Facundo Obregon scored a game-high seven goals in the final of last year’s Joe Barry Memorial Cup final, earning him MVP honors. (Photo by Alex Pacheco)
A handful of players, including Maureen Brennan, Ruki Baillieu, Kris Kampsen, Nic Roldan, Facundo Obregon, Julio Arellano, Juancito Bollini, and Agustin Obregon. gathered at the International Polo Club’s Seventh Chukker Friday evening for the draw for the 2017 Joe Barry Cup.
The eight teams competing were broken into two brackets with Villa del Lago (Jim Zenni, Agustin Obregon, Hilario Ulloa and Carlucho Arellano); La Indiana (Michael Bickford, Jeff Hall, Mike Azzaro and Ruki Baillieu); Mt. Brilliant (Bo Goodman, Jason Crowder, Santiago Chavanne and Julian Daniels) and Tonkawa (Jeff Hildebrand, Sapo Caset, Costi Caset and Facundo Obregon) in one bracket while Coca-Cola (Gillian Johnston, Julian de Lusarreta, Julio Arellano and Del Walton); Goose Creek (Maureen Brennan, Peke Gonzalez, Mariano Gonzalez and Tomas Garcia del Rio); Grand Champions Polo Club (Grant Ganzi, Inaki Laprida, Nic Roldan and Juancito Bollini) and Postage Stamp Farm (Annabelle Gundlach, Brandon Phillips, Mariano Aguerre and Kris Kampsen) will make up the second bracket.
Three of the 20-goal teams this year will be captained by women players, with Maureen Brennan leading her Goose Creek team into battle, Annabelle Gundlach will be making her IPC 20-goal debut with her Postage Stamp Farm entry and Gillian Johnston returning with her Coca-Cola entry.
The Joe Barry Memorial Cup will follow the season-opening Herbie Pennell Cup (Dec. 29-Jan. 1), and is currently slated to begin on Wednesday, January 4th with the final to be played on Sunday, January 22nd. With no defending champion in the competition, the field is wide open as players and horses settle into the 2017 high-goal season.