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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.

Gracida takes the trophy at Empire

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The winning La Herradura polo team (L to R)- Augusto Sola, Elise Pardue, Coach-Memo Gracida, Meghan Gracida and Carlos Hernandez at the Empire Polo club.

No, not that Gracida, but a Meghan Gracida-led La Herradura polo team (Carlos Hernandez, Meghan Gracida, Augusto Sola and Elise Pardue) took top honors in the Empire Polo Club’s 1-goal Coaching League with a 9-6 win over a talented Chapel Hill lineup (Domingo Questel, Paul Sethi, Torrey Ripinsky and Todd Randall) Sunday morning.

With her husband, former 10-goaler Memo Gracida, coaching from the sidelines, Meghan took the reins of her team as they took an early lead and held on for the team’s win in their first tournament of the year.

Torrey Ripinsky scored the first goal of the game for Chapel Hill, 1-0, that was answered by La Herradura’s Carlos Hernandez, 1-1.  Veteran Domingo Questel made it 2-1 for Chapel Hill, but that would be their last lead of the day.  Two goals from Hernandez ended the first chukker with La Herradura on top, 3-2.

Two more second period goals from Hernandez were supported by a disciplined defense that held Chapel Hill to a single goal from Todd Randall.  At the end of the second chukker of the four-period match, La Herradura held a two-goal advantage, 5-3.

Meghan Gracida opened the second half scoring with her first goal of the game, 6-3, but Chapel Hill fired back.  Consecutive goals from Randall had Chapel Hill within a goal of the lead, 6-5.  La Herradura tightened their defense and Elise Pardue scored the final goal of the chukker to maintain their two-goal lead, 7-5.

Two fourth period goals from Hernandez extended the La Herradura lead to four goals, 9-5, with little time left in the game.  A final goal from Ripinsky scored the final goal of the game as Meghan Gracida and her La Herradura teammates celebrated the 9-6 victory.

Hernandez led the field in scoring with seven goals.  Pardue and Meghan Gracida each added a goal for the win.  Randall led the Chapel Hill attack with three goals.  Ripinsky scored twice and Questel added a goal in the loss.

Two Sunday wins give World Gym league title

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The World Gym team of (L to R)- Tom Schuerman, Todd Randall, Claudia Uretz and Wiley Uretz finished two days of competition with an undefeated record for the title in the week’s 1-goal competition at the Empire Polo Club Sunday.

In the second day of 1-goal league competition at the Empire Polo Club, World Gym (Claudia Uretz, Sydney Jordan, Tom Schuerman and Wiley Uretz) recorded wins over the Flaming Chickens (Joey Gallemore, Devon Gallemore, Victor Soto and Hayward Pardue) and Grande Prairie (Ross Adam, Lolo Payan, Craig Nelson and Suki Piper) to take first place in the six-team field Sunday afternoon.

The Flaming chickens opened the noon round-robin scoring a narrow 3½-3 win over Grande Prairie behind the offensive push of Victor Soto.

Soto and Grande Prairie’s Lolo Payan exchanged goals in the opening chukker of the four-period mini-match with Soto giving the lead to the Flaming Chickens with the final goal of the chukker for a 2½-1 lead (Flaming Chickens received one-half goal by handicap).

Soto’s third goal of the match had the Flaming chickens on top, 3½-1 before Grande Prairie responded.  Consecutive goals from Payan ended the game with the Flaming Chickens riding off with the win, 3½-3.

World Gym 5, Grande Prairie 2

World Gym exploded for four first chukker goals against a shell-shocked Grande Prairie lineup.  Two goals apiece from Wiley Uretz and Tom Schuerman were complimented by shutout defense as World Gym went up, 4-0.

Tod Randell’s first goal of the day made it 5-0, World Gym with Grande Prairie struggling for an answer.
Grande Prairie got single goals from Craig Nelson and Payan in the final period, but it was World Gym riding off the field at the end of the contest with a 5-2 victory.

World Gym 4, Flaming Chickens 2½

It was Wiley Uretz with the hot hand as the final two chukkers of the round-robin got underway.  He former college All-American scored the first three goals of the chukker while the World Gym defenders held the Flaming Chickens scoreless.

Soto and Devin Gallemore scored the first two goal of the final chukker, cutting the World Gym lead to one -half goal, 3-2½.  Tom Schuerman scored the final goal of the game for a 4-2½ win.

Club Polo Cabo takes consolation

Earlier in the day, Club Polo Cabo (Tony Yahyai, Scott Walker, Domingo Questel and Alyssa/Ella/Clair) defeated Gold Rush (David Barnett, Manny Rodriguez, Jeffrey Rewald and Zinta Rewald) and Vashon (Stephanie Davidson,  Kim Bergman and Jessica Bailey) to win the consolation 1-goal round-robin.

Club Polo Cabo got first chukker goals from veteran Domingo Questel and Club Polo Cabo team captain Tony Yahyai while Gold Rush had to settle for a 30-yard penalty conversion.  After the first seven minutes of play Club Polo Cabo held a narrow 2-1½ advantage (Gold Rush received one-half goal by handicap).

Questel’s second goal of the match extended the Club Polo Cabo lead to 2-1½, with Gold Rush in hot pursuit.  Disciplined defense held Gold Rush to another penalty goal that had Club Polo Cabo escaping with the 3-2½ victory.

Vashon 4, Gold Rush 2½

In the second mini-match of the morning, Vashon handed Gold Rush their second defeat of the day in a 4-2½ bout.

Vashon rattled off the first three goals of the opening chukker with JMG coring twice and Kim Bergman adding a goal, 3-½ (Gold Rush received one-half goal by handicap). Jeffrey Rewald got Gold Rush on the scoreboard with his first score, 3-1½.

Jeffrey Rewald cut into the Vashon lead with his second goal of the match, 3-2½, but it wasn’t to be. JMG scored the final goal of the match for the 4-2½ win.

Club Polo Cabo 4, Vashon 3

The final two chukkers of the round-robin pitted Club Polo Cabo against Vashon, with the winner capturing the consolation round-robin.

Club Polo Cabo picked up goals from Yahyai and Questel while Vashon countered with a pair of goals from Gutierrez.  After their first chukker the two teams remained tied at 2-2.

Bergman’s second goal of the day and first of the game had Vashon on top, 3-2, but Club Polo Cabo wasn’t through.  Two goals from Questel (one on a penalty conversion) ended the game with Club Polo Cabo riding of with the win, 4-3.

Arizona wins first 1-goal league of the season

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The Arizona polo team of David Barnet, Dan Faherty, Manny Rodriguez and Benito Andrade scored a come-from-behind win over Vashon to capture the first 1-goal League title of the season at the Empire Polo Club on Sunday afternoon.

In a final match that centered more on defense than offense, Arizona (David Barnet, Dan Faherty, Manny Rodriguez and Benito Andrade) rallied for three unanswered goals in the fourth and final chukker to defeat Vashon (Stephanie Davidson, JMG Jeffrey Rewald and Zinta Rewald) in the opening 1-goal league f the Empire Polo Club season.

A first chukker goal from JMG gave Vashon the early 1½ -0 lead (Vashon received one-half goal by handicap), but that was where the offenses of both teams dried up.  Despite aggressive efforts by both sides, their respective defenses remained impenetrable for the next two periods.  After three periods of play, Vashon retained the delicate 1½-0 advantage.

Dan Faherty scored the opening goal of the fourth period with Manny Rodriguez adding another Arizona goal for a 2-1½ lead.  Flaherty’s second goal of the game was supported by Arizona’s third straight defensive shutout as they cruised to the 3-1½ victory.

Faherty led the field with two goals.  Rodriguez scored once. JMG accounted for Vashon’s only goal of the day, and the team received one-half goal by handicap.

Flaming Chicken 8½, World Gym 8

World Gym (Claudia Uretz, Todd Randall, Tom Schuerman and Wiley Uretz) looked like odds-on favorites in the opening half of play in the consolation round of action in 1-goal league play, but a plucky Flaming Chicken lineup (Joey Gallemore, Devon Gallemore, Victor Soto and Jose Quiroz) turned the tables on them in the second half to sneak off with the 8½ to 8 win.

Flaming Chicken received one-half goal by handicap but were forced to watch World Gym score four straight goals to take a 4-½ lead after the first seven minutes of play. Three goals from Tom Schuerman and a single goal from Wiley Uretz accounted for all of the scoring from the field in the opening chukker.

Single goals from Schuerman and Claudia Uretz were countered by a single goal from Joey Gallemore as World Gym left the field at the end of the first half on top of a 6 to 1½ lead.

Whatever it was that the Flaming Chicken discussed at halftime, it got them going n the right direction.  Victor Soto scored twice while Joey Gallemore and Devin Gallemore each scored.  World Gym responded with goals from Schuerman and Wiley Uretz to maintain the advantage, 8 to 5½.

Flaming Chicken took control of the final chukker, picking up goals from Soto and the two Gallemores.  World Gym was unable to mount an effect attack in the final frame of the game and fell, 8½ t0 8.

Joey Gallemore and Soto led the Flaming Chicken attack with three goals apiece.  Devon Gallemore scored twice and the team received one-half goal by handicap.  Schuerman led the field with five goals on the day, Wiley Uretz added two goals and Claudia Uretz was credited with a goal in the loss.