The Polo Report
By Steve Crowder
Sept. 30th ’09

Polo is a very small world even though it is played in all 4 corners of the World.  People always seem to show up somewhere who you’ve seen before. Will Rogers once said “Polo Is a Passport to the World” and he is right. Seventeen days ago I was setting at the barn with Paco de Narvaez in Carpinteria, CA.  Today he is in Buenos Aires trying to win the Tortugas Open, the first tournament in the Triple Crown of Polo Series.  This tournament does not include the qualification teams yet, but it is early and the horses and players are getting fit.  It is the world of polo.

Matt Ladin was watching polo 20 days ago, now he is the superman here in Santa Barbara. San Diego was just muddling along and now 2,000 people come to polo and it is wild with antique airplanes, helicopters, parties and a urge to be there.  Its the way the game is. FUN, FUN and there is no reason not to have fun.  Lets meet the people on these teams in the two finals. In the subsidiary finals it is two teams led by female polo players and they are always ready for a battle.

Gypsy

Patron  – Suzanne Figi: A self-made woman and that does not mean she was not always a woman.  Suzanne has always been a woman and she was very successful in the world of Graphics.  She loves her dog Gypsy and the sport of polo as if nothing else matters. She has fun and is very determined for the game.  Suzanne will take her man with the discipline of a U.S. Marine.

Pro -Alvaro Tadeo is a man who started at the bottom of the ladder, as a groom.  He never stopped going up the ladder and he is now a pro.  Alvaro is from Mexico and is from a very well-known family in the polo world.  He has taken a lot of hard knocks to get where he is today and he just keeps on tickin’.

Pro – Juan Curbelo is from the country of Uruguay, a South American country that is a neighbor of Argentina.  Several good players come from this area and Juan is one of them.  He is about 20 years old and he isvery talented with the ball.  Juan is not a girl (edited version), because no one ever accuses him of taking a man. He is quick and he is sometimes very deadly at goal.

Pro -Diego Cossio a.k.a. The surfer.  Diego is from Argentina.  He started polo in San Diego a few years back and he also came up the hard way from stalls to saddles, but he now enjoys his life with his Lady and his Son.  Diego has a very busy schedule. After this weekend in San Diego, he is due in Florida in two weeks then Calgary in the summer.  Then he will be back here for the Autumn.  Diego is the big stick and rated 5-goals on this team.

OHANA

Patron – Kelly Maloney was born to be wild they say and riding. Polo came her way as both her Dad and Brother play, but Kelly did not play for several years.  She got tired of bikes and airplanes and she is now here playing polo.  Kelly has been playing about 4 years and she has become a force in Southern Cal. Polo and like Suzanne Figi, she loves speed.

Pro – Juan Ho Gonzalez is a CA boy who grew up in Carpinteria, CA. Juan had two choices for a career  … to farm or play polo.  He outgrew the tractor early and hopped on a polo horse and has not gotten off since.  He knew that polo was the best way to see the World and live the good life.  He just returned from a summer polo season in the UK.

Pro – Dan Juarez is the highest-rated American Indian player in the country.  He comes from Washington State and I assume he is really an Native American Indian. I know he is big and a very good hand on a horse. Dan hits a long ball, but I have never seen him on a Paint horse as he seems to like very good Thoroughbreds and he has several.

Pro – Graham Bray is from New Zealand, but has been here in the U.S. for a long time.  He is probably the oldest player on the field, but he has plenty of fire from start to finish.  Graham has been managing polo here in at the San Diego Polo Club and he was lead man for a club in Portland and La Quinta as well.  This is all in a days work as he plays polo, manages clubs and is raising a son (and daughter).  The son is playing in the other league finals.

The Teams For The Finals of the Spreckel’s Cup

TRI-TECH

Patron – Chris Maloney, a.k.a.  Silent Chris,  is one of the best Patrons in CA on and off the field.  He is avid about making the game better and he is a very tough competitor. Chris has won the Spreckel’s Cup before and he has no thoughts of not doing it again.  It is totally a game for him and he is totally in the game from boardroom to the 6^th chukker.  As President of two polo clubs and a 1-goal player, Chris knows the game.

Pro Jesse Bray is the young gun of the tournament and one of the fastest. He is about 17 and he grew up in polo.  Jesse likes to run and he is totally able to see the game in a much more mature way than his age.  He goes from classroom to the polo field and starts it over every day.  Jesse is in his first Spreckel’s Cup finals.

Gaston Von Wernich the Doctor he is the big stick on this team and he has to be the Doctor of operations with two young players it is a guiding job . He has won it before and has no doubt he can do it again . Gaston has been a force with Chris for several years and they have enjoyed quite a lot of success over the years.

Pro – Matias Obregon, an Argentine born in America.  He is a real young gun and he is now rated at 4-goals.  Matias is no longer the 3rd man on a team, he is often “the man.”  He is now in the second man position that means a lot of work from start to finish. His job includes taking the best man on the other team and as you know that is not always a simple chore.

AND THEY PLAY;

HANELI BAY

Patron – Ron Bonaguidi, a.k.a. Bones.  Ron has nearly every title played for in the U.S. from top to bottom including the US OPEN at 26 goals to the 4-goal.  With all of this experience he still wants to win! He has been and still is a very real surfer.  If there is no polo going on he will find a wave and it does not matter where he goes to find it, he will be there. His Wife, Krista, also plays polo, so he may have to be at the polo field more often than at the beach.

Pro- Nick Morrison a.k.a. “the STICK.”  Nick is built like a stick and it rhymes with Nick and there it ends.  He has been playing amazing in his first year of good polo. Nick is a crossbred 1/2 Aussie and 1/2 American, but he is all business on the field.  Nick has a very good sense of the right play and he seldom fouls.  He also has no problem with doing his job on the field whatever it maybe.

Pro – Mariano Fassetta a.k.a Fast-ETTA.  He is quick as light and he will be gone in a moment.  Mariano has super strength and the need for speed.  His Black helmet will often be in front no matter where he is playing.  Mariano is not very big. but like a bullet, he hits.  Mariano has about 4 of these Spreckel’s Cups already in his Trophy case

Pro – Jason Crowder , a.k.a. “The Palomino,” named by the Grooms when he was about 14 years old and about  5 foot 4.  He is now t 6 ‘4 and he still has the blonde hair, but he has lot more power than speed.  Jason also have about 4 of these Spreckel’s Cup wins under his belt. Most of them he won playing with Fast-etta if not all of them.  He likes to gamble on the field and it can cost him dearly when he fails, but this adds some spectacular plays when it works.

Those are the players.  They are ready to play some GREAT polo.  It will all start this Sunday morning, so be their and get ready for a very GOOD TIME because their is a Party coming on from Friday to Sunday night.

PS –  Alegria, the team of Fred Mannix, Jr. won their second game in the qualifications for the Argentine Open by 10 goals.  They now have only one more game to qualify.  The other team is also undefeated, so it will be a very wild Monday afternoon in Buenos Aires.  Good Luck To Them!

See ya @ the Partyyyyyyyyyyyy.