Aiken Equine Charities Cup Brings out the best of Aiken
By Sarah Eakin
Some of Aiken’s finest polo players took the field for charity at New Bridge Polo and Country Club in a 30-goal exhibition game to benefit the Hitchcock Woods Foundation.
The Aiken Equine Charities Cup was hosted by 302 Polo and featured a fieldside VIP hospitality tent for supporters to witness the high powered exhibition game that pitted Mercedes-Benz of Augusta lining up John Gobin, Julian Daniels, Matias Magrini and Owen Rinehart against Bank of America’s Alan Martinez/Sanitago Wulff sharing the #1 shirt, Adam Snow, Julio Arellano and Tiger Kneece.
Bank of America pulled out an early lead and retained it to win 12-6. The picturesque setting of the well-manicured Sunday field at New Bridge made a great backdrop for a cause supported by equestrian enthusiasts in Aiken and others passionate about preserving the unique heritage of the 2000-acre Hitchcock Woods – the second largest urban forest in the US after Central Park, New York.
Sponsors of the Aiken Equine Charities Cup included 302 Polo and Mr. and Mrs. I Thomas Uskup, Mercedes-Benz of Augusta, Bank of America, Banks Mill Feeds/Aiken Polo Pony Sale, the Lobster Races, Karl Mc Millan Real Estate Development/The Plains of Aiken, Aiken Polo Festival, Prisa, Five Rivers Winery, the National Breast Cancer Foundation and Cable Vantage/Atlantic Broadband.
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| 30-goal winners – Bank of America (l to r) Alan Martinez and Santiago Wulff-who split the #1 role- Adam Snow, Julio Arellano and Tiger Kneece. All photos by Milledge Austin. |
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| Best Playing Pony ‘Lena’ owned by Parker Flannery and played by Owen Rinehart, pictured here with his father Roger Rinehart Sr. All photos by Milledge Austin. |
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Matias Magrini (right) recently raised in handicap to 10-goals – official on June 1 – turns out at New Bridge Polo and Country Club for the 30-Goal Aiken Equine Charities Cup. Julio Arellano (left) played for Bank of America. All photos by Milledge Austin. |