (John Ziegler, Tommy Costello, Max Menini and Francisco Guinazu) to win the 2018 USPA General Patton 8-goal Cup.

Scott Walker with MVP John Bickford.

Juan Curbelo opened the scoring with a goal from the field for the early Spindrift advantage, but fouls proved costly in the early goings.  Penalty goals from STG’s Max Menini and Francisco Guinazu closed out the chukker with STG on top, 2-1.

Curbelo tied it at 2-2 with his second goal of the game, but STG countered with a 40-yard penalty goal from Guinazu for a fragile one goal advantage, 3-2.  Leslie Tims scored the final goal of the period, leveling the score at three goals apiece, 3-3.

The Spindrift defenders were on their game in the third.  Shutout defense coupled with a pair of 40-yard penalty conversions from John Bickford gave the lead to Spindrift, 5-3.

Two more penalty goals from Bickford and a goal from the field from Luis Saracco and a second consecutive scoreless chukker for STG saw Spindrift expand their lead to five goals, 8-3, with just two periods of regulation play remaining.

The STG offense came alive in the fifth with Menini opening with a goal from the field followed by two penalty goals from Guinazu, 8-6.  Bickford converted a penalty shot from the 30-yard mark, 9-6, with Menini adding the final goal of the period.  Spindrift continued to lead but a storming STG team appeared to have morphed into attack mode, and trailed by just two goals, 9-7.

The momentum remained with STG as the final chukker got underway.  Guinazu’s fifth goal of the day had STG within a goal of the lead, 9-8, and Tommy Costello’s first goal of the afternoon had it all even at 9-9.  Both teams pressed frantically for the winning goal and with 13 seconds on the clock it was Saracco executing the winning shot for the 10-9 win.

All five of Bickford’s five goals came on penalty shots and earned him MVP honors.  Saracco and Curbelo each scored twice and Tims added a goal for the Cup.  Guinazu was STG’s top scorer with five goals (four on penalty conversions).  Menini scored three times (twice on penalty shots) and Costello was credited with a goal in the loss.

Curbelo’s Curbelo’s Briza was named Best Playing Pony.

Following a weekend off, polo returns to the Empire Polo Club on March 9th with the 8-goal USPA Constitution Cup and on March 19th with the USPA Congressional 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

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.

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.

Evergreen cruises to a 2-0 record in USPA Circuit Players Cup

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Crlitos Galido continues to lead the competition in scoring, adding eight goals to his growing total in Evergreen’s 12-6 win over C & R Farms in USPA Circuit Players Cup play at the Empire Polo Club Sunday afternoon.

Evergreen (Tom Sprung, Bayne Bossom, Juan Jo Gonzales and Carlitos Galindo) have had a successful 4-goal season at the Empire Polo Club, recording wins in both the Stagecoach Challenge and the USPS Sportsmanship Cup, and appear poised to add the 2018 USPA Circuit Players Cup to their trophy room.

Scoring their second win of the tournament, Evergreen remains the only undefeated team in this year’s competition.

After handily dispatching Empire (Rob Scapa, Eileen Duffy, Erik Wright and Jim Wright) on Saturday, Evergreen took the field at 9:30 Sunday morning and throttled a foul prone C & R Farms team (Cheryl Schindel, Luis Saracco, Ross Adam and Alonzo Andrade), 12-6.

Eight first chukker fouls put C & R Farms on the ropes in the opening chukker with Evergreen’s Carlitos Gracida converting on three penalty shots.  The Evergreen defense was just a s focused as they shut down the C & R attack for the 3-0 lead.

C & R got on the scoreboard in the second with a 60-yard penalty conversion from Luis Saracco to make it 3-1.  A goal from the field from Bayne Bossom was the only other score in the chukker as Evergreen rode off the field on top of a 4-1 lead.

C & R bounced back in the third with Ross Adam scoring twice from the field and teammate Alonzo Andrade adding a 40-yard penalty goal to tie the game at 4-4.  Galindo scored on a 60-yard penalty shot to end the first half with Evergreen in front by a single goal, 5-4.

Saracco’s second goal of the day leveled the score once again, 5-5, but Galindo and Evergreen were just getting started.  Galindo scored two of his three goals on penalty conversions with Bossom adding a goal from the field.  After four periods of play, Evergreen held a four-goal advantage, 9-5.

Defense was the key to fifth chuker play with Evergreen holding C & R scoreless.  Evergreen only managed a goal of their own, but increased their led to five goals, 10-5, with one period remaining in regulation play.

Saracco opened the sixth with a goal from the field, but the C & R rally was short-lived.  Goals from Bossom and Galindo ended the game with Evergreen riding away with the 12-6 win.

Galindo scored six of his game-high eight goals on penalty shots.  Bossom added four gals for the Evergreen victory.  Saracco’s three goals led the C & R attack.  Adam scored twice, and Andrade added a goal in a losing effort.

The win was Evergreen’s second of the tournament and left them atop the standings at 2-0.  The C & R loss was their first, falling to 1-1.

Hanalei Bay 16, Tanakhanda/Sandalford Wine 5

In a noon USPA Players Cup match, Hanalei Bay (Krista Bonaguidi, Ian Schnoebelen, Taylor Freeman and Ashton Wolf) embarrassed Tanakhanda/Sandalford Wine (Tanweer Khan, Victor Lopez, Cameron Smith and Warwick Prendiville) with a healthy dose of offense and defense that carried them to a resounding 16-5 victory.

The 3-goal Hanalei Bay team received one goal by handicap and quickly added to it with every member of the team getting on the scoreboard in the first chukker.  Taylor Freeman and Krista Bonaguidi scored the first two goals of the game, 3-0, with Tanakhanda/Sandalford Wine answering with a single goal from Warwick Prendiville, 3-1.   Ian Schnoebelen and Ashton closed out the scoring in the opening chukker with single goals as Hanalei Bay raced out to an early 5-1 lead.

Wolf scored his second goal of the day in second chukker action followed by a pair of goals from Freeman.  Tanakhanda/Sandalford Wine was unable to score and fell behind by seven goals, 8-1.

Wolf and Bonaguidi each added a goal in the third with Schnoebelen converting a 40-yard penalty shot for a goal. Prendiville and Victor Lopez scored the final two goals of the period, but it was Hanalei Bay who was in control of the game with an eight-goal advantage, 11-3 at the end of the first half.

The Hanalei Bay attack continued to roll unabated in second half play. Bonaguidi’s third goal of the day came on a 30-yard penalty shot with Wolf and Schnoebelen adding single goals. A stellar defensive effort by Hanalei Bay blanked the Tanakhanda/Sandalford Wine offense for the second time, extending their commanding lead to eleven goals, 14-3.

Two more goals from Freeman in the fifth were answered by a single 40-yard penalty conversion from Prendiville. After five periods the Hanalei Bay lead stood at 16-4.

With Hanalei Bay resting their horses in the final chukker, Prendiville scored the only sixth chukker goal in a 16-5. Hanalei Bay beat-down.

Freeman’s five goals led the field with teammate Wolf accounting for four goals and Bonaguidi and Schnoebelen adding three goals apiece. Hanalei Bay received one goal by handicap. Prendiville scored four times for Tanakhanda/Sandalford Wine with Lopez adding the only other goal in the loss.

The win was the first for Hanalei Bay (1-0) while Tanakhanda/Sandalford Wine suffered their second setback in as many games, 0-2.

USPA Players Cup competition will continue next weekend with the finals set t be played on Sunday, February 11th.

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