IT’S A WRAP FOR JAN.007 It was a very nice weekend finally in the Coachella Valley. There was no football so the crowd was good, but still no bathrooms. However, that is Eldorado PC at its finest. The cold weather is gone, but has done its damage. You can see it all around with the colors of some plants or lack of it. Polo was not cold, however, it was at a fast pace most of the day.
It started early with 3 finals for the Bronzes or for the bronze winners only. It was Big Mac (Fred Mannix, Sr.) and his Hawks taking on the B’s of Bilo and Bolko (Zarif and Kissling). It was the Big Mac handing out plenty of hustle for the first 4 chukkers and he was constantly getting to the Palomino (Jason Crowder) or Thunder From Down Under (Dirk Goulld) until his alarm (heart monitor) went off and he had to be subbed (Julie Roenisch stepped in to play for him). Then the Palomino had a big 5th and stepped on the pedal and scored 3 or 4 as they charged off with a lead of 4 and held on in the 6th. The Hawks came back to get within 1, but Casa Sombres/Summerland took the real Bronze home and Fish Creek Hawks finish in second for the 8-Goal January Finals. It was by far the best game of the day as the speed and play was way above the next two finals.
Also at 10 a.m. it was Park Lane and Rancho Santa Fe finishing their double day affair and it ended with day 1 Parklane up by 3 and Sunday it was more of the same. In the end Rancho Santa Fe came flying early, but the zip went out in the 3rd and it was and Park Lane who finished the deal. Lady Jenny Luttrell continued her winning ways as Cottrell Farms went on with a WIN.
The 4-Goal/6 Chukker was the next final on field 1. Vladimir Rivkin and crew did what they do best and thumped on PoloBARN.com as they rolled in for the bronze, the real one.
Then the worst, longest game started. It was the 12-Goal Final on Field 1. It was Palm Desert taking the bronze in a frightful fashion. For two chukkers they had only 3 players and won during that period 3 to 0. It was ugly from the second chukker through the 6th and it was so long. I hope there were no new fans at watching their first polo game. It was definitely the longest (at least 2 hours), but we did get to meet Santiago Cuesda Weda (Jeanne Jack Humbert) on this lovely day. He subbed for an injured Ernie Ezcurra from chukker 3 – 6.
The World changes soon. The big guns are in town as Mariano Fassetta, The Von Wernichs, Chris Maloney, Pat Nesbitt, Andy Busch, Uranga and a few others. So get ready to rock. It starts on Friday with a couple of big ones. See below.
Around the U.S. it was also finals day in many places. In Boca (Royal Palm Polo Club) it was Audi and the Ganzi Man doing it. Something “not” unusual was New Bridge and Adolfo Cambiaso helped Russ McCall win his 17th out of 18 high-goal games from 22 to 26 goals that is. The Riceman (Shane Rice) also in Florida on the West coast of Florida did the big one as he won a couple of leagues in Sarasota and MVP. So the west is still alive.
The Horse World had the worst news possible as BARBARO was put to sleep after an amazing time of recovery for the last 8 months. It is so sad. He was a fighter and the people support was awesome, but it was not enough for this magnificent animal. Barbaro just turned 4 three weeks ago.
Friday starts the 16-Goal here at El Dorado PC (CA)
Long Beach vs. Palm Desert
TriTech vs. Mansour
Long Beach
Henry Walker
Mariano Uranga
DiegoCavanaugh
Matt Walker
Palm Desert
Dan Horn
Jack Baileu (aka Ruki)
Hugo Barabucci
Matias Obregon
Tritech
Juan Curbelo
Mariano Gutierrez
Gaston Von Wernich
Chris Maloney
Mansour
Robertito Zedda
Agustin Zavaleta
Federico Von Wernich
Ben Soleimoni