Grant Ganzi Named MVP
Trailing for the first five chukkers, Aspen Valley Polo Club rallied in the sixth chukker to capture the ChukkerTV Cup Sunday at Grand Champions Polo Club.
Aspen Valley Polo Club, the youngest team in the tournament with Grant Ganzi, 1, Juancito Bollini, 2, Nic Roldan, 8, and Wes Finlayson, 3, outscored Pony Express, 5-1, in the final chukker to win,12-9.
Pony Express, one of the most experienced teams with Bob Daniels, 0, Benji Daniels/Justin Daniels, 0, Bautista Heguy, 8, and Tomas Goti, 6, led the third, fourth and fifth chukkers before Aspen Valley Polo Club rallied.
Ganzi, 16, a junior at Boca Raton St. Andrew’s School, was named Most Valuable Player after scoring a game-high five goals. Ganzi scored four of his goals in the first half including three in the opening chukker.
“I’m really happy with the win,” Ganzi said. “We started off really well and then lost a little rhythm and got it back in the sixth chukker. We played well together as a team in the end.
“Juan, Wes and I were clicking like we usually do scoring the goals and taking the man out for each other. Nic was a big part of it, getting the ball and doing a lot of turns. He put the ball exactly where we needed it to be.”
With Pony Express leading by one goal, 8-7, after the fifth chukker, Aspen Valley Polo Club found its offensive punch with Finlayson scoring the first of three goals on a breakaway to tie the game at 8-8
Finlayson and Roldan scored three more unanswered goals for an 11-8 lead before Goti scored Pony Express’ only goal of the chukker.
Roldan, headed to England at the end of the month, enjoyed his “mentor” role on the team.
“It was good, I didn’t have to do anything,” Roldan said. “Grant was a machine, Juancito and Wes all had a great game. I just sat in the back and watched the boy band.
“It was great to see them come back,” Roldan said. “They played really well. It was fun to play against Bob and Bautista. It’s good to have Bauti back in the area. He’s obviously a legend in polo. It brought back good memories of back in the day.
“Now it’s good to see a new generation of kids with Justin and Benji playing in the Pony Express organization. It was fun to be on the field and share the experience with everyone. We had a good time.”
In addition to Ganzi’s five goals, Finlayson had four goals and Roldan added three goals for Aspen Valley Polo Club.
Goti led Pony Express with five goals. Benji Daniels had two goals. Heguy and his 2011 U.S. Open teammate Bob Daniels each had one goal.
The remaining spring tournaments at Grand Champions are: May 7-10, USPA Eastern Challenge, May 14-17, Polo Gear Challenge Cup, May 21-25, The Memorial, May 24-25 USPA NYTS and May 28-31, Santa Rita Memorial.
One of the biggest highlights of the spring season is the use of state-of-the-art technology featuring live streaming, instant replay, challenges and team review from Chukker.TV.
In January, 2014, Grand Champions Polo Club became the first polo club worldwide to offer instant replay and team review much to the delight of players and patrons in hopes of improving officiating and quality of play at all levels of polo.
Chukker.TV is providing unduplicated state-of-the-art technology to provide instant replay. In addition, the technical staff has live-streamed games that have been viewed around the world on its website.
Chukker.TV also partnered with Roku, Inc. to bring polo to fans live in the comfort of their homes at no cost. Chukker.TV has a channel on Roku.
Grand Champions,with its five well-manicured fields and turnkey facility, is enjoying its finest spring season in the history of the club which opened in 2008. Everyone is welcome to enjoy the games and asado. Admission is free.
2015 POLO ON DEMAND
Grand Champions Polo Club, featuring five world-class fields, has a full schedule of tournaments from January to May. Let our polo experts create a turn-key experience including top pros to bring out the best in you and your team. Lessons are available.
2015 SPRING SCHEDULE
May 7-10, USPA Eastern Challenge; May 14-17, Polo Gear Challenge Cup; May 21-25, The Memorial; May 24-25, USPA NYTS; May 28-31, Santa Rita Memorial.
GRAND CHAMPIONS POLO CLUB
WHERE: 13444 Southfields Road, on the corner of South Shore Boulevard and Lake Worth Road, Wellington, 33414.