Tonkawa 10-goaler Sapo Caset’s five goals weren’t enough as Postage Stamp Farm ran away with the Ylvisaker Cup game, 12-8. (Photo by Alex Pacheco)
Eight teams battled for positioning in the 20-goal Ylvisaker Cup competition Friday at the International Polo Club with La Indiana (Michael Bickford, Jeff Hall, Mike Azzaro and Gringo Colombres), Coca-Cola (Gillian Johnston, Julian de Lusarreta, Julio Arellano and Del Walton), Villa Del Lago (Jim Zenni, Agustin Obregon, Hilario Ulloa and Carlucho Arellano) and Postage Stamp Farm (Annabelle Gundlach, Joto Chavanne, Mariano Aguerre and Kris Kampsen) chalking up wins at the expense of Travieso (Tony Calle, Hugo Barabucci, Sebastian Merlos and Marquitos Alberdi), Horseware (Matt Coppola, Juan Martin Obregon, Mariano Gracida and Tommy Collingwood), Equine Liquid Biocell (Tomas Obregon, Jared Zenni, Magoo Laprida and Juan Valerdi) and Tonkawa (Jeff Hildebrand, Sapo Caset, Costi Caset and Facundo Obregon), respectively.
La Indiana 11, Travieso 9
Ylvisaker Cup action got started with a 10am penalty-riddled game between La Indiana and Travieso, with La Indiana coming out on top of the 11-9 score.
Travieso showed early scoring power with Hugo Barabucci and Sebastian Merlos each scoring twice and Marquitos Alberdi adding a goal for a 5-5 halftime tie. La Indiana scored four of their first half five goals on penalty shots with Mike Azzaro scoring three times (two from the penalty line) and Jeff Hall adding two penalty conversions.
Five more second half penalty goals from Azzaro led the La Indiana attack as they took an 8-6 lead in the fourth and held on for the 11-9 win. Azzaro led all scoring with eight goals (seven on penalty shots). Barabucci was high-scorer for Travieso with five goals (two from the field). The win levels the La Indiana record at 1-1 while Travieso falls to 0-2.
Coca-Cola 11, Horseware 9
The 18-goal Horseware team received two goals by handicap from Coca-Cola but battled them to a 5-5 halftime tie in a noon contest. The score remained even after the fourth period, 6-6, and the fifth, 8-8, before Coca-Cola rallied for three goals in the final chukker for the 11-9 win.
Team captain Gillian Johnston led a balanced Coca-Cola offense with four goals; Julian de Lusarreta scored three times; with Julio Arellano and Del Walton adding two goals apiece. Juan Martin Obregon was high-scorer for Horseware with five goals (two on penalty conversions).
With the win, Coca-Cola remains unbeaten at 2-0 while Horseware fell to 1-1.
Villa Del Lago 11, Equine Liquid Biocell 9
In a 3pm father-son meeting, Jim Zenni’s Villa Del Lago team jumped out to an early 4-1 lead over young Jared Zenni’s Equine Liquid Biocell lineup, and never looked back as they ran off with the 11-9 game.
Argentine 10-goaler Hilario Ulloa accounted for all of the scoring for Villa Del Lago with eight of his game-high eleven goals coming on penalty conversions. Jared Zenni was high-scorer for Equine Liquid Biocell with five goals (three on penalty shots). Tomas Obregon added two goals and single goals from Magoo Laprida and Juan Valerdi rounded out the scoring in the 11-9 Villa Del Lago victory.
Equine Liquid Biocell lost their second consecutive game while Villa Del Lago leveled their record at 1-1.
Postage Stamp Farm 12, Tonkawa 8
In the second 3pm game of the day, Postage Stamp Farm rallied from a 5-4 halftime deficit to outscore a powerful Tonkawa team, 8-3 in the final three chukkers for a convincing 12-8 win.
Postage Stamp Farm kept close in the fourth (trailing 7-6) and tied the game in the fifth (8-8) before exploding for four unanswered goals in the sixth and final chukker for the 12-8 victory.
Kris Kampsen scored four of his game-high six goals on penalty shots with teammates Jota Chavanne and Mariano Aguerre adding three goals each. Ten-goaler Sapo Caset scored three of his team-leading five goals for Tonkawa from the penalty line.
With the victory, Postage Stamp Farm finds itself one of only three undefeated teams in Ylvisaker Cup competition with a 2-0 record. Tonkawa falls to 1-1 with their first loss of the tournament.
The horses and players will get Saturday off before Ylvisaker Cup action resumes with three games on tap for Sunday, February 5th. A 10am game will get the day started with Mt. Brilliant (Bo Goodman, Jason Crowder, Santiago Chavanne and Julian Daniels) and Goose Creek (Maureen Brennan, Peke Gonzalez, Mariano Gonzalez and Tomas Garcia del Rio) facing one another with each team looking for their first win of the tournament.
At noon, Valiente I (Bob Jornayvaz, Felipe Viana, Adolfo Cambiaso and Toro Ruiz) and Grand Champions Polo Club (Grant Ganzi, Inaki Laprida, Nic Roldan and Juancito Bollini) will attempt to improve on their 1-1 records while Orchard Hill (Steve Van Andel, Lucas Criado, Facundo Pieres and Nico Escobar) and Valiente II (Robert Jornayvaz, Matias Torres Zavaleta, Diego Cavanagh and Joaquin Panelo) will match 2-0 records in the 3pm, feature match of the day on the International Polo Club’s stadium field.