Cesar Gueikian Named MVP
Aspen Valley Polo Club Cup Final On Sunday
Melody Polo Team won its second consecutive tournament Friday at Sopris Mountain Ranch polo field.
Melody Polo (Cesar Gueikian, Melissa Ganzi, Mariano Gracida, Juan Bollini) won the ChukkerTV Challenge Cup after a hardfought round robin tournament with wins over La Karina (Brian Boyd, Marc Ganzi, Lucas Lalor, Stewart Armstrong) and Sopris Mountain Ranch (Riley Ganzi/Anthony Devrient/Santos Bollini, Juancito Bollini, Grant Ganzi, Carlitos Gracida).
Argentine polo great Juan Bollini presents Cesar Gueikian with Most Valuable Player award. Photo by Lisa Hall
Melody Polo Team defeated Sopris Mountain Ranch, 5-3, and La Karina, 5-3, during the nine-chukker tournament. La Karina finished runner-up.
Melody Polo also won the season-opening Independence Cup with a thrilling 9-7 victory over La Karina at Aspen Valley Polo Club.
Gueikian, scheduled to return to New York City, was named Most Valuable Player.
X-Box, ridden by Grant Ganzi, 17, of St. Andrew’s School and owned by Halo Polo, was selected Best Playing Pony.
Melody Polo Team was led by Gueikian and Gracida, each scoring three goals. Bollini added two goals and Ganzi had one. Melody Polo Team finished with a cumulative ten goals.
Armstrong and Lalor each had two goals for La Karina. Juancito Bollini and Carlitos Gracida each had two goals for Sopris Mountain.
Despite a light rain and wind, the three games were hotly-contested. Melody Polo Team erased a two-goal deficit early in the second chukker when big-hitting Juan Bollini scored to tie the game (2-2). Gueikian’s neck shot goal tied the game again at 3-3.
Melody Polo Team pulled away with back-to-back goals from Gueikian and Mariano Gracida, who picked the ball out of the air and went on to score for a 5-3 advantage.
Melody Polo Team continued its momentum in the second game leading the opening chukker, 2-1, with goals from Gueikian and Mariano Gracida.
Armstrong tied the game at 2-2 but it was all Melody Polo after that. A penalty-one goal and 60-yard penalty conversion by Juan Bollini gave Melody Polo Team a 4-2 lead. Marc Ganzi, returning to the lineup after missing opening day action, cut the lead to one but Gracida’s 40-yard penalty shot clinching the win and tournament title.
La Karina and Sopris Mountain Ranch played for second place with Lalor scoring the winning goal for a 3-2 win.
For the second consecutive tournament, the games were a family affair.
The game pitted brothers and up-coming players Mariano Gracida and Carlitos Gracida; Juan Bollini and his sons Juancito and Santos; and husband and wife and Aspen Valley Polo Club co-owners Marc and Melissa Ganzi and their children Grant and Riley.
On Sunday, the club’s feature match, the Aspen Valley Polo Club Cup, will be held at 3 p.m. at the club’s main field. It will be live streamed by Wellington, Fla.-based ChukkerTV worldwide.
The ChukkerTV Challenge was the second of nine summer tournaments at Aspen Valley Polo Club, the nation’s fastest-growing polo club.
Six tournaments held last year return along with three new events for the 2015 season. Sunday’s Aspen Valley Polo Club Cup, July 21-26 Basalt Handicap and July 28-Aug 2 Emma Challenge have been added to this year’s schedule.
The full schedule is Sunday’s Aspen Valley Polo Club Cup; July 14-19, Craig Sakin Memorial; July 21-26, Basalt Handicap; July 28-Aug. 2 Emma Challenge; Aug. 5-9, Louis Vuitton Cup; Aug. 14-16 Mount Sopris Cup; and Aug. 12-23 Rocky Mountain Cup.
Several of Grand Champions patrons and players are expected to play at Aspen Valley Polo Club this summer. Gueikian’s Melody Capital polo team competed at Grand Champions during the spring season.
Chukker TV, the leaders in polo broadcasting, will live stream various tournaments including the prestigious Louis Vuitton Cup and Rocky Mountain Cup, which attracted huge crowds last season.
In addition, Chukker TV’s Summer Tour, a 13,000-mile cross country trip featuring several U.S. Polo Association tournaments at various U.S. clubs including Oak Brook, Saratoga Polo Club and Aspen Valley Polo Club will also be webcast.
ChukkerTV, an independent media company, was the first to introduce state-of-the-art live streaming technology in January, 2014 at Grand Champions Polo Club, where it was well-received for its cutting-edge technology and ability to promote the sport to a larger audience and continues to build and improve its technology.