Santiago Von Wernich, Jared Sheldon
As the high goal season at Santa Barbara starts to get in full swing so too does the fast paced exhilarating action. This past Sunday under another beautiful sunny Santa Barbara sky we had second round action from the Lucchese America’s Cup. After two games decided by less than 1 goal in the first round on Friday the crowd was out in large numbers anticipating two more exciting competitive games. For the 1pm game we had Lucchese take on Farmers and Merchants Bank in what proved to be everything the crowd was anticipating and more. From the first throw in the pace was fast and hard hitting with each team trying desperately to slip away from the other and establish a solid lead. However neither team was willing to give an inch and every time one team would go on a run the other team switched on to their fresh prized ponies and surged back to get within striking distance. This pattern continued throughout the game and with the end of every chukker the game became more and more intense and exciting. Finally towards the end of the last chukker Lucchese sensed victory was within their reach and they got back on their best horses to try and hold off Farmers and Merchants Bank. This last push proved to be enough as Lucchese was able to hold on to their 1 goal lead, amidst constant pressure from a relentless Farmers and Merchants Bank team, and take the victory by a score of 12 to 11.
After this exciting 1pm match we had the 3pm game which featured a battle of the unbeaten, Mansour against Grants Farm, both of whom narrowly won their games on the previous Friday. This game was very significant as the winner would be in a nearly perfect spot to make the finals the following Sunday. With this large reward sitting on the table both teams set out to send a message in the first chukker and brought their best horses to try and establish an early lead. However this did not amount to much as neither team like in the previous game was able to slip away from the others grasp. This continued all the way until the fifth chukker when Grants farm all of the sudden exploded out to a 4 goal lead thanks to goals off the mallet of Jeff Hall and Polito Pieres. Mansour kept fighting desperately to break this lead and mount a last minute comeback but due to some unfortunate penalties they were stopped short and Grants Farm was able to take the win by a score of 12 to 9. Next Sunday at 1pm will be the Finals of the Lucchese America’s Cup so if you are in the Santa Barbara area, make sure you stop by as it will be a very fun and exciting event.
Article By Wiley Uretz SBPRC Assistant Polo Manager
Photos by David Lominska