Will Rogers/Casa Sombras edged Blazers 10-9 in overtime to win the USPA 4-goal Lion’s Cup at Empire Polo Club in Indio, California on April 3.
Will Rogers/Casa Sombras won the USPA 4-Goal Lions Cup Finals and $7500. From left to right: Diego Cossio, Bayne Bossom, Bolko Kissling, Conrad Kissling.
Five teams each contributed $1,000, which was matched by the club, to create a $10,000 purse. The winners took home $7,500 while the runners-up took home $2,500.
Blazers won 2nd Place in the USPA 4-Goal Lions Cup Finals and $2500. From left to right: Mondo Gonzalez, Kyle Fargey, Malia McCoy and Pat Powell.
After a week of playoff games, Will Rogers/Casa Sombras’ Bayne Bossom, Bolko Kissling, Conrad Kissling and Diego Cossio took on the Blazers’ Malia McCoy, Pat Powell, Kyle Fargey and Mondo Gonzalez. The teams got off to a slow start with Conrad Kissling’s Penalty 3 conversion the only goal scored in the first chukker. Three-goal Fargey came alive in the second with two quick goals, but Conrad and Bolko Kissling each answered with goals. Cossio split the uprights for Will Rogers, but Fargey responded to keep it close. A Penalty 2 conversion by Conrad Kissling and a field goal by Cossio put Will Rogers/Casa Sombras up 6-3 in the opening minutes of the third, before Blazers fired back with field goals by McCoy and Fargey. A Penalty 1 awarded to Blazers evened the score at 6-all.
Kyle Fargey’s mare “Macarena” won Best Playing Pony in the USPA 4-Goal Lions Cup.
Back out on the field for the fourth, Conrad Kissling took the lead back on a perfectly executed Penalty 4, but Fargey had the answer with a Penalty 2 conversion. Cossio got in the last word to put Will Rogers/Casa Sombras ahead 8-7 going into the fifth chukker. It was a defensive battle until Fargey slipped free and scored back-to-back goals to put Blazers ahead 9-8. Regulation time was nearly out when Bossom fired to goal sending the ball across the goal line. As time ticked away, neither team was able to finish it off and the game was sent in to sudden death overtime.
Conrad Kissling won MVP of the USPA 4-Goal Lions Cup.
As the overtime chukker got underway, both teams were hoping for the big payout. As the players scrambled for possession, a Blazers player caught the umpires’ whistle. Will Rogers/Casa Sombras was awarded a free hit from the 40-yard line. Conrad Kissling didn’t disappoint as he fired in his fourth penalty conversion of the afternoon to take the title, and the lion’s share of the cash. Not surprisingly, Conrad Kissling was named MVP of the match. Kyle Fargey’s pretty bay mare Macarena danced home with the Best Playing Pony blanket.
USPA 4-Goal Lions Cup Teams
March 25th – April 3rd
Evergreen 3.5
Tom Sprung -1
Noah Sprung -.5
Bryan Middleton 3
Juan Jo Gonzalez 2
Empire/Thermal 4
Rob Scapa 0
Erik Wright 2
Reg Whyte 0
Jake Devane 1.5
Coldwell Banker/AR Polo 4
Alvaro Tadeo 3
Caroline Anier 2
Scott Walker 0
Alex Green/Roisin Obrien -1
Blazers 4
Kyle Fargey 3
Pat Powell 0
Mondo Gonzalez 0
Malia McCoy 1
Will Rogers/Casa Sombras 4
Conrad Kissling 1
Bolko Kissling 1
Diego Cossio 3
Bayne Bossom -1