By Alex Webbe
With the finals of the US Open Championship, hundreds of polo players are on their way to Europe, California, South America or anywhere where there is a tournament of high-goal competition.
Hundreds of horses are on their way to Miami to be shipped this way and that, but not all of them. Some 80 top polo mounts will be spending the weekend at the beach for the 4th Annual Miami Beach World Polo Cup in the arena on the sand between 20th and 22nd streets, behind The Setai Hotel and Resort at the Art Deco Oceanfront district in Miami Beach, Florida.
Six teams featuring some of polo’s top players will be competing in three games a day from Friday through Sunday to determine the “king of the beach”, with the opening game between The Setai (Sebastian Schneberger, Tito Gaudenzi and last year’s MVP, John Gobin) and China Grill (Lyndon Lea, Pelon Escapite and Jason Crowder) starting at 2pm on Friday, April 25.
The second match of the day is scheduled to begin at 3pm and features Frank Crystal & Co./Comcast (Carlos Gracida, Weston Gracida and Lance Vetter) and Lamborghini Miami (Jeff Hall, Michael Liss and Rudy Salinas).
Ending the competition for the day is the 4pm contest with Hennessy facing Audi in a game that pits husband Marc Ganzi’s Hennessy team (Marc Ganzi, Mike Azzaro and Gonzalo Del Tour) and Melissa Ganzi’s Audi team (Melissa Ganzi, Kris Kampsen and Juan Bollini).
Marc Ganzi enters the 2008 Miami Beach Polo World Cup as the defending champion while his wife, Melissa, enters the arena with a championship team of her own. Melissa Ganzi will be accompanied by her Audi team, a team that won the 2007 World Snow Polo Championships in Aspen last December.
“It’s a great place to play,” said two-time winner Kris Kampsen of the oceanfront facility, “The scenery is fantastic and the competition is very good,” he added, “Some of polo’s top players will be competing on the beach this weekend.”
The combination of seven-goaler Juan Bollini and Melissa Ganzi are two-time runners-up in the event and are determined to take top honors this year. Their toughest test, however, may be their opening match against Hennessy.
Bollini is expected to provide the punch for the Audi team while teammates Kampsen and Ganzi press the attack at the front end of the lineup.
For more information visit www.miami polo.com or call 1-866-468-7630.