The final game of the 6 Goal Carlton and Keleen Beal Memorial Cup at the Eldorado Polo Club, on Sunday February 8, 2015, brought the same competitors to the field as competed in the January League final – Jenny Lutterell-Benardoni’s Cotterel Farms (Lutterell-Benardoni, Francisco Benardoni 1, Ignacio Saracco 3, Charlie Petersen 2) and Ron Bonaguidi’s Hanalei Bay (Ron Bonaguidi, Krista Bonaguidi -1, Jared Sheldon 4, Diego Velarde 3). The final result of this second meeting between the pair turned out to be the same as the first when the farmers started strong but barely hung on at the end to grab the win. The second would be a little different however as Cotterel pretty much dominated throughout and won easily.
With Aleksander Deutsch substituting for Ron Bonaguidi, Hanalei Bay got off to a very quick start as Velarde scored two easy field goals to give the surfers a lead of two after the first period. The prevailing thought was that this patteren would continue into the second and beyond – didn’t happen.
Cotterel came out in the second and jumped all over the Hawaiians early with sustained pressure. Pressure that allowed Saracco to convert a penalty six from 70 yards to trail by just one. However, Velarde, with aggressive play, scored another from the field and the assumption was that the surfers couldn’t be stopped. That assumption was wrong however, as Cotterel took over and controlled the balance of the chukker. Benardoni and Petersen counted from the field and Saracco converted another penalty six and the farmers led by one after two with a count of 4 – 3.
With the first controlled by Hanalei Bay and the second by Cotterel Farms, the third was even with not a goal scored.
The fourth period was, for the most part, controlled by Lutterell-Benardoni and Co. but all they had to show was one goal – a field strike by Saracco. Nonetheless, their lead was now a pair at 5 – 3.
Sheldon got his first of the game in the early going of the fifth to bring Hanalei Bay to within one but that was, for the most part, it for the surfers as the farmers took over and dominated the rest of the period. Benardoni got his second and Saracco converted an open goal award and scored from the field as well and the count was now 8 – 4 favoring Cotterel.
The final frame was completely unlike the previous meeting where Hanalei Bay romped the entire time. This time there would be no comeback as Petersen, playing a very strong and effective style, scored a pair of field goals before the surfers could respond with anything at all. The response was an open goal conversion by Sheldon to make the difference five goals but it was now very apparent that this would be Cotterel Farms’ second 2015 tournament championship. Benardoni then scored another to increase the lead to six and Sheldon, in the last 30 seconds and with almost everyone shaking hands, nailed a 130 yard neck shot to score and finalize the count at 11 – 6.
As a result of his aggressive and effective play throughout, Petersen was chosen as the Most Valuable Player and Sheldon’s gelding Sports Center (1st and 6th) was selected as the Best Playing Pony.
Tony Gregg