Round 1 Of The Pacific Coast Open Is In The Books

On a very unusal day for this year it was sunny and warm and just a perfect polo day. It was a wide-open affair in game 1 of the P.C.O. Tom Barrack and his Piocho Ranch showed how tough they are with the Legend in the drivers seat. He kept Tom Barrack and the Big Bird (Kris Kampsen) focused. Julio Gracida was dragging them out with blinding speed. If he was not fast enough in came Dad (Memo) and he was hauling. Memo was going fast they actually were blowing away Audi, but a Young Gun named Pieres was not going away. When Piocho fouled it cost them as Pieres scord 7 of 8 penalty 4’s and all open goals. In the end they were right back in the game as it finished Piocho Ranch by 1. Memo Gracida had to be proud of his double tough Patron Tom Barrack. He played like a demon and 1/2 the game with a broken finger on his mallet hand, but do not tell Audi as he roode them all off at least 1 once most mega times.

Game 2 was ERG/Grant’s Farm vs. Zacara. It was a very boring game for spectators and it was so weird. In the first 30 seconds the scoreboard went blank and the chukker horn stopped the game, but after that it was just ugly polo. There were lots of fouls. The fouls were not big ones, just game stoppers. At the end of the first chukker it was 1 to 1. At the end of the second it was 3 to 2 and at 1/2 time it was 4 to 2. The game never flowed. It was a lot of marking and a very physical game led by patrons Lynden Lee and Andy Busch as they crushed someone on every play. At the end of 4 it was 5 to 4 and Zacara made a move in the 5th, but in the last chukker it was 7 to 5 and it ended at 8 to 5. It was definitely a game where everyone worked and there were few free shots at goal all day long. The horses were the story of the day as both winners were the better mounted players. Piocho showed amazing horse power and Zacara was rarely caught on big runs and just lacked the conversion. The best 3 players today for their handicaps were the patrons. Tom Barrack was the best hands down in the first game. Lyndon Lee of Zacara and Andy Busch of ERG/Grant’s Farm in the second game. Of pros it was flying Bird (Kris Kampsen) who has been harnessed by Memo Gracida. It looks like it is a power in the making. Round 2 is next Sunday and it is like this:

1 p.m. Audi vs. ERG/GF
3 p.m. Piocho Ranch vs. Zacara

So in 7 days it will be 2 teams at 1 & 1 and 1 team at 2 & 0 and 1 at 0 & 2

San Diego goes online again so there will be a place to party. No report on the Oyster Cup at Petaluma as of yet. See ya.