By Alex Webbe
Valiente/Blanco spotted the 11-goal Jan Pamela/Little Owl team one goal to start, but put together a string of goals late in the game that led them to victory in the finals of the South Florida Challenge 12-goal Pro-Am at the International Polo Club Friday afternoon.
“We took advantage of some breaks and pulled together as a team,” said 7-goaler Jeff Blake of the team’s 11-10 win over Jan Pamela/Little Owl in the tournament finals. “We just had a little more left in the end than they did.”
Joe Wayne Barry put two goals on the scoreboard for Jan Pamela/Little Owl (to go with one goal by handicap) but Valiente/Blanco countered with single goals from Blake and Bob Jornayvaz. Valiente/Blanco trailed early, 3-2.
Blake and Steve Dalton exchanged goals in the second chukker, with Jan Pamela/Little Owl holding on the narrow one goal lead, 4-3 after the first two periods of play.
Valiente/Blanco came out in the third with guns blazing as they shut down the Jan Pamela/Little Owl attack while putting up three unanswered goals (two from Santiago Bottarro and one from Blake) to take a 6-4 halftime lead.
“Our defense broke down on us a bit,” said Dalton, “and when it did, they scored.”
Jan Pamela/Little Owl rode into the fourth chukker with a vengeance, opening with a penalty goal from Barry and getting two goals from the field from Dalton. The lead changed hands with Jan Pamela/Little Owl leaving the field at the end of four with a 7-6 advantage.
J. P. Uihlein and Dalton scored single goals in the fifth, but Valiente/Blanco from Blake, Bottarro and Tom Sikes had the game all even at 9-9 with one chukker left to play.
The tempo of the game continued to accelerate in the sixth, with Bottarro and Blake each adding a goal for Valiente/Blanco for an 11-9 lead. Barry added his fourth goal of the game, but time expired with Valiente/Blanco riding off with the game and the championship in an 11-10 victory.
“We just let this one get away from us,” said Dalton, “but it was competitive and I think the team played well.”
Dalton and Barry scored four goals apiece for Jan Pamela/Little Owl, with teammate J. P. Uihlein adding a goal in the loss.
Blake led the scoring for Valiente/Blanco with five goals. Bottarro scored four times and Sikes and Jornayvaz.
For his efforts and accomplishments on the field, Bottarro was named MVP while Dalton’s 9-year-old grey mare, Carta, received Best Playing Pony honors.
MT. AIRY/WILLOW FARM 11, FARAWAY/MT. BRILLIANT 10
In earlier action, Brandon Phillips led the Mt. Airy/Willow Farm to an 11-10 victory in the tournament’s consolation match.
Although Faraway/Mt. Brilliant took a 5-4 first half lead as hard-charging action carried the ball up and down the field as each team took turns attacking and defending.
Trevor Allen scored the first goal of the game for Faraway/Mt. Brilliant followed by a penalty conversion from Julian Daniels for a 2-0 first chukker lead, but Mt. Airy/Willow Farm charged back in the second with foals from Adrian Wade and Phillips. Faraway/Mt. Brilliant got a single goal from Carlitos Galindo and continued to lead, 3-2.
Another goal from Allen and a second penalty goal from Daniels were answered by goals from Phillips and Gillian Johnston in the third. The first half ended with Faraway/Mt. Brilliant leading by a single goal, 5-4.
A renewed Mt. Airy/Willow Farm team took the field in the fourth chukker with a renewed purpose. Wade scored his second goal of the game while Phillips added two more goals. Disciplined defense kept Faraway/Mt. Brilliant off the scoreboard. Mt. Airy/Willow Farm took its first lead of the game, 7-5.
In a reversal of fortunes, Faraway/Mt. Brilliant scored four times in the fifth, getting a pair of goals from Galindo and single goals from Allen and Daniels. Mt. Airy/Willow Farm was held to a single goal from Phillips and now trailed 9-8.
The final chukker saw Mt. Airy/Willow Farm get three more goals from Phillips (two on penalty shots) while holding Faraway/Mt. Brilliant to a single goal from Daniels in the 11-10 win.
Phillips led all scoring with eight goals. Wade scored twice and Johnston added a single goal.
Daniels led the Faraway/Mt. Brilliant attack with four goals. Allen and Galindo accounted for three goals apiece in the loss.
Thanks for the information. Would you please complete them with the team’s line up’s. Not even in the club’s page the line up’s are shown, only the high gol ones.
Thsnks
Alex has been asked to do this by more than four people on more than one article. You think he would get the hint that not everyone that reads his article is in Florida and has a team roster in front of them to know who is playing. Bad journalism without complete coverage.
FYI-
I am not compensated for anything I write for Polozone and file stories immediately following the matches under some very taxing deadlines. I write for over a dozen publications and online magazines and usually finish my working day between 11pm and midnight.
If you are so concerned with the incompetent manner in which I offer free coverage of these events. I will stop posting it all together.
It might seem like a simple thing to do, but when you’re working on a short deadline for the daily newspaper, for which I write a daily polo column, and deadlines for the IPC website, Polo Times, Hurlingham Magazine, La Bocha (Spain), Al Badia (Dubai) Juji (China), Pololine, 7minutes.co.uk, etc, it is enough to put a hitch in my schedule.
Unless I hear differently, I will stop sending coverage to Polozone so I no longer offend you and the four other readers who are so grievously affected.
Alex Webbe
Alex,
Thank you for taking the time to write for Polozone. There are many of us out here who truly appreciate your articles and love reading them. Please don’t stop!