Once again, Southern California’s Eldorado Polo Club, was selected to be the host club for the WCT Western Women’s Challenge Polo Tournament, played over three days from March 1 to March 3, 2013 comprising three Flights.
The A Flight consisted of three teams – Prime Time, Cotterel Farms/Urban Dog, and Coldwell Banker Menlo, and was played over the three days as a round-robin with a 4 chukker ’game’ each day.
Friday saw Prime Time face-off against Cotterel/Urban Dog. Prime Time wasn’t able to hang on to an early lead as Cotterel/Urban Dog came back to eventually win by a score of 4 – 2.
Having not played on Friday, Coldwell Banker Menlo stepped on the field Saturday to face Prime Time. This test featured three lead changes and ultimately ended with a count of 3 – 3.
With Prime Time now out of championship contention – but hanging on a hope of the runner-up spot – Sunday’s ‘game’ would feature Cotterel/Urban Dog at 1 – 0 and 2 net goals going against Coldwell Banker Menlo at 1 – 0 and zero net goals (a tie being a win in a round robin). In other words, the former needed only to tie to win the championship, while Coldwell Banker Menlo would have to win in order to claim victory.
In a very entertaining game that saw several lead changes, Coldwell Banker Menlo ultimately did claim a win by a score of 4 – 3 and therefore became the WCT Western Women’s Challenge Champions.
Dayell Fargey was chosen as the MVP, Anne Evamy was voted as the most sportsmanlike, and Rio, owned by Jenny Lutterell and played by Caroline Anier was selected as the Best Playing Pony.
WCT Western Women’s Challenge – A Flight
Coldwell Banker Menlo (3) – Madelyn Cobb, Abby Riggs 1, Dayelle Fargey 1, Tiamo Hudspeth 1.
Cotterel/Urban Dog (3) – Jenny Lutterell, Kim Garsed, Caroline Anier 2, Jessica Bailey 1.
Prime Time (3) – Anne Evamy, Leigh Brecheen, Claudia Uretz, Sunny Hale 3.
The B Flight saw six teams in competition and eventually came down to a final game between Barossa and Freedom Block For Horses. With no scoring in the first chukker, Freedom Block led 3 – 0 at halftime and ran away with a 5 – 2 win when it was over.
Tania Paneno was picked as the MVP, Anita Wulff the most sportsmanlike, and Dayelle Fargey’s Lemoncello was the Best Playing Pony.
WCT Western Women’s Challenge – B Flight
Freedom Block For Horses (.5) – Tania Paneno -1, Jessica Bailey 1, Kate Weber .5, Cybele Jordan.
Barossa (.5) – Katie Graham -1, Abby Riggs 1, Dayelle Fargey 1, Dani Rewitzer -.5.
Cotterel Farms (1) – Jenny Lutterell, Jenny Phipps, Andrea Brereton -1, Caroline Anier 2.
D C Bank (1) – Cathy Butler, Krissy Devane, Anita Wulff, Roxy Kefauver 1.
Lucy Curci Cancer Center (1) – Susan Guggenheim, Sheryl Williams, Tiamo Hudspeth 1, Kerstie Allen.
Rapid Release (-2) – Danielle Travis, Paige Beard,Emma Stachowicz -1, Becky Clark -1.
C Flight was comprised of three teams in a round robin over two days where each team played each other team a total of four chukkers. After the second day, Ocean Mist prevailed as the victor, Deer Creek was second, and Ponytail Polo was the second runner-up.
Megan Kozminski was selected as the MVP, Lynni Hutton was chosen as the most sportsman like player, and Paige Rutherford was voted as the most improved. Miami, owned by Earnie Ezcuura and played by April Malice became the Best Playing Pony.
WCT Western Women’s Challenge – C Flight
Ocean Mist – Megan Kozminski, Mary Masterson, Linda Drabova, Dana Bates.
Deer Creek – Lynni Hutton, Paige Rutherford, Amelia Gilroy, Nancy Louie.
Ponytail Polo – Alex Pool-Jeffre, Emma Tooth, April Malice, Sara Knudsen/Lacey Safonovs.
Tony Gregg