“Family Day” Benefits Ronald McDonald House Charities at Oak Brook Polo Club

Multiple activities and round robin polo tournament capped off a great, eventful day for the whole family.

“Family Day” was the theme at the Oak Brook Polo grounds this 26^th July, 2015. With a visit from Ronald McDonald, a petting zoo, watching the game from right field and a polo ball signing from the players after the game –it was a fun and very eventful day for the whole family. A 2015 Oak Brook Polo Club official partner, the Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) of Chicagoland and Northwest Indiana received a portion of the day’s ticket sales. The 1:00pm was a straight 4 chukker between Oak Brook Polo Club versus the RMHC team. Philip Kampschoff scored 2 quick goals for RMHC in the first 3 minutes playing in the number 2 position. John Greene played defensively at 4, and Del Walton worked hard in the middle feeding the ball up to goal scoring Bob Soos up front for RMHC. For the Oak Brook team, Samantha Falbe made a couple of good break away plays, and Bob McMurtry made a few solid bumps in defense for his team. Jason Wates and Horacio Onetto were back in force working well together as they shared the 3 and 4 positions up and down the field. RMHC played strongly to a good 3 goal lead by the middle of the 3^rd chukker, but then Oak Brook came out with their best horses and game for the last 10 minutes of play. With seconds to go Horacio Onetto pulled off a remarkable chip neck shot to win it for Oak Brook 7-6. Samantha Falbe got the MVP award, and “Rosio”, owned by Horacio Onetto got the Best Playing Pony award.

The 3:00 pm game was played in a round robin format between Hinsdale Magazine, Hotels of Oakbrook, and guest team, Passion for Polo (PFP). Brothers Anthony and Adrian Garcia played at 3 and 4 for PFP feeding the ball up to Jan and Frauke Leuders who were always well positioned to pick up the passes, and put through the goal. Hotels of Oak Brook were headed up with Memo Font and Bill O’Leary in the front to score, with Carlos Font playing at 3 and Augustin Molinas playing at back. The third team in this round robin was Hinsdale Magazine, with Tony Sekera, and Mimi Shirey playing at 1, and 2, respectively, Clifton Yandell at 3, and Matias Obregon working hard at the back. Tony Sekera again pounced on a couple of loose opportunities and took the ball to goal. Matias Obregon made more than a few long hits from the halfway point, but just missed the goalmouth. Augustin Molinas displayed a strong consistent backhand as the Garcia brothers kept the pressure on the whole way through. For the results of this round robin: PFP beat Hotels of Oak Brook 3-0, then Hotels of Oak Brook beat Hinsdale Magazine 2-0, and finally PFP then won against Hinsdale Magazine 4-2. Frauke Leuders’ “Prima Vera” won Best Playing Pony, and the MVP award went to Carlos Font.

Oak Brook Polo Club’s next event will take place on Sunday, August 9^th beginning at 1:00 PM CDT (Gates Open at 12:00 PM) with Lions Clubs International Day. This day of polo is a special tribute to the Lions Club International. With headquarters in Oak Brook, the Lions Clubs serve over 200 countries, in hospitals and senior centers, in regions battered by natural disaster, in schools and eyeglass recycling centers, Lions are doing community volunteer work, helping, leading, planning and supporting. Because they have local clubs, they can serve the unique needs of the communities in which the members live.  And because they are global, they can address challenges that go beyond borders.  Do you have old eyeglasses you are no longer using? Bring them to Oak Brook Polo on Lions Clubs International Day and help provide better eyesight for those in need. For event information and to purchase tickets, visit www.oakbrookpoloclub.com.